# Belgium and Germany compared Belgium and Germany side by side: 42 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 9 events their chronicles record of each other. Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/bel-vs-deu Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates) Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation. ## Formation - Belgium: 4 October 1830 — Belgium declares independence from the Kingdom of the Netherlands - Germany: 18 January 1871 — The German Empire is proclaimed ## Economy | Metric | Belgium | Observed | Germany | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | GDP | $671 B | 2024 | $4.69 T | 2024 | | GDP per capita | $56,615 | 2024 | $56,104 | 2024 | | GDP growth | 1.1% | 2024 | -0.5% | 2024 | | Inflation | 3.1% | 2024 | 2.3% | 2024 | | Trade openness | 158.9% | 2024 | 79.1% | 2024 | ## Society | Metric | Belgium | Observed | Germany | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population | 12 m | 2024 | 84 m | 2024 | | Life expectancy | 82.3 yrs | 2024 | 80.8 yrs | 2024 | | Urban population | 87.6% | 2024 | 82.0% | 2024 | | Fertility rate | 1.4 | 2024 | 1.4 | 2024 | ## Governance | Metric | Belgium | Observed | Germany | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Voice & accountability | 83.1 | 2024 | 84.8 | 2024 | | Political stability | 68.0 | 2024 | 68.0 | 2024 | | Government effectiveness | 74.6 | 2024 | 81.4 | 2024 | | Regulatory quality | 74.5 | 2024 | 78.5 | 2024 | | Rule of law | 79.0 | 2024 | 84.9 | 2024 | | Control of corruption | 77.6 | 2024 | 83.8 | 2024 | ## Health | Metric | Belgium | Observed | Germany | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Health spending | 10.8% | 2023 | 12.3% | 2024 | | Physicians | 3.57 | 2022 | 4.53 | 2022 | | Under-5 mortality | 3.7 | 2024 | 3.7 | 2024 | | Measles immunisation | 96.0% | 2024 | 96.0% | 2024 | | Safe drinking water | 99.5% | 2024 | 99.9% | 2024 | ## Education | Metric | Belgium | Observed | Germany | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Education spending | 6.3% | 2022 | 5.2% | 2022 | | Primary enrolment | 102.1% | 2023 | 102.6% | 2024 | | Secondary enrolment | 143.0% | 2023 | 100.2% | 2024 | | Tertiary enrolment | 82.1% | 2023 | 76.7% | 2024 | ## Technology | Metric | Belgium | Observed | Germany | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | R&D spending | 3.3% | 2023 | 3.2% | 2023 | | Researchers (per million) | 5,990 | 2023 | 5,926 | 2023 | | Internet users | 95.8% | 2024 | 93.5% | 2024 | | Mobile subscriptions | 104 | 2024 | 129 | 2024 | | High-tech exports | 20.4% | 2024 | 18.0% | 2024 | ## Geography | Metric | Belgium | Observed | Germany | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Land area | 30,494 km² | 2023 | 349,430 km² | 2023 | | Forest area | 22.6% | 2023 | 32.7% | 2023 | | Agricultural land | 44.4% | 2023 | 47.5% | 2023 | | CO₂ per capita (t) | 7.3 | 2024 | 6.9 | 2024 | | Renewable energy | 11.7% | 2021 | 17.6% | 2021 | ## Resources | Metric | Belgium | Observed | Germany | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Resource rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.1% | 2021 | | Oil rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 | | Mineral rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 | | Forest rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 | | Electricity access | 100.0% | 2023 | 100.0% | 2023 | ## Military | Metric | Belgium | Observed | Germany | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Military burden | 1.3% | 2024 | 1.9% | 2024 | | Defense spending | $8.6 B | 2024 | $88 B | 2024 | | Armed forces | 24,000 | 2020 | 183,000 | 2020 | Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/BEL.md and https://terralore.co/country/DEU.md. ## Entangled histories (9 events) Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources. - 1816–1920: **Neutral Moresnet** — Unable to agree on ownership of a village and its zinc mine, the powers created Neutral Moresnet, a tiny condominium of about 3.5 square kilometres jointly administered by Prussia and the Netherlands, then Prussia and Belgium, until the Treaty of Versailles awarded it to Belgium. (from the Belgium chronicle; sources: 100 years ago Belgium annexed Europe's second smallest territory (Neutral Moresnet); Eupen-Malmedy (transfer to Belgium under the Treaty of Versailles)) - 21 Jul 1831: **Leopold I, first King of the Belgians** — The German prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg was installed as the first king and took his constitutional oath on 21 July 1831, a date still observed as Belgium's national day. (from the Belgium chronicle; sources: Leopold I, king of Belgium; Belgium: History) - 19 Apr 1839: **Treaty of London guarantees Belgian neutrality** — Austria, Britain, France, Prussia, Russia and the Netherlands recognised Belgium as an independent and perpetually neutral state and guaranteed its neutrality, the treaty later cited by Britain to enter the First World War. (from the Belgium chronicle; sources: The Treaty of London, 1839 (primary text); Belgium: History) - 4 Aug 1914: **Germany invades neutral Belgium** — Executing the Schlieffen Plan, Germany invaded Belgium after King Albert I refused free passage; the violation of the 1839 neutrality treaty, dismissed as a 'scrap of paper', brought Britain into the First World War. (from the Belgium chronicle; sources: The Treaty of London, 1839 (primary text); Belgium: History) - Oct 1914: **The Battle of the Yser** — Falling back behind the river Yser, the Belgian army opened the sluices and flooded the polders to halt the German advance, holding a last strip of free Belgium around Nieuwpoort and Diksmuide for the rest of the war. (from the Belgium chronicle; sources: Belgium: History) - 1919–1920: **Versailles: Eupen-Malmedy and the end of Moresnet** — The Treaty of Versailles ended Belgian neutrality, abolished Neutral Moresnet and transferred Eupen, Malmedy and Sankt Vith from Germany to Belgium, giving the kingdom a German-speaking minority after a much-criticised popular consultation in 1920. (from the Belgium chronicle; sources: Eupen-Malmedy (transfer to Belgium under the Treaty of Versailles); 100 years ago Belgium annexed Europe's second smallest territory (Neutral Moresnet); Eupen-et-Malmédy) - 10 May 1940: **Second German invasion** — Germany again invaded neutral Belgium on 10 May 1940, this time thrusting through the Ardennes, and rapidly overwhelmed the defending Belgian, French and British forces. (from the Belgium chronicle; sources: German Invasion of Western Europe, May 1940; Belgium: History) - 28 May 1940: **Surrender of King Leopold III** — After eighteen days of fighting Leopold III surrendered the Belgian army without consulting his government, beginning four years of German occupation and a political crisis over the king's conduct. (from the Belgium chronicle; sources: German Invasion of Western Europe, May 1940; Belgium: History) - 1962–1963: **The linguistic frontier fixed** — Language laws drew a fixed border between Dutch-, French- and German-speaking areas and created four language regions, entrenching the divide between Belgium's communities. (from the Belgium chronicle; sources: Belgium: History) ## Sources - World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org - Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators - Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho - Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org - R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org - ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics - Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/BEL/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/DEU/chronicle.md. Citation template: Terralore, "Belgium and Germany compared", terralore.co/compare/bel-vs-deu, retrieved .