# Belgium and Netherlands compared Belgium and Netherlands side by side: 42 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 12 events their chronicles record of each other. Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/bel-vs-nld 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 - Netherlands: 1581 — The Act of Abjuration renounces allegiance to Philip II of Spain ## Economy | Metric | Belgium | Observed | Netherlands | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | GDP | $671 B | 2024 | $1.21 T | 2024 | | GDP per capita | $56,615 | 2024 | $67,520 | 2024 | | GDP growth | 1.1% | 2024 | 1.1% | 2024 | | Inflation | 3.1% | 2024 | 3.3% | 2024 | | Trade openness | 158.9% | 2024 | 153.8% | 2024 | ## Society | Metric | Belgium | Observed | Netherlands | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population | 12 m | 2024 | 18 m | 2024 | | Life expectancy | 82.3 yrs | 2024 | 82.0 yrs | 2024 | | Urban population | 87.6% | 2024 | 95.6% | 2024 | | Fertility rate | 1.4 | 2024 | 1.4 | 2024 | ## Governance | Metric | Belgium | Observed | Netherlands | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Voice & accountability | 83.1 | 2024 | 85.8 | 2024 | | Political stability | 68.0 | 2024 | 73.2 | 2024 | | Government effectiveness | 74.6 | 2024 | 85.4 | 2024 | | Regulatory quality | 74.5 | 2024 | 82.0 | 2024 | | Rule of law | 79.0 | 2024 | 86.3 | 2024 | | Control of corruption | 77.6 | 2024 | 86.5 | 2024 | ## Health | Metric | Belgium | Observed | Netherlands | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Health spending | 10.8% | 2023 | 10.0% | 2024 | | Physicians | 3.57 | 2022 | 3.88 | 2022 | | Under-5 mortality | 3.7 | 2024 | 3.9 | 2024 | | Measles immunisation | 96.0% | 2024 | 89.0% | 2024 | | Safe drinking water | 99.5% | 2024 | 100.0% | 2024 | ## Education | Metric | Belgium | Observed | Netherlands | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Education spending | 6.3% | 2022 | 5.2% | 2022 | | Primary enrolment | 102.1% | 2023 | 104.2% | 2023 | | Secondary enrolment | 143.0% | 2023 | 137.5% | 2023 | | Tertiary enrolment | 82.1% | 2023 | 86.6% | 2023 | ## Technology | Metric | Belgium | Observed | Netherlands | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | R&D spending | 3.3% | 2023 | 2.3% | 2023 | | Researchers (per million) | 5,990 | 2023 | 6,563 | 2023 | | Internet users | 95.8% | 2024 | 97.0% | 2024 | | Mobile subscriptions | 104 | 2024 | 129 | 2024 | | High-tech exports | 20.4% | 2024 | 23.5% | 2024 | ## Geography | Metric | Belgium | Observed | Netherlands | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Land area | 30,494 km² | 2023 | 33,670 km² | 2023 | | Forest area | 22.6% | 2023 | 11.1% | 2023 | | Agricultural land | 44.4% | 2023 | 53.5% | 2023 | | CO₂ per capita (t) | 7.3 | 2024 | 6.6 | 2024 | | Renewable energy | 11.7% | 2021 | 12.2% | 2021 | ## Resources | Metric | Belgium | Observed | Netherlands | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Resource rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.3% | 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 | Netherlands | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Military burden | 1.3% | 2024 | 1.9% | 2024 | | Defense spending | $8.6 B | 2024 | $23 B | 2024 | | Armed forces | 24,000 | 2020 | 41,000 | 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/NLD.md. ## Entangled histories (12 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. - from the 12th c.: **The Baarle enclaves take shape** — Medieval land deals between the lords of Breda and the dukes of Brabant scattered sovereignty across Baarle, leaving the Belgian Baarle-Hertog as a cluster of enclaves inside the Netherlands, some containing Dutch counter-enclaves. (from the Belgium chronicle; sources: Baarle-Hertog and Baarle-Nassau: the enclave complex) - 1555: **Abdication of Charles V in Brussels** — The emperor Charles V, born in Ghent, abdicated the Netherlands to his son Philip II in Brussels in 1555, and the provinces passed under the rule of Habsburg Spain. (from the Belgium chronicle; sources: Belgium: History) - 1579: **Union of Arras and the split of the Low Countries** — The Catholic southern provinces reaffirmed loyalty to Spain in the Union of Arras while the northern provinces formed the Union of Utrecht, beginning the permanent division of the Low Countries into Belgium and the Netherlands. (from the Belgium chronicle; sources: Belgium: History) - 17 Aug 1585: **Fall of Antwerp** — After a siege of over a year, the Spanish commander Alessandro Farnese took the great Protestant port of Antwerp, confirming Spanish control of the southern Netherlands and driving its merchants and craftsmen north. (from the Belgium chronicle; sources: Fall of Antwerp (1585)) - 1713: **From Spanish to Austrian Netherlands** — By the Treaty of Utrecht ending the War of the Spanish Succession, the southern Netherlands passed from Spain to the Austrian Habsburgs, becoming the Austrian Netherlands. (from the Belgium chronicle; sources: Belgium: History) - 1795: **French annexation of the southern Netherlands** — Revolutionary France annexed the Austrian Netherlands and the prince-bishopric of Liège, ending Habsburg rule and governing the region directly from Paris for twenty years. (from the Belgium chronicle; sources: Belgium: History) - 1815: **Union with the Netherlands** — After Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo on Belgian soil, the Congress of Vienna merged the southern provinces with the Dutch into the United Kingdom of the Netherlands under William I, as a buffer against France. (from the Belgium chronicle; sources: Belgium: History; The Treaty of London, 1839 (primary text)) - 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)) - 1830: **Belgian Revolution** — The southern provinces rebel and declare independence as Belgium, dividing the United Kingdom of the Netherlands; separation is recognised in 1839. (from the Netherlands chronicle; sources: Netherlands) - Aug–Sep 1830: **The Belgian Revolution** — Rebellion in Brussels drove out the Dutch garrison; a National Congress proclaimed independence and adopted a liberal constitution, breaking the southern provinces away from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. (from the Belgium chronicle; sources: 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) - 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/NLD/chronicle.md. Citation template: Terralore, "Belgium and Netherlands compared", terralore.co/compare/bel-vs-nld, retrieved .