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Policy profile on 12 axes

How Belgium Is Governed

Belgium is a federal state that scores 0.79 out of 1 on the V-Dem Liberal Democracy Index (2025). Government spending is 54% of GDP (IMF, 2025), the death penalty is abolished and same-sex marriage is legal. Below: the laws, institutions and public spending of Belgium, scored on the same 12 axes as the test, with every indicator and source.

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Policy profile

The 12 axes, indicator by indicator

This profile describes the country's policy regime (laws, institutions and public spending) from published indices, not the views of its people or its current leaders. Data as of October 2026; each value shows its own year.

Ownership+0.65PublicPrivate4 indicators and sources
  • State ownership of the economy (coded tier): Typical of OECD economies: state utilities, rail, post, some energy (2026). Source
  • Index of Economic Freedom 2026: Property Rights (0-100): 91.1 (2026). Source
  • Index of Economic Freedom 2026: Investment Freedom (0-100): 85 (2026). Source
  • Index of Economic Freedom 2026: Financial Freedom (0-100): 70 (2026). Source
Markets+0.45PlannedFree5 indicators and sources
  • Index of Economic Freedom 2026: Business Freedom (0-100): 82.5 (2026). Source
  • Index of Economic Freedom 2026: Labor Freedom (0-100): 57.5 (2026). Source
  • Index of Economic Freedom 2026: Monetary Freedom (0-100): 76.8 (2026). Source
  • Regulatory Quality, estimate (-2.5 to 2.5): 1.21 (2025). Source
  • State ownership of the economy (coded tier): Typical of OECD economies: state utilities, rail, post, some energy (2026). Source
Welfare-0.85SharedSelf-reliant4 indicators and sources
  • General government total expenditure (% of GDP): 54.2 (2025). Source
  • Public social spending (% of GDP): 28.57 (2024). Source
  • Domestic general government health expenditure (% of GDP): 7.96 (2023). Source
  • Index of Economic Freedom 2026: Tax Burden (0-100): 50.6 (2026). Source
Authority-0.80DemocraticStrong leader2 indicators and sources
  • Liberal Democracy Index (0-1): 0.79 (2025). Source
  • Judicial constraints on the executive (0-1): 0.83 (2025). Source
Security-0.70LibertyOrder4 indicators and sources
  • Freedom in the World civil liberties score (0-60): 57 (2025). Source
  • World Press Freedom Index score (0-100): 81.17 (2026). Source
  • Death penalty status: Abolished for all crimes (2025). Source
  • Prison population per 100,000 people: 113 (2025). Source
Structure-0.85LocalCentral2 indicators and sources
  • Territorial form of the state: Federation (2025). Source
  • Strong elected regional governments index (0-1): 0.84 (2025). Source
Morality-0.90ProgressiveTraditional3 indicators and sources
  • Same-sex marriage law (0 marriage, 1 civil union or partnership, 2 no recognition, 3 constitutional or statutory ban): Same-sex marriage legal (2026). Source
  • Abortion law: On request (within a gestational limit) (2025). Source
  • Women, Business and the Law: Legal Framework Index (0-100): 91.05 (2025). Source
Religion-0.35SecularReligious2 indicators and sources
  • Religion and the state: Secular state that recognizes, funds or partners with religions (concordats, church tax, recognized faiths), or religious personal-status law for some groups (2025). Source
  • Blasphemy or religious-insult law in force: None (2025). Source
Technology-0.35EmbraceCaution3 indicators and sources
  • Research and development expenditure (% of GDP): 3.27 (2023). Source
  • Nuclear power policy: Operating reactors, no new build under way (2025). The 2003 phase-out law was repealed in May 2025. Source
  • Genetically modified crop cultivation: None grown, no ban (2025). Wallonia opted out under Directive 2015/412; Flanders did not. Source
Culture-0.50MulticulturalNational identity4 indicators and sources
  • International migrant stock (% of population): 20.01 (2024). Source
  • Citizenship by birth in the territory: Conditional (a parent's residence or status, or at majority) (2025). Source
  • Residence required for ordinary naturalization (years; 0 = no ordinary route): 5 years (2025). Source
  • Dual citizenship for naturalizing adults: Allowed (2025). Source
Trade-0.75GlobalProtected4 indicators and sources
  • Tariff rate, applied, weighted mean, all products (%): 1.33 (2022). Source
  • Tariff rate, applied, simple mean, all products (%): 1.95 (2022). Source
  • Index of Economic Freedom 2026: Trade Freedom (0-100): 79.4 (2026). Source
  • Trade (exports + imports) (% of GDP): 152.92 (2025). Source
Foreign policy-0.75CooperationStrength5 indicators and sources
  • Military expenditure (% of GDP): 2.01 (2025). Source
  • Military conscription: None: volunteer forces or no military (2025). Source
  • Nuclear weapons status (0 none, 1 considers, 2 pursues, 3 possesses): No nuclear weapons program (2023). Source
  • Party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court: State party (2026). Source
  • Collective defense commitments: Integrated military alliance (NATO, a US mutual defense treaty, ANZUS, CSTO) (2026). Source

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Policy neighbours

Governed most like Belgium

Every other country with a profile, tinted by how close its laws, institutions and public spending are to those of Belgium on the same 12 axes. The percentage uses the 12 Axes match formula.

  1. 1Germany88%
  2. 2Spain88%
  3. 3United Kingdom88%
  4. 4Australia87%
  5. 5Canada86%
Least similarIran29%
World map of countries by how similar their policy regime is to BelgiumClosest: 1. Germany 88%, 2. Spain 88%, 3. United Kingdom 88%, 4. Australia 87%, 5. Canada 86%, 6. Austria 83%, 7. France 83%, 8. Netherlands 83%, 9. Sweden 83%, 10. Czechia 82%. Least similar: Iran 29%. Every country is in the list after the map.Belgium
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  • 65 to 74%
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FAQ

Belgium: questions

How is Belgium governed, on the 12 axes?

Belgium is a federal state that scores 0.79 out of 1 on the V-Dem Liberal Democracy Index (2025). Government spending is 54% of GDP (IMF, 2025), the death penalty is abolished and same-sex marriage is legal. Its policy regime leans furthest toward Progressive on Morality (-0.90), Local on Structure (-0.85) and Shared on Welfare (-0.85), on a scale from -1 to +1.

Which countries are governed most like Belgium?

On the same 12 axes, the closest policy regimes are Germany (88%), Spain (88%) and the United Kingdom (88%). The furthest is Iran (29%). Matches use the same formula as the 12 Axes test.

Where does the data on Belgium come from?

From 42 indicators dated 2022 to 2026, published by V-Dem, Freedom House, the Heritage Foundation, the IMF, the OECD, the World Bank, SIPRI, Reporters Without Borders, the World Prison Brief, UN DESA and others. Among them: a press freedom score of 81.2 out of 100 (RSF, 2026), 113 prisoners per 100,000 people (2025), military spending of 2% of GDP (SIPRI, 2025) and 20% of residents born abroad (UN DESA, 2024). Every value, year and source is listed in the profile above.

Does the profile describe what people in Belgium think?

No. It describes the policy regime: laws, institutions and public spending. It does not measure public opinion or the speeches of the current government. To see which country is governed closest to your own views, take the 12 Axes test and open the country match on your result.

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