Belgium GDP Grows Less Than Expected
2026-02-27 10:08
By
Agna Gabriel
1 min. read
Belgium’s economy expanded by just 0.1% in the fourth quarter of 2025, marking the slowest growth in a year and below the initial 0.2% estimate.
Activity was weighed down by weak private consumption and softer foreign demand.
Household spending was flat compared with the previous quarter, and housing investment declined by 1.0%.
In contrast, government consumption increased by 0.6%, and public investment surged 9.7%, largely due to higher defence spending, helping support overall growth.
Business investment edged up 0.4%.
Trade was a drag, with exports down 1.6% and imports falling 1.1%, resulting in a negative contribution from net exports of 0.3 percentage points.
On the production side, value added fell by 0.6% in industry and 0.1% in construction, while services rose by 0.2%.
On an annual basis, GDP grew 1% in the fourth quarter, with full-year 2025 growth also at 1%.