Quality of life comparison
If you lived in France instead of Belgium, you would:
Health
be 46.3% less likely to be obese
In Belgium, 20.9% of adults are obese as of 2024. In France, that number is 11.2% of people as of 2024.
Economy
be 27.6% more likely to be unemployed
In Belgium, 5.9% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In France, that number is 7.5% as of 2025.
be 26.8% more likely to live below the poverty line
In Belgium, 12.3% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In France, however, that number is 15.6% as of 2021.
make 19.4% less money
Belgium has a GDP per capita of $60,750 as of 2025, while in France, the GDP per capita is $48,986 as of 2025.
Life
be 75.0% more likely to die during childbirth
In Belgium, approximately 4.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In France, 7.0 women do as of 2023.
Expenditures
spend 15.3% less on education
Belgium spends 6.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. France spends 5.3% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
Geography
see 73.0 times more coastline
Belgium has a total of 66 km of coastline. In France, that number is 4,853 km.
Safety
be 32.6% more likely to feel safe walking alone at night
In Belgium, 62% of people feel safe walking alone at night as of 2021. In France, that number is 82% as of 2022.
be 24.1% more likely to be murdered
Belgium has a homicide rate of 1.1 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In France, that number is 1.3 per 100,000 as of 2023.
Infrastructure
find 10.6% more home broadband
Belgium has 44.2 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. France has 48.9 as of 2024.
live with 59.5% less strain on fresh water
Belgium withdraws 53% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. France withdraws 21% as of 2022.
Environment
be 33.3% less likely to die from air pollution
In Belgium, air pollution causes 15.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In France, it causes 10.0 as of 2019.
emit 45.3% less CO2
Belgium emits 7.3 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. France emits 4.0 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2022), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Belgium vs. France
France: At a glance
How big is France compared to Belgium? See an in-depth size comparison.