Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in France instead of Belgium, you would:

Economy

make 13.6% less money

Belgium has a GDP per capita of $63,100 as of 2024, while in France, the GDP per capita is $54,500 as of 2024.

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be 34.5% more likely to be unemployed

In Belgium, 5.5% of adults are unemployed as of 2024. In France, that number is 7.4% as of 2024.

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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.

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Life

have 19.7% more children

In Belgium, there are approximately 9.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2025. In France, there are 10.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2025.

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be 75.0% more likely to die during childbirth

In Belgium, approximately 4.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2023. In France, 7.0 women do as of 2023.

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Expenditures

spend 17.9% less on education

Belgium spends 6.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. France spends 5.5% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

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Geography

see 73.0 times more coastline

Belgium has a total of 66 km of coastline. In France, that number is 4,853 km.

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The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.

France: At a glance

France is a sovereign country in Europe, with a total land area of approximately 549,970 sq km. France today is one of the most modern countries in the world and is a leader among European nations. It plays an influential global role as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, NATO, the G-8, the G-20, the EU and other multilateral organizations. France rejoined NATO's integrated military command structure in 2009, reversing DE GAULLE's 1966 decision to take French forces out of NATO. Since 1958, it has constructed a hybrid presidential-parliamentary governing system resistant to the instabilities experienced in earlier, more purely parliamentary administrations. In recent decades, its reconciliation and cooperation with Germany have proved central to the economic integration of Europe, including the introduction of a common currency, the euro, in January 1999. In the early 21st century, five French overseas entities - French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, and Reunion - became French regions and were made part of France proper.
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How big is France compared to Belgium? See an in-depth size comparison.

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