Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Netherlands instead of Belgium, you would:
Health
be 29.5% less likely to be obese
In Belgium, 20.9% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Netherlands, that number is 14.7% of people as of 2024.
be 37.4% less likely to die by suicide
Belgium has a suicide rate of 18.4 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Netherlands, it is 11.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 34.5% less likely to be unemployed
In Belgium, 5.9% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Netherlands, that number is 3.9% as of 2025.
make 21.3% more money
Belgium has a GDP per capita of $60,750 as of 2025, while in Netherlands, the GDP per capita is $73,684 as of 2025.
be 17.9% more likely to live below the poverty line
In Belgium, 12.3% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Netherlands, however, that number is 14.5% as of 2021.
Expenditures
spend 17.5% less on education
Belgium spends 6.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Netherlands spends 5.2% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
Geography
see 6.8 times more coastline
Belgium has a total of 66 km of coastline. In Netherlands, that number is 451 km.
Safety
be 36.1% less likely to be murdered
Belgium has a homicide rate of 1.1 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Netherlands, that number is 0.7 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 26.1% less likely to die in a road accident
In Belgium, road accidents kill 4.6 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Netherlands, they kill 3.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 68.5% less strain on fresh water
Belgium withdraws 53% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Netherlands withdraws 17% as of 2022.
use 10.0% less electricity
Belgium uses 7,099 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Netherlands uses 6,386 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
be 13.3% less likely to die from air pollution
In Belgium, air pollution causes 15.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Netherlands, it causes 13.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Belgium vs. Netherlands
Netherlands: At a glance
How big is Netherlands compared to Belgium? See an in-depth size comparison.