Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Belgium instead of China, you would:
Health
live 5.8 years longer
In China, the average life expectancy is 76 years (74 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2020. In Belgium, that number is 82 years (79 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2022.
be 3.6 times more likely to be obese
In China, 6.2% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Belgium, that number is 22.1% of people as of 2016.
Economy
make 2.7 times more money
China has a GDP per capita of $23,800 as of 2024, while in Belgium, the GDP per capita is $63,100 as of 2024.
be 19.6% more likely to be unemployed
In China, 4.6% of adults are unemployed as of 2024. In Belgium, that number is 5.5% as of 2024.
pay a 19.3% higher top tax rate
China has a top tax rate of 45.0% as of 2016. In Belgium, the top tax rate is 53.7% as of 2016.
Life
be 75.0% less likely to die during childbirth
In China, approximately 16.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2023. In Belgium, 4.0 women do as of 2023.
be 52.8% less likely to die during infancy
In China, approximately 6.8 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Belgium, on the other hand, 3.2 children do as of 2022.
have 24.9% more children
In China, there are approximately 7.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2025. In Belgium, there are 9.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2025.
Basic Needs
be 21.8% more likely to have internet access
In China, approximately 78.0% of the population has internet access as of 2023. In Belgium, about 95.0% do as of 2023.
Expenditures
spend 86.1% more on education
China spends 3.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Belgium spends 6.7% of total GDP on education as of 2020.
spend 98.2% more on healthcare
China spends 5.6% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Belgium, that number is 11.1% of GDP as of 2020.
Geography
see 99.5% less coastline
China has a total of 14,500 km of coastline. In Belgium, that number is 66 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: Service Public Fédéral Finances, The World Factbook, State Administration of Taxation.
Belgium: At a glance
How big is Belgium compared to China? See an in-depth size comparison.