1The economic situation of the Brussels-Capital Region (BCR) is the subject of recurring debate: is Brussels still at the heart of wealth creation in Belgium?
2This study provides quantitative evidence to inform this debate. It is based on gross domestic product (GDP) and gross value added (GVA) statistics from the Institut des Comptes Nationaux (ICN), available for the period 2003-2023 at district level. In order to go beyond the administrative boundaries of BCR, the study also makes use of the concept of Metropolitan Region (MR) as defined by Eurostat [European Commission, Statistical Office of the European Union, 2019]. This approach makes it possible to analyse the Brussels metropolitan area as a whole and to compare it with other major Belgian cities.
3Between 2003 and 2023, GDP in the Brussels Metropolitan Region (MR) grew by an average of 1.7 % per year (Table 1). This rate is similar to that observed at national level (+1.7 % per year) and to growth in the metropolitan regions of Antwerp (+1.6 % per year), Liège (+1.6 %) and Namur (+1.6 %). Ghent stands out with stronger growth (+2.4 % per year), while the metropolitan region of Charleroi continues to be marked by post-industrial stagnation (+0.8 % per year).
Table 1. GDP in volume in 2023 by metropolitan region and annual growth rate (%)
|
Metropolitan region
|
GDP (€ billion)
|
Share of Belgian total (%)
|
Annual GDP growth (2003-2023)
|
|
Brussels
|
216.4
|
36.3 %
|
1.7 %
|
|
- BCR
|
103.3
|
17.3 %
|
0.9 %
|
|
- Flemish part
|
79.7
|
13.4 %
|
2.5 %
|
|
- Walloon part
|
33.4
|
5.6 %
|
2.5 %
|
|
Antwerp
|
65.4
|
11 %
|
1.6 %
|
|
Liège
|
31.4
|
5.3 %
|
1.6 %
|
|
Ghent
|
39.7
|
6.7 %
|
2.4 %
|
|
Charleroi
|
16.5
|
2.8 %
|
0.8 %
|
|
Namur
|
12.7
|
2.1 %
|
1.6 %
|
|
Belgium
|
596.3
|
100 %
|
1.7 %
|
Sources: ICN [Regional Accounts], 2025; Eurostat, 2021; IBSA calculations
4These averages nonetheless conceal significant internal disparities. Within the Brussels MR, growth has been stronger in the Flemish and Walloon outskirts. Walloon Brabant, driven by the expansion of the pharmaceutical industry, has the highest growth rate in the country (+3 % per year). At the other extreme lies the district of Soignies (+0.1 % per year), which has been severely affected by deindustrialisation. Growth in BCR itself lies between these extremes (+0.9 % per year). This relatively modest growth confirms the economic weakening of the Brussels metropolitan core, already identified in earlier studies, notably by Van Hamme et al. [2011].
5At national level, economic growth has been strongest within a polycentric metropolitan area centred on Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent (Figure 1). However, within this area, neither BCR nor the district of Antwerp are the most dynamic. Growth has been driven primarily by districts containing medium-sized cities such as Mechelen, Aalst, Leuven and Turnhout, as well as the economic hubs of Walloon Brabant. Elsewhere in the country, growth has generally been weaker than in Belgium as a whole, particularly in the post-industrial districts of Hainaut.
Figure 1. Average annual GDP growth in volume in Belgian districts, 2003-2023 (%)
Note: Belgian average annual growth: 1.7 % per year.
Sources: ICN [regional accounts], 2025; Eurostat, 2021; IBSA calculations
- 1 ICN statistics for regional accounts are published at three different levels of detail: 10 sectors (...)
6The slowdown in growth in BCR is largely explained by changes in economic activity at sectoral level1. Two main causes are identified in the study.
- 2 With inflation effects neutralised over the period.
7Several sectors have experienced a decline over the past two decades at national level, notably as a result of the digital transition. These include telecommunications, postal services, advertising, market research and travel agencies. A large share of these activities were concentrated within the BCR territory. Telecommunications provide a striking example: the sector accounted for nearly 7 % of BCR value added in 2003, compared with only 3 % in 2023. Over the 2003-2023 period, telecommunications activity in BCR was halved2.
8Deindustrialisation has continued both in BCR (- 34 % GVA between 2003 and 2023) and Belgium as a whole (- 4 % GVA between 2003 and 2023). At national level, this decline has been offset by the strong expansion of the pharmaceutical industry (+ 153 % of GVA between 2003 and 2023 in Belgium). By 2023, industry accounted for only 5 % of GVA in BCR. When the scope of industry is limited to branches involving productive activity within BCR, productive industrial activity represents no more than 2 % of GVA in BCR.
9The slowdown in economic growth is driven above all by weaker growth in expanding sectors, particularly in the market sector.
10On the one hand, consumer-related activities – such as retail, hospitality (HoReCa) and other personal services (such as non-medical care) – have grown less strongly in BCR. This trend raises questions about the attractiveness of Brussels as the country’s leading retail centre.
11On the other hand, with the exception of legal, accounting, consultancy and head office activities (see below), all business services and information and communication services (excluding telecommunications, see above) have experienced weaker growth in BCR than elsewhere in the country. This is all the more paradoxical given that these office-based activities are well suited to an urban environment. This paradox had already been identified by Lennert and Van Criekingen [2003].
12Other economic sectors have grown more rapidly in BCR than in the rest of the country. These sectors, which now account for an increasing share of regional economic activity, are closely linked to the exercise of political and economic power and to the status of Brussels as a multi-level capital.
13First, non-market activities are now the leading economic sector in the Brussels Region. They account for one quarter of its value added and include personal services – particularly in health care, social services and education (11.4 % of GVA) – as well as central government administration (13.4 %). Added to this are the non-profit sector (2 %), which has expanded significantly, and the activities of international institutions, which are not included in Belgian national and regional accounts. The value added generated by the 50,000 people employed in international institutions in BCR3 is therefore not recorded in the region’s economic output. This leads to an underestimation of the economic importance of the political command function of BCR.
14Secondly, economic command functions continue to be concentrated in BCR. Growth in legal, accounting, consultancy and corporate management activities has been stronger in BCR (+ 93 % of GVA between 2003 and 2022) than in the rest of the country (+ 78 % nationally). This growth is driven in particular by the increasing outsourcing of management and strategic planning functions, with greater reliance on consultancy firms and management companies for senior executives. These activities now account for 8.9 % of GVA in BCR, compared with 8.7 % in Flanders and 6 % in Wallonia. BCR also remains the main financial centre of Belgium, with financial services accounting for 18 % of regional GVA in 2022.
15The Brussels metropolitan region remains Belgium's main economic hub. However, the divergence in dynamics between the metropolitan core (BCR) and its outskirts, already identified by Thisse and Thomas (2010), remains highly relevant. Over the past two decades, the economic fabric of BCR and its surrounding area has become increasingly differentiated. This is mainly due to the growing specialisation of BCR in certain activities, both relative to its metropolitan region and to the rest of the country.
16To understand this economic differentiation and the observed slowdown in economic growth, a detailed sectoral analysis was carried out in the study. Based on an original classification of economic sectors specific to BCR (see Table 2), four major trends can be identified over the past two decades:
-
- 4 Including construction, whose share of BCR GVA remained stable between 2003 and 2023.
The absolute decline of activities inherited from former state monopolies and from industry, resulting in a reduced role for goods production4 and network services in Brussels GVA;
-
The relative decline – generally linked to weaker growth in BCR – of almost all market services, as well as transport and logistics;
-
Stronger growth in non-market personal services in BCR, which now account for a larger share of regional GVA;
-
Sustained growth in activities linked to public administration, corporate management and financial services, which now represent 42.7 % of GVA in the Brussels Region.
Table 2. Breakdown of gross value added generated in BCR in 2003 and 2022 by type of activity and spatial dimension
|
Sector category
|
What spatial scale is value added generation linked to?
|
Share of BCR GVA (2003)
|
Share of BCR
GVA (2022)
|
Share of GVA in the rest of Belgium (2003)
|
Share of GVA in the rest of Belgium (2022)
|
|
Head office and public administration activities in the Brussels-Capital Region
|
|
Central government administration
|
Territory administration
|
12.9 %
|
15.5 %
|
7.0 %
|
6.4 %
|
|
Corporate management
|
Administration of firms sometimes located elsewhere
|
5.4 %
|
8.9 %
|
6.1 %
|
7.9 %
|
|
Management of industrial firms (head offices)
|
Located in BCR; activities formally classified as industry but corresponding solely to head office functions, i.e. administration of a firm's production activities
|
3.5 %
|
3.2 %
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
|
Financial services
|
Administration of financial markets, primarily at Belgian level
|
16.4 %
|
18.3 %
|
2.8 %
|
3.2 %
|
|
International institutions
|
Value added generated by the 50,000 international civil servants working in BCR is not included in regional accounts
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
|
Economic activities linked to local demand
|
|
Network industries and services
|
Industrial activities linked to the operation of distribution networks serving the population and firms
|
7.5 %
|
3.5 %
|
1.5 %
|
1.6 %
|
|
Non-market services
|
Activities related to the provision of public services to the local population and visitors
|
9.2 %
|
11.1 %
|
13.9 %
|
14.6 %
|
|
Market services for the population
|
Consumer services: proximity to consumers is essential
|
8.1 %
|
6.7 %
|
8.8 %
|
7.5 %
|
|
Market economic activities involving the production of a good and/or service and its transport via an establishment located in BCR
|
|
Transport and logistics
|
Connecting production areas and/or consumption areas
|
13.9 %
|
11.0 %
|
14.7 %
|
14.5 %
|
|
Goods production
|
Location of production site predominant (manufacturing establishment), including construction
|
7.7 %
|
4.4 %
|
30.0 %
|
24.5 %
|
|
Corporate services
|
Location of service production predominant (offices)
|
9.4 %
|
9.7 %
|
6.5 %
|
9.9 %
|
|
Economic activity generated by the services provided by the real estate stock
|
|
Real estate induced economy
|
Place of residence of Brussels and Belgian property owners
|
5.9 %
|
7.7 %
|
8.8 %
|
10.0 %
|
Sources: ICN [regional accounts], 2025; IBSA calculations
17Taking into account the exclusion of international institutions and real estate related activity (which is not an economic activity in the conventional sense), activities linked to political and economic command at Belgian and international level now account for around half of the economic activity in BCR.
18Despite weak growth over the past two decades, economic activity in BCR remains very substantial and ultimately benefits the rest of the country [Départements des Études et de la Statistique générale, 2025]. A large share of this activity is linked to the administration, management or servicing of the Belgian territory (Table 2). As a result, economic activity in Brussels, which is increasingly specialised in political and economic command functions, is therefore becoming ever more interdependent with – and complementary to – the rest of Belgium.
The author would like to thank the various people who reviewed the Fact Sheet and the Cahier de l'IBSA, providing suggestions to improve the quality of the documents.