The Belgian economy grew by 1.0 percent last year. The Institute for National Accounts (INR) and the National Bank (NBB) report this on Friday. This confirms an earlier flash raming.
In 2024, the added value in services increased by 1.3 percent. This increase occurred in all the services of the services, with the exception of the ‘Trade, Transport and Horeca’ branch (-0.2 percent). The added value fell by 1.1 percent in industry, while it increased by 1.0 percent in the construction industry.
The consumer spending of households increased by 2.0 percent in 2024, while investments in homes fell by 4.8 percent. Government consumption increased by 3.7 percent. The government investments rose by 7.0 percent in the course of the year, just like the company investments, which recorded an increase by 1.7 percent.
For the entire year 2024, the export volume shrunk less strongly (-4.1 percent) than the input volume (-4.2 percent). Consequently, the net output of goods and services made a positive contribution of 0.1 percentage point to growth.
Domestic employment increased last year with 13/700 people (+0.3 percent), which is a less strong dynamic than in the previous year. This increase is more due to the increase in the number of self -employed people (+8,500) than to the increase in the number of employees (+5,200).
In the fourth quarter, the gross domestic product increased by 0.2 percent compared to the previous quarter.