Of course, it is worth mentioning Brussels too: it has a role as a Belgian cogwheel, almost above the bickering Flemish and Walloons. In May 1990, the government linked the Belgian franc to the Deutsche Mark, primarily through closely tracking German interest rates. Annually about 2.5 million day tourists visit the city and in 2007 there were about 1.4 million overnight stays. In the first quarter of 2018, 73.8% of men aged 20 to 64 work against 64.8% of their female counterparts. The economy of Belgium is varied and cannot be understood without taking the regional differences into account. Against this grim backdrop, in 1982, Prime Minister Martens' center-right coalition government formulated an economic recovery program to promote export-led growth by enhancing the competitiveness of Belgium's export industries through an 8.5% devaluation. As a consequence of high wage costs, employers have tended to invest more in capital than in labor. Lower unemployment rate for women than for men. [28] Tourism is also a major component of the economy of Bruges. On 1 May 1998, Belgium became a first-tier member of the European Monetary Union. Figure 6.2 Languages of Europe. One of the founding members of the European Community, Belgium strongly supports deepening the powers of the present-day European Union to integrate European economies further. In the first quarter of 2018, the employment rate of people aged 20 to 64 amounts to 61.5% in Brussels, 73.9% in Flanders and 63.6% in Wallonia. In Wallonia, employment rose slightly in April and May, before falling to 62.7% in June. Charleroi features an industrial area, iron and steel industry, glassworks, chemicals, and electrical engineering. In particular, U.S. firms played a leading role in the expansion of light industrial and petrochemical industries in the 1960s and 1970s.[18]. [18] A slight decrease in the accumulated public debt compared to GDP has been seen, however, thanks to a higher economic growth rate compared to the budget growth rate, which pushed the percentage from 99% of GDP in 2009 to 95% of GDP in 2011, a four-point decrease in two years, a feat rare enough to mention in the Western World. About half of the people aged 55 and over are in employment. Belgium’s economic freedom score is 68.9, making its economy the 48th freest in the 2020 Index. In 2008, the per capita income (PPP) was $37,500. The early 1980s saw the country facing a difficult period of structural adjustment caused by declining demand for its traditional products, deteriorating economic performance, and neglected structural reform. Other industrial and service activities include car manufacturing, telecommunications, photographic products. 69.3% of people aged 20 to 64 were employed in the first quarter of 2018. With exports equivalent to over two-thirds of GNP, Belgium depends heavily on world trade. Liège Science Park south east of the city, near the University of Liège campus, houses spin-offs and high technology businesses. Belgium's public debt is about 98% of GDP. When an economy begins to improve after a recession, for example, the unemployment rate may continue to worsen for some time. Consequently, as German interest rates rose after 1990, Belgian rates have increased and contributed to a decline in the economic growth rate. [citation needed]. Employment rate increases faster for women than for men. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the iron masters of Liègedeveloped a method of refining iron ore by th… Among other criteria spelled out under the Maastricht treaty, the Belgian Government had to attain a budget deficit of no greater than 3% of GDP by the end of 1997; Belgium achieved this, with a total budget deficit in 2001 (just prior to implementation of the Euro) that amounted to 0.2% of GDP. [18] Industry is concentrated mainly in the populous Flanders in the north, around Brussels and in the two biggest Walloon cities, Liège and Charleroi, along the sillon industriel. In the past, Liège was one of the most important steel-making centres in Europe. Eighty percent of the crop is exported.[29]. While, generally speaking, the unemployment rate for foreigners is twice as high as that for Belgians, this is not corroborated either at regional level or for all nationalities (see table 1). However, there were real regional differences within … The Ghent University, the second largest university of Belgium by number of students, and a number of research oriented companies are situated in the central and southern part of the city. GDP growth in 2009 was negative at −1.5%. Although now a shadow of its former self, steel production and the manufacture of steel goods remain important. Employment rate is on the increase in the three regions. Since then, it gradually improved as businesses have attempted to reopen safely, … Wallonia Flanders Brussels 0 50 100 150 200 250 GDP (€bn) 23.4% 57.0% 19.6% Wallonia Flanders Brussels GDP/capita (€) 23,500 31,700 60,600 Growth of GDP per ca ita 3.00% 3.50% 1.90% Patents per million 62. It is accessed by the Ghent–Terneuzen Canal, which ends near the Dutch port of Terneuzen on the Western Scheldt. The employment rate as part of the Europe 2020 Strategy represents the share of persons employed in the population aged 20 to 64. When Belgium emerged from World War II with its industrial infrastructure relatively undamaged thanks to the Galopin doctrine, the stage was set for a period of rapid development, particularly in Flanders. Brussels' GDP per capita is much higher than either region, although this is in many ways artificial, as many of those that work in the Brussels-Capital Region live in Flanders or Wallonia. In the first quarter of 2018, 49.6% of people aged 55 and over were employed, compared to 46.2% a year earlier. Data refer to … This represents a slight decline compared to the fourth quarter of 2017 when unemployment rate amounted to 6.4%. The economy of the region is now diversified, the most important centers are mechanical industries (aircraft engine and Spacecraft propulsion), space technology, information technology, biotechnology and also production of water, beer or chocolate. In 1980 the unemployment rate in Wallonia was 14.5 percent. The female employment rate increased faster than the male employment rate between the first quarter of 2017 and the first quarter of 2018 (chart 1). 69.3% of people aged 20 to 64 are employed. However, the employment rate of men is still 9 percentage points higher than that of women. 58 104.93 71.87 Business investment (€'000/employee) 14.53 19.48 36.77 Unemployment Rat e 11.2% 5.0% 15.9% Using the AAPOR response rate calculator, this translates to a Response Rate 1 of 49 percent. Indeed, Flemish and Walloon economies differ in many respects (consider for instance Eurostats and OECD statistics), and cities like Brussels, Antwerp, Liège, Bruges, Charleroi or Ghent also exhibit significant differences. In 2009 Belgium suffered negative growth and increased unemployment, stemming from the worldwide banking crisis. In general, productivity in Flanders is roughly 20% higher (per inhabitant) than in Wallonia. A new passenger terminal was opened in 2005. In 1992–93, the Belgian economy suffered the worst recession since World War II, with the real GDP declining 1.7% in 1993. Due to its pristine medieval city centre, Bruges has become a popular tourist destination. Tourism is increasingly becoming a major employer in the local area. Nonetheless, most traditional industrial sectors are represented in the economy, including steel, textiles, refining, chemicals, food processing, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, electronics, and machinery fabrication. Starting in 1817, John Cockerill extensively developed the iron and steel industry. The situation has been reversed since the third quarter of 2017 due to the faster decline in the female unemployment rate than in the male unemployment rate (chart 4). The postwar boom years, enhanced by the establishment of the European Union and NATO headquarters in Brussels, contributed to the rapid expansion of light industry throughout most of Flanders, particularly along a corridor stretching between Brussels and Antwerp, which is the second largest port in Europe after Rotterdam. [20], For 50 years through World War II, French-speaking Wallonia was a technically advanced, industrial region, with its industry concentrated along the sillon industriel, while Dutch-speaking Flanders was predominantly agricultural with some industry, mainly processing agricultural products and textiles. 43,000 sq m TOTAL WALLONIA TAKE-UP IN H1, A SUPERIOR LEVEL TO THE ANNUAL AVERAGE OVER PREVIOUS FIVE YEARS. Belgian per capita GDP ranks among the world's highest. The number of people claiming unemployment benefit in Belgium fell again last year, for the fourth year running. Belgium's accumulated public debt remains high at 99% of 2009 GDP. This disparity began to fade during the interwar period. The southern region continues a difficult transition out of sunset industries (mainly coal and steel), while sunrise industries (chemicals, high-tech, and services) dominate in Flanders. The federal government ran a 7.1% budget deficit in 1992 at the time of the EU's Treaty of Maastricht, which established conditions for Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) that led to adoption of the common Euro currency on 1 January 2002. Unemployment is one of the most critical economic issues facing the country as it balances re-opening with safety months into the pandemic. However, thanks to Belgium's high personal savings rate, the Belgian Government financed the deficit from mainly domestic savings, minimizing the deleterious effects on the overall economy.[18]. The Belgian authorities are, as a rule, anti-protectionist and try to maintain a hospitable and open trade and investment climate. Wallonia now suffers from high unemployment and has a significantly lower GDP per capita than Flanders. Walloon women have been working outside the home since the Industrial Revolution, though they still earn less than men since they are concentrated in low-paying industries such as textiles and clothing and are not proportionately represented in upper management. Map showing the Walloon and Flanders regions. Although unemployment rate is evolving positively in all three regions, large differences remain: in Flanders 3.6% of the labour force is unemployed, compared to 8.9% in Wallonia and 13.3% in Brussels (chart 6). The ILO unemployment rate in Belgium rose from 4.3% to 5.3% between April and June 2020. More unemployment is the last thing Wallonia needs. Liège has also been an important centre for gunsmithing since the Middle ages and the arms industry is still strong with the headquarters of FN Herstal. 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