The budget deficit in the euro zone decreased slightly from -3.7 percent in 2022 to -3.6 percent in 2023, but this was not the case for Belgium. In fact, Belgium’s budget deficit saw a considerable increase from -3.6 percent to -4.4 percent during the same period. Out of all countries in the euro zone, only Italy, France, Malta, and Slovakia had larger deficits than Belgium in 2023.
According to recent reports from the National Bank, there are several factors that contributed to this increase in Belgium’s budget deficit. These include the rise in minimum pensions, higher expenditure due to an aging population, and the indexation of benefits and government wages. This has made Belgium one of the four countries with a larger budget deficit than average in the euro zone.
