The number of Belgians with an income below the poverty line is falling according to a survey by Statbel, the Belgian statistics office. Fewer and fewer Belgians are also at risk of poverty and social exclusion largely due to the automatic indexation of wages and pensions.
Every year, the Belgian statistics office Statbel measures how many Belgians live in poverty. It does so by comparing Belgians’ income to the poverty line.
Over the past five years, the number of Belgians living in poverty has fallen. In 2024, 11.5 per cent of Belgians were living in poverty, down from 14.8 per cent in 2019. That is a decrease of more than one-fifth.
The risk of poverty or social exclusion is also falling. Here people are more broadly at risk from poverty. There are people who can only find limited employment or do not have enough money to pay bills or make trips. Today, this applies to 18.2 per cent of Belgians, or 2.1 million people.
You are living under the poverty line if you earn less than 1,520 euros per month as a single. For a couple with 2 children, the poverty line is now fixed at 3,191 euros.
Least poverty in East Flanders
The poverty threshold is calculated year after year. It rises along with wages when they are automatically increased. In 2023, for example, the threshold stood at 1,450 euros for a single. Statbel notes that an increase in the poverty line does not necessarily mean more people are living in poverty.
Strong regional differences exist. The situation in Flanders is least concerning. In Brussels need is far greater. More than a quarter of all Brussels residents now live below the poverty line.
In Flanders Antwerp Province scores poorest, with 10.9 per cent of the population under the poverty line, although that figure is still better than the national average. The least poor province is East Flanders (5.7 per cent).