Countries · Europe
Belgium
Belgium hosts Euroclear, one of the world's largest securities depositories, so its holdings of US Treasuries include many investors from other countries.
At a glance
Net inflows of foreign direct investment were −$28.8bn in 2025, against an average of −$8.01bn a year in 2015–2024. Investors based in Belgium withdrew a net $19.3bn of direct investment from abroad in the same year. Foreign investors were net buyers of $4.80bn of shares in Belgium in 2025. Money sent home by workers abroad came to $16.4bn in 2025, equal to 2.3% of GDP. Investors in Belgium held $490.5bn of US Treasury securities at the end of August 2026, +$39.4bn on a year earlier, and $171.6bn of US shares.
Central banks and other investors around the world hold Treasuries through Euroclear, so Belgium's figures in US Treasury data are far larger than Belgian savings. Why this happens.
Belgium's holdings of US securities
Treasuries, shares and bonds issued in the US and held by investors in Belgium.
Holdings of US securities
End of month, Aug 2025 to Aug 2026, $bn.
Net purchases of long-term US securities
Each month, $bn. Positive means net buying.
The US Treasury records holdings by the country where securities are held in custody, which is not always the owner's country. Why this matters.
Direct and equity investment
Annual net flows, $bn. Direct investment means building or buying businesses; portfolio equity means buying listed shares and fund units.
Net flows by year
Direct investment into and out of Belgium, and foreign buying of its shares, $bn.
Current account and reserves
The balance of trade and income with the rest of the world, and the reserves held by the central bank.
Current account balance
Each year, $bn. A surplus means the country lends to the rest of the world.
Foreign exchange reserves, including gold
End of year, $bn.
Remittances
Money sent home by people working abroad, compared with direct investment, $bn.
Remittances and direct investment
Each year, $bn.
The economy
GDP
Current US dollars, $bn. Dollar figures also move with exchange rates.
Growth and inflation
Real GDP growth and consumer price inflation, per cent.
Euro area portfolio flows
Belgium is part of the euro area, whose combined figures the ECB publishes monthly, €bn.
Monthly net purchases, last 24 months
Shares and bonds combined, €bn.
The euro in global reserves
Share of central banks' allocated reserves held in euro, per cent.
Euro share of global reserves
Per cent, quarterly.
All figures
Annual figures from the World Bank, as published. Download them for every country on the data page.
| Indicator | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (m) | 11.27 | 11.33 | 11.38 | 11.43 | 11.49 | 11.54 | 11.59 | 11.68 | 11.78 | 11.86 | 11.94 |
| GDP ($bn) | 461.0 | 474.3 | 500.9 | 542.6 | 536.7 | 529.7 | 598.5 | 591.5 | 650.8 | 671.0 | 725.5 |
| GDP per person ($) | 40,894 | 41,855 | 44,035 | 47,487 | 46,717 | 45,906 | 51,658 | 50,639 | 55,245 | 56,582 | 60,750 |
| Real GDP growth (%) | 1.5 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 2.4 | −4.8 | 6.3 | 4.0 | 1.6 | 1.1 | 1.0 |
| Inflation (%) | 0.6 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 2.4 | 9.6 | 4.0 | 3.1 | 2.5 |
| Current account ($bn) | 6.36 | 2.65 | 3.52 | −4.74 | 0.66 | 4.79 | 11.18 | −10.77 | 2.35 | 4.88 | −1.13 |
| Current account (% GDP) | 1.4 | 0.6 | 0.7 | −0.9 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 1.9 | −1.8 | 0.4 | 0.7 | −0.2 |
| Reserves incl. gold ($bn) | 24.1 | 23.5 | 26.2 | 26.9 | 29.0 | 33.3 | 42.2 | 42.1 | 41.7 | 42.3 | 56.4 |
| Direct investment in ($bn) | −19.51 | 57.54 | −37.29 | −41.60 | −10.59 | −30.14 | 33.98 | 13.14 | −4.25 | −41.36 | −28.79 |
| Direct investment out ($bn) | 7.33 | 34.56 | −5.30 | −36.00 | −18.01 | −20.34 | 62.42 | 34.25 | −10.66 | 4.71 | −19.31 |
| Portfolio equity in ($bn) | 7.76 | −12.39 | 10.86 | −4.39 | 5.73 | 8.49 | 15.99 | −0.48 | 0.34 | 0.76 | 4.80 |
| Remittances ($bn) | 10.46 | 10.79 | 11.44 | 12.45 | 12.43 | 13.11 | 14.29 | 14.04 | 14.64 | 15.48 | 16.35 |
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