Belgium’s economy grew by just 0.1% in the fourth quarter of 2025, the weakest quarterly performance in a year and below the initial estimate of 0.2%. The slowdown was largely driven by subdued private consumption and softer external demand. Household spending was unchanged from the previous quarter, while residential investment declined by 1.0%.
By contrast, the public sector provided meaningful support to growth. Government consumption rose by 0.6%, and public investment jumped by 9.7%, largely reflecting increased defence expenditure. Business investment also inched up, posting a 0.4% gain.
Foreign trade weighed on overall activity. Exports fell by 1.6%, outpacing a 1.1% decline in imports and resulting in a negative contribution of 0.3 percentage points from net exports.
On the production side, value added in industry contracted by 0.6%, and construction activity slipped by 0.1%. The services sector remained a relative bright spot, expanding by 0.2%.
On an annual basis, GDP grew by 1.0% in the fourth quarter of 2025, with full-year growth for 2025 also coming in at 1.0%.
