Wealth inequality in Belgium is slightly greater than previously thought. This is the conclusion of the National Bank (NBB) based on new, experimental statistics. It has decreased slightly in recent years.
From now on, the National Bank will publish new figures on asset distribution in Belgium every quarter. These are experimental statistics that combine data from the national accounts and the results of the European survey HFCS (Household Finance and Consumption Survey). Today the National Bank released the first batch of figures up to and including the second quarter of 2023.
What seems? The total net wealth of households in Belgium amounts to 2,852 billion euros. The richest 10 percent own 1,570 billion euros or 55 percent of this. The 50 percent least wealthy own a total of 239 billion euros or 8.4 percent.
Inequality has fallen
Wealth inequality is therefore slightly greater than other indicators have suggested so far. For example, calculations by the OECD in 2017 showed that the richest 10 percent held 47 percent of the assets in Belgium, while based on these new statistics that year it was 58 percent.
Inequality has fallen in recent years. In 2019, the share of wealth held by the richest 10 percent in Belgium even fell below the euro zone average (56 percent in the second quarter of 2023).
According to the NBB, this decline can be attributed, among other things, to real estate prices. Residential real estate accounts for more than half of the total net wealth of Belgian households (1,596 billion euros). Prices increased less sharply in Belgium than in many other euro countries and our country has a large share of homeowners.
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