State of the Union / Housing and poverty

Can everyone make ends meet?

Affordable housing and enough income to get by are basic needs. Here you can see how many people are at risk of poverty, how many go without basic things, who pays heavily for housing and how fast house prices are rising.

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A government is never the only cause of how a figure develops. Many figures only respond to policy years later, and they also depend on the world economy, European rules and the policies of the regions and communities.

Risk of poverty

How many people are at risk of poverty?

16.5%

Belgium, 2025

That is lower than the EU average (20.9%).
In 2015 it was 21.6%.

This is the European measure. You are counted if you have a low income, cannot afford basic things, or live in a household where almost nobody works.

About 16 in 100 inhabitants are at risk of poverty or social exclusion.

Definition and source

Definition: Share of the population with a low income, severe material deprivation or very low work intensity (AROPE).
Dataset: Eurostat · ilc_peps01n
Exact query: open the raw data
Exact query: open the raw data
Updated by the source: 5 October 2026
Copy as CSV: armoede_uitsluiting.csv (handy for reuse; the source itself remains the reference)

House prices

How much more expensive do homes get each year?

3.2%

Belgium, 2025

That is lower than the EU average (5.5%).
In 2015 it was 1.8%.

How much the price of a home rises or falls on average compared with the year before, new and existing homes together.

Definition and source

Definition: Annual rise in house prices (house price index).
Dataset: Eurostat · prc_hpi_a
Exact query: open the raw data
Updated by the source: 1 October 2026
Copy as CSV: woningprijzen.csv (handy for reuse; the source itself remains the reference)

Heavy housing costs

How many people spend a large share of their income on housing?

6.7%

Belgium, 2025

That is lower than the EU average (7.7%).
In 2015 it was 9.4%.

Those who spend that much on housing have little left for everything else. Tenants on low incomes are more often in this situation than owners.

Definition and source

Definition: Share of the population living in a household that spends more than 40% of its disposable income on housing (rent or mortgage interest, energy, water and maintenance).
Dataset: Eurostat · ilc_lvho07a
Exact query: open the raw data
Updated by the source: 17 September 2026
Copy as CSV: woonkosten_zwaar.csv (handy for reuse; the source itself remains the reference)

Severe deprivation

How many people go without basic things?

4.9%

Belgium, 2025

That is lower than the EU average (6.3%).
In 2015 it was 7.2%.

While the risk of poverty is mainly about income, this figure looks at what people really cannot afford in daily life.

Definition and source

Definition: Share of the population who cannot afford at least 7 of 13 basic items, such as keeping the home adequately warm, paying an unexpected bill or taking a week's holiday.
Dataset: Eurostat · ilc_mdsd11
Exact query: open the raw data
Updated by the source: 28 September 2026
Copy as CSV: ernstige_ontbering.csv (handy for reuse; the source itself remains the reference)

Difficult words explained

Poverty or social exclusion: People who have a low income, cannot afford basic things (such as turning on the heating), or live in a household where almost nobody works.