Level of water stress in Belgium

Freshwater withdrawals in Belgium were equal to 52.8% of available resources in 2022.

Measure: Level of water stress Unit: % of available freshwater resources Data: 1980 to 2022 Source: World Bank
Belgium, 2022 52.8% % of available freshwater resources
Change from 2021 0percentage points 2021: 52.8%
Median of European Union (27 countries), 2022 13.0% Middle value of 27 countries
Position in 2022 33rd of 176 See the full ranking

Level of water stress in Belgium over time

View
Places
1 selected
Belgium

% of available freshwater resources. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. Gaps mean no published value; points are not joined across missing years.

Level of water stress (% of available freshwater resources), 1998 to 2022
Period Belgium
2022 52.8%
2021 52.8%
2020 52.2%
2019 51.6%
2018 51.3%
2017 54.0%
2016 51.5%
2015 49.1%
2014 56.0%
2013 59.3%
2012 65.1%
2011 62.4%
2010 73.1%
2009 73.7%
2008 75.3%
2007 76.3%
2006 77.4%
2005 78.5%
2004 79.9%
2003 81.3%
2002 82.7%
2001 87.6%
2000 92.5%
1999 93.2%
1998 93.8%

A dash means no value was published for that period.

In short

  • That is unchanged from 2021.
  • Since 2012, when it was 65.1%, the figure has changed by −12.3 percentage points.
  • Among the 176 countries with data for 2022, Belgium has the 33rd highest value.

Source and dates

Original producer
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, AQUASTAT
Distributed by
World Bank, World Development Indicators
Dataset or series code
ER.H2O.FWST.ZS · dataset details · view at source
Observation period
1980 to 2022 for Belgium
Provider update
8 October 2026
Retrieved
9 November 2026
Published here
9 November 2026
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (per series metadata)
Attribution
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators, original data: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, AQUASTAT