Belgium: 4th most attractive economy

20/06/2016

According to the ‘International Business Compass’ of the consultancy firm BDO, Belgium is among the most attractive countries in the world to establish operations. In terms of the economic environment, Belgium occupies the 4th place worldwide - a ranking that can be attributed to our country's central location and financial policy. This puts Belgium ahead of countries including Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

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In addition to the economic environment, BDO also studied countries' political and socio-cultural environments. According to BDO, these 3 factors generate a breeding ground for innovation. Belgium boasts 13th place worldwide if we consider these three parameters together. This means that it has climbed up two positions in BDO's Business Compass compared to 2 years ago. Belgium has therefore pulled ahead of Sweden and the United States in the overall ranking, among others. Hong Kong has the best score of all countries worldwide, with Singapore on its heels. The Netherlands occupies the 3rd spot. 

At the political level, Belgium is in 18th place, and at the socio-cultural level occupies the 22nd place. There is therefore still room for improvement.

Hans Wilmots, CEO of BDO, explains: “Belgium owes its solid fourth place on the economic level to two important aspects, namely its central location in Europe and its outward-looking financial policy. There is still considerable margin for improvement on the political and social-cultural levels, despite our excellent 13th place in the overall ranking. Specific areas that come to mind include public funding for research and development as well as innovative educational programmes and creative entrepreneurship”.  

The BDO International Business Compass 2016 is a study conducted in close cooperation with the Hamburg World Trade Institute (HWWI).  174 countries were analysed.  The 2016 edition focused on the innovative capacities of countries. The general index gives a quick overview of the market opportunities in almost every country worldwide.