NUTS-3 BE234 · Belgium
Arr. Gent
Arr. Gent generates €39bn of GDP across 583.6k residents. Its Opportunity Index of 74.8/100 puts it in the upper quartile of EU regions, led by economic scale and market access. Its economy has grown +6.5%/yr over five years and accelerating, with the employment rate up 1.7pp. On quality of life it ranks strongest for economy (94th EU percentile) and weakest for clean environment (31.7th).
Long-run trajectory · EU percentile of real GDP per head, 1995–2024
Enduring leader87 → 91 EU percentile since 1995 (+4 ranks)
Yearly EU-wide percentile of real GDP per head (ARDECO regional accounts, constant 2020 prices, derived over population). 50 = the EU median that year; percentiles are scale-free, so decades are directly comparable. See the backtest for what long-run prosperity ranks do — and don't — anticipate.
Mandate pillar profile · EU percentiles (screener dimensions)
Economic base94
Talent & skills91
Demographic outlook74
Energy cost69
Resilience69
Connectivity65
Quality of life63
Growth momentum53
Digital readiness53
Labour market50
Governance49
Industrial base34
Freight intensity33
Air quality31
Cost advantage6
Each bar is this region's EU percentile on a screener pillar (higher = better for siting; cost & energy are inverted so cheap scores high). These are the exact weights you tune in the Site Screener.
Opportunity Index · composite triage (experimental)
74.8
/ 100 · blends growth, livability, market access & scale · 4/4 pillars
Growth53.2
Livability63
Market access90
Economic scale93
Equal-weighted mean of four EU-percentile pillars (deliberately orthogonal: growth=trend, livability=quality, market=distance-weighted demand proxy, scale=absolute GDP). Experimental — a screening triage, not investment advice.
Resilience Index · downside / risk lens (experimental)
68.5
/ 100 · higher = more resilient to downturns · 4/4 pillars
GDP stability71
Labour stability84
Diversification36
Demographic stability83
Inverse of GDP-growth & unemployment volatility (since 2008, incl. 2009/2020 shocks), economic diversification (inverse HHI) and population stability — each EU-percentile-ranked. Higher withstands downturns better. Experimental.
Connectivity Index · transit · air · market access (experimental)
65
/ 100 · higher = better-connected · 3/3 facets
Transit density57
Airport access48
Market access90
Public-transport stop density, proximity to a major airport, and gravity access to surrounding economic mass — each EU-percentile-ranked. Higher = better-connected. Experimental.
Talent & Human Capital Index · skills base (experimental)
90.8
/ 100 · higher = deeper skills base than more EU regions · 4/4 facets
Young tertiary91
Lifelong learning88
Knowledge workers96
Scientists & engineers88
Young tertiary attainment (25–34), adult lifelong learning, knowledge-worker share and scientists & engineers — each EU-percentile-ranked. Higher = deeper talent pool. Experimental.
Clean-Air Score · air-quality livability (experimental)
31
/ 100 · higher = cleaner air than more EU regions · 3/3 pollutants
PM2.59.5 µg/m³
PM1017.9 µg/m³
NO214.9 µg/m³
PM2.5, PM10 & NO2 annual means from official monitoring networks, inverted (lower pollution = higher) and EU-percentile-ranked. Higher = cleaner air; ground-level ozone is shown separately. Experimental.
Quality of Life · composite (experimental)
63
/ 100 · EU-relative · 7/7 pillars
Economy94
Jobs51.5
Education90.5
Health77
Safety41
Connectivity55
Environment31.7
Equal-weighted percentile across 6 pillars vs all EU NUTS-3; lower-is-better indicators (crime, unemployment, mortality) inverted. Experimental — regional screening only.
Growth momentum · trend analytics
53.2
/ 100 momentum · EU-relative · 5/5 signals
GDP growth · 5-yr
+6.5%
CAGR, nominal
GDP growth · 10-yr
+5.2%
CAGR, nominal
Acceleration
+1.3 pp
5-yr vs 10-yr
vs country avg
+0.9 pp
inflation-adj.
Population · 5-yr
+0.7%
CAGR
Employment rate
+1.7 pp
5-yr change
Unemployment
+1.5 pp
5-yr change
Compound annual growth to the latest available year vs all EU NUTS-3; GDP is nominal EUR (“vs country avg” removes most national inflation). Screening signal, not a forecast.
Economic structure · gross value added by sector
Dominant: Finance · real estate · prof. · 31.1%Diversified · HHI 2339
Agriculture 0.7%Industry 16.5%Construction 5.5%Trade · transport · ICT 22.3%Finance · real estate · prof. 31.1%Public · health · education 23.9%
Share of total GVA (latest year). HHI = sum of squared sector shares ×10,000; higher means a more concentrated, single-sector-dependent economy (more cyclicality risk).
Trends · 2009–2024
GDP (current prices)
€38,769M2024
5.1% 1y 6.5% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 93
Real GDP (2020 prices)
€32,773M2025
0.9% 1y 3.6% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 92
Population
583,6062025
0.9% 1y 0.7% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 83
Unemployment rate
4.2%2025
23.5% 1y 9.2% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 48
Employment
330,1002024
0.7% 1y 1.9% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 88
Productivity / employee
€121,1232025
3.2% 1y 6.0% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 93
Gross value added
€35,091M2024
5.1% 1y 6.7% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 93
All indicators · 85 more metrics (Eurostat, all-EU)
Economy
Gross value added, total (current prices)
€35,091M
2024 · EU pctl 93
GVA — agriculture, forestry & fishing (A)
€262M
2024 · EU pctl 69
GVA — industry (B–E)
€5,778M
2024 · EU pctl 90
GVA — manufacturing (C)
€4,743M
2024 · EU pctl 91
GVA — construction (F)
€1,919M
2024 · EU pctl 93
GVA — wholesale/retail, transport, ICT (G–J)
€7,836M
2024 · EU pctl 92
Net disposable household income per capita (NUTS-2 source)
€30,800
2024 · EU pctl 94 · NUTS-2 src
GDP per capita in PPS (purchasing-power adjusted)
59,400 PPS
2024 · EU pctl 94
GDP per capita (current prices, EUR)
€66,700
2024 · EU pctl 95
Gross fixed capital formation — investment (total economy)
€20,203M
2023 · EU pctl 63 · NUTS-2 src
Investment in manufacturing capex (GFCF, NACE C)
€2,558M
2023 · EU pctl 55 · NUTS-2 src
Compensation of employees (total wage bill)
€37,875M
2024 · EU pctl 57 · NUTS-2 src
GVA — real estate activities (L)
€3,057M
2024 · EU pctl 84
GVA — information & communication (J)
€1,960M
2024 · EU pctl 88
GVA — finance, real estate & professional (K–N)
€10,925M
2024 · EU pctl 94
GVA — public admin, health & education (O–U)
€8,370M
2024 · EU pctl 94
Real GDP (constant 2020 prices, incl. short-term forecast)
€32,773M
2025 · EU pctl 92
Labour productivity per person employed (EUR)
€121,123
2025 · EU pctl 93
Gross fixed capital formation, NUTS-3 (ARDECO)
€10,546M
2025 · EU pctl 94
Labour market
Employment, total persons
330,100
2024 · EU pctl 88
Self-employed persons
52,200
2024 · EU pctl 88
Employment in manufacturing (C)
38,500
2024 · EU pctl 80
Activity rate, 15–64 (NUTS-2 source)
76.7%
2025 · EU pctl 41 · NUTS-2 src
Youth unemployment rate (15–24)
16.6%
2025 · EU pctl 59 · NUTS-2 src
Unemployment rate 15-74, NUTS-3 native (ARDECO)
4.2%
2025 · EU pctl 48
Labour force aged 15+ (ARDECO)
298,100
2025 · EU pctl 84
Innovation & R&D
R&D expenditure as % of GDP
3.4%
2023 · EU pctl 87 · NUTS-2 src
Employment in high-tech sectors (% of total)
5.7%
2025 · EU pctl 74 · NUTS-2 src
R&D personnel (% of active population, FTE)
2.7%
2023 · EU pctl 91 · NUTS-2 src
Education
Tertiary education attainment, age 25–64
48.8%
2025 · EU pctl 94 · NUTS-2 src
Tertiary attainment, age 25–34 (young talent pool)
56.4%
2025 · EU pctl 91 · NUTS-2 src
Adult participation in learning, age 25–64 (last 4 weeks)
20.5%
2025 · EU pctl 88 · NUTS-2 src
Knowledge workers — tertiary-educated & in science/tech (% of labour force)
35.9%
2025 · EU pctl 96 · NUTS-2 src
Scientists & engineers (% of labour force)
11.9%
2025 · EU pctl 88 · NUTS-2 src
Digital
Households with internet access
95.7%
2025 · EU pctl 53 · NUTS-2 src
Tourism
Nights spent at tourist accommodation (total)
1,909,350
2024 · EU pctl 69
Mobility
Passenger cars per 1,000 inhabitants
475 /1k pop
2024 · EU pctl 15 · NUTS-2 src
Road freight loaded (annual, thousand tonnes)
12,496 kt
2025 · EU pctl 72
Distinct public-transport stop locations within the region (GTFS feeds, deduplicated across overlapping feeds by coordinate). A measure of transit-network extent.
2,728
CURRENT · EU pctl 88
Motorway density (km per 1,000 km²)
66 km/1000km²
2024 · EU pctl 90 · NUTS-2 src
Public-transport stops per 100,000 inhabitants — transit service density relative to population (GTFS feeds, coordinate-deduplicated).
467
CURRENT · EU pctl 57
Distance from the region centroid to the nearest major (large) airport, in km - air-connectivity accessibility. Lower is better.
56
CURRENT · EU pctl 52
Number of major (large) airports within 100 km of the region centroid - air-hub catchment richness.
4
CURRENT · EU pctl 90
Demography
Population aged 15–64 (working age)
378,871
2025 · EU pctl 83
Population aged 65+
115,997
2025 · EU pctl 79
Population aged under 15
88,738
2025 · EU pctl 83
Median age of population
41.2 yrs
2025 · EU pctl 8
Old-age dependency ratio (65+ / 15–64)
30.6%
2025 · EU pctl 16
Crude rate of total population change
8.5 /1k
2024 · EU pctl 88
Crude rate of net migration plus adjustment
8.1 /1k
2024 · EU pctl 77
Crude birth rate
9.4 /1k
2024 · EU pctl 90
Crude death rate
8.9 /1k
2024 · EU pctl 11
Live births
5,434
2024 · EU pctl 87
Deaths
5,182
2024 · EU pctl 75
Total age-dependency ratio (young+old / 15-64)
54.0%
2025 · EU pctl 17
Total fertility rate (births per woman)
1.33
2024 · EU pctl 38
Population density (persons per km²)
618 /km²
2024 · EU pctl 85
Projected population, 2030–2040 (EUROPOP2019 baseline)
599,180
2100 · EU pctl 86
Health
Hospital beds per 100k inhabitants
566 /100k
2025 · EU pctl 70 · NUTS-2 src
Mortality, all causes (age-standardised rate)
867 /100k
2021 · EU pctl 22 · NUTS-2 src
Cancer mortality (age-standardised rate)
222 /100k
2023 · EU pctl 37 · NUTS-2 src
Safety & crime
Intentional homicides per 100k inhabitants
0.7 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 51
Robberies per 100k inhabitants
62.0 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 87
Burglaries per 100k inhabitants
408 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 81
Thefts per 100k inhabitants
2,131 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 93
Road traffic deaths per million inhabitants
38 /M pop
2024 · EU pctl 33 · NUTS-2 src
Governance & institutions
Government effectiveness, WGI score -2.5..2.5 (country)
1.31
2022 · EU pctl 40
Regulatory quality, WGI score -2.5..2.5 (country)
1.41
2022 · EU pctl 52
Rule of law, WGI score -2.5..2.5 (country)
1.34
2022 · EU pctl 49
Control of corruption, WGI score -2.5..2.5 (country)
1.58
2022 · EU pctl 52
Political stability & absence of violence, WGI score (country)
0.25
2022 · EU pctl 18
Energy
Industrial electricity price, 2-20 GWh band, excl. taxes (national)
€0.130/kWh
2025-S2 · EU pctl 31
Industrial gas price, 10-100k GJ band, excl. taxes (national)
€0.046/kWh
2025-S2 · EU pctl 14
Climate
Elevation at region centroid (Copernicus DEM)
7 m
CURRENT · EU pctl 4
Hot days ≥30°C (avg per year)
6 days/yr
CLIM_2014_2023 · EU pctl 38
Frost days ≤0°C (avg per year)
29 days/yr
CLIM_2014_2023 · EU pctl 20
Heavy-precipitation days ≥20mm (avg per year)
2 days/yr
CLIM_2014_2023 · EU pctl 11
Environment
PM10 (coarse particulate matter) annual mean concentration — mean across EEA air-quality monitoring stations within the region (verified E1a data). Lower is better.
18
2024 · EU pctl 72
NO2 (nitrogen dioxide) annual mean concentration — a traffic / combustion pollutant; mean across EEA monitoring stations within the region (verified E1a data). Lower is better.
15
2024 · EU pctl 66
O3 (ground-level ozone) annual mean concentration — a summer-smog pollutant; mean across EEA monitoring stations within the region (verified E1a data).
51
2024 · EU pctl 37
Industrial facilities per 100k inhabitants (E-PRTR)
155 /100k
2023 · EU pctl 93
Population in the 100-year river floodplain (% of residents, EFAS × census grid)
9.0%
2021 · EU pctl 84
Similar regions · nearest peers on standardised NUTS-3 indicators
Other Belgium regions