NUTS-3 BE32B · Belgium
Arr. Charleroi
Arr. Charleroi generates €13bn of GDP across 403.3k residents. Its Opportunity Index of 60.1/100 puts it in the upper quartile of EU regions, led by market access and economic scale. Its economy has grown +4.6%/yr over five years and accelerating, with the employment rate up 5.1pp. On quality of life it ranks strongest for clean environment (67.3th EU percentile) and weakest for jobs (8th).
Long-run trajectory · EU percentile of real GDP per head, 1995–2024
Long-run faller58 → 40 EU percentile since 1995 (-18 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)
Connectivity84
Energy cost69
Air quality67
Talent & skills65
Cost advantage51
Governance49
Growth momentum45
Digital readiness44
Resilience42
Quality of life39
Economic base34
Industrial base20
Freight intensity13
Labour market5
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)
60.1
/ 100 · blends growth, livability, market access & scale · 4/4 pillars
Growth45.4
Livability39.1
Market access86
Economic scale70
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)
42.3
/ 100 · higher = more resilient to downturns · 4/4 pillars
GDP stability44
Labour stability37
Diversification27
Demographic stability61
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)
84.3
/ 100 · higher = better-connected · 3/3 facets
Transit density67
Airport access100
Market access86
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)
65
/ 100 · higher = deeper skills base than more EU regions · 4/4 facets
Young tertiary49
Lifelong learning55
Knowledge workers80
Scientists & engineers76
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)
66.7
/ 100 · higher = cleaner air than more EU regions · 3/3 pollutants
PM2.56.6 µg/m³
PM1012 µg/m³
NO214.4 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)
39.1
/ 100 · EU-relative · 7/7 pillars
Economy41.5
Jobs8
Education55.5
Health22.5
Safety23.3
Connectivity55.5
Environment67.3
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
45.4
/ 100 momentum · EU-relative · 5/5 signals
GDP growth · 5-yr
+4.6%
CAGR, nominal
GDP growth · 10-yr
+2.9%
CAGR, nominal
Acceleration
+1.7 pp
5-yr vs 10-yr
vs country avg
-0.9 pp
inflation-adj.
Population · 5-yr
+0.3%
CAGR
Employment rate
+5.1 pp
5-yr change
Unemployment
+0.7 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: Public · health · education · 33.4%Diversified · HHI 2407
Agriculture 0.4%Industry 15.1%Construction 5.8%Trade · transport · ICT 21.1%Finance · real estate · prof. 24.1%Public · health · education 33.4%
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)
€13,113M2024
3.2% 1y 4.6% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 70
Real GDP (2020 prices)
€11,129M2025
0.9% 1y 2.5% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 69
Population
403,3462025
0.5% 1y 0.3% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 70
Unemployment rate
9.0%2025
3.4% 1y 1.4% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 90
Employment
140,3002024
0.3% 1y 0.8% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 59
Productivity / employee
€96,3612025
3.2% 1y 5.6% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 76
Gross value added
€11,869M2024
3.2% 1y 4.9% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 70
All indicators · 83 more metrics (Eurostat, all-EU)
Economy
Gross value added, total (current prices)
€11,869M
2024 · EU pctl 70
GVA — agriculture, forestry & fishing (A)
€47M
2024 · EU pctl 19
GVA — industry (B–E)
€1,794M
2024 · EU pctl 54
GVA — manufacturing (C)
€1,208M
2024 · EU pctl 48
GVA — construction (F)
€691M
2024 · EU pctl 67
GVA — wholesale/retail, transport, ICT (G–J)
€2,506M
2024 · EU pctl 71
Net disposable household income per capita (NUTS-2 source)
€24,300
2024 · EU pctl 49 · NUTS-2 src
GDP per capita in PPS (purchasing-power adjusted)
29,000 PPS
2024 · EU pctl 34
GDP per capita (current prices, EUR)
€32,600
2024 · EU pctl 44
Gross fixed capital formation — investment (total economy)
€8,772M
2023 · EU pctl 29 · NUTS-2 src
Investment in manufacturing capex (GFCF, NACE C)
€1,340M
2023 · EU pctl 29 · NUTS-2 src
Compensation of employees (total wage bill)
€23,931M
2024 · EU pctl 37 · NUTS-2 src
GVA — real estate activities (L)
€1,370M
2024 · EU pctl 63
GVA — information & communication (J)
€210M
2024 · EU pctl 58
GVA — finance, real estate & professional (K–N)
€2,865M
2024 · EU pctl 73
GVA — public admin, health & education (O–U)
€3,965M
2024 · EU pctl 82
Real GDP (constant 2020 prices, incl. short-term forecast)
€11,129M
2025 · EU pctl 69
Labour productivity per person employed (EUR)
€96,361
2025 · EU pctl 76
Gross fixed capital formation, NUTS-3 (ARDECO)
€2,744M
2025 · EU pctl 67
Labour market
Employment, total persons
140,300
2024 · EU pctl 59
Self-employed persons
18,800
2024 · EU pctl 55
Employment in manufacturing (C)
12,700
2024 · EU pctl 38
Activity rate, 15–64 (NUTS-2 source)
65.6%
2025 · EU pctl 4 · NUTS-2 src
Youth unemployment rate (15–24)
23.6%
2025 · EU pctl 81 · NUTS-2 src
Unemployment rate 15-74, NUTS-3 native (ARDECO)
9.0%
2025 · EU pctl 90
Labour force aged 15+ (ARDECO)
168,700
2025 · EU pctl 65
Innovation & R&D
R&D expenditure as % of GDP
1.6%
2023 · EU pctl 52 · NUTS-2 src
Employment in high-tech sectors (% of total)
5.0%
2025 · EU pctl 66 · NUTS-2 src
R&D personnel (% of active population, FTE)
0.7%
2023 · EU pctl 23 · NUTS-2 src
Education
Tertiary education attainment, age 25–64
37.3%
2025 · EU pctl 59 · NUTS-2 src
Tertiary attainment, age 25–34 (young talent pool)
40.9%
2025 · EU pctl 49 · NUTS-2 src
Adult participation in learning, age 25–64 (last 4 weeks)
10.7%
2025 · EU pctl 55 · NUTS-2 src
Knowledge workers — tertiary-educated & in science/tech (% of labour force)
28.5%
2025 · EU pctl 80 · NUTS-2 src
Scientists & engineers (% of labour force)
10.6%
2025 · EU pctl 76 · NUTS-2 src
Digital
Households with internet access
94.9%
2025 · EU pctl 44 · NUTS-2 src
Tourism
Nights spent at tourist accommodation (total)
345,574
2024 · EU pctl 22
Mobility
Passenger cars per 1,000 inhabitants
498 /1k pop
2024 · EU pctl 20 · NUTS-2 src
Distinct public-transport stop locations within the region (GTFS feeds, deduplicated across overlapping feeds by coordinate). A measure of transit-network extent.
2,295
CURRENT · EU pctl 84
Road freight loaded (annual, thousand tonnes)
5,142 kt
2025 · EU pctl 38
Motorway density (km per 1,000 km²)
75 km/1000km²
2024 · EU pctl 93 · NUTS-2 src
Public-transport stops per 100,000 inhabitants — transit service density relative to population (GTFS feeds, coordinate-deduplicated).
569
CURRENT · EU pctl 67
Distance from the region centroid to the nearest major (large) airport, in km - air-connectivity accessibility. Lower is better.
3
CURRENT · EU pctl 0
Number of major (large) airports within 100 km of the region centroid - air-hub catchment richness.
3
CURRENT · EU pctl 75
Demography
Population aged 15–64 (working age)
255,855
2025 · EU pctl 71
Population aged 65+
77,848
2025 · EU pctl 64
Population aged under 15
69,643
2025 · EU pctl 76
Median age of population
40.9 yrs
2025 · EU pctl 7
Old-age dependency ratio (65+ / 15–64)
30.4%
2025 · EU pctl 15
Crude rate of total population change
5.3 /1k
2024 · EU pctl 76
Crude rate of net migration plus adjustment
6.1 /1k
2024 · EU pctl 61
Crude birth rate
9.9 /1k
2024 · EU pctl 95
Crude death rate
10.7 /1k
2024 · EU pctl 33
Live births
4,001
2024 · EU pctl 78
Deaths
4,321
2024 · EU pctl 68
Total age-dependency ratio (young+old / 15-64)
57.6%
2025 · EU pctl 39
Total fertility rate (births per woman)
1.60
2024 · EU pctl 88
Health
Hospital beds per 100k inhabitants
603 /100k
2025 · EU pctl 73 · NUTS-2 src
Mortality, all causes (age-standardised rate)
1,129 /100k
2021 · EU pctl 75 · NUTS-2 src
Cancer mortality (age-standardised rate)
251 /100k
2023 · EU pctl 79 · NUTS-2 src
Safety & crime
Intentional homicides per 100k inhabitants
2.5 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 95
Robberies per 100k inhabitants
242 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 99
Burglaries per 100k inhabitants
621 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 95
Thefts per 100k inhabitants
1,931 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 90
Road traffic deaths per million inhabitants
42 /M pop
2024 · EU pctl 45 · 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)
160 m
CURRENT · EU pctl 42
Hot days ≥30°C (avg per year)
5 days/yr
CLIM_2014_2023 · EU pctl 31
Frost days ≤0°C (avg per year)
39 days/yr
CLIM_2014_2023 · EU pctl 30
Heavy-precipitation days ≥20mm (avg per year)
3 days/yr
CLIM_2014_2023 · EU pctl 26
Environment
PM10 (coarse particulate matter) annual mean concentration — mean across EEA air-quality monitoring stations within the region (verified E1a data). Lower is better.
12
2024 · EU pctl 19
NO2 (nitrogen dioxide) annual mean concentration — a traffic / combustion pollutant; mean across EEA monitoring stations within the region (verified E1a data). Lower is better.
14
2024 · EU pctl 63
O3 (ground-level ozone) annual mean concentration — a summer-smog pollutant; mean across EEA monitoring stations within the region (verified E1a data).
42
2024 · EU pctl 4
Industrial facilities per 100k inhabitants (E-PRTR)
33.0 /100k
2023 · EU pctl 57
Population in the 100-year river floodplain (% of residents, EFAS × census grid)
3.5%
2021 · EU pctl 55
Similar regions · nearest peers on standardised NUTS-3 indicators
Other Belgium regions