Belgium | Imports of goods and services (% of GDP)

Imports of goods and services represent the value of all goods and other market services received from the rest of the world. They include the value of merchandise, freight, insurance, transport, travel, royalties, license fees, and other services, such as communication, construction, financial, information, business, personal, and government services. They exclude compensation of employees and investment income (formerly called factor services) and transfer payments. Limitations and exceptions: Because policymakers have tended to focus on fostering the growth of output, and because data on production are easier to collect than data on spending, many countries generate their primary estimate of GDP using the production approach. Moreover, many countries do not estimate all the components of national expenditures but instead derive some of the main aggregates indirectly using GDP (based on the production approach) as the control total. Data on exports and imports are compiled from customs reports and balance of payments data. Although the data from the payments side provide reasonably reliable records of cross-border transactions, they may not adhere strictly to the appropriate definitions of valuation and timing used in the balance of payments or corresponds to the change-of ownership criterion. This issue has assumed greater significance with the increasing globalization of international business. Neither customs nor balance of payments data usually capture the illegal transactions that occur in many countries. Goods carried by travelers across borders in legal but unreported shuttle trade may further distort trade statistics. Statistical concept and methodology: Gross domestic product (GDP) from the expenditure side is made up of household final consumption expenditure, general government final consumption expenditure, gross capital formation (private and public investment in fixed assets, changes in inventories, and net acquisitions of valuables), and net exports (exports minus imports) of goods and services. Such expenditures are recorded in purchaser prices and include net taxes on products.
Publisher
The World Bank
Origin
Kingdom of Belgium
Records
63
Source
Belgium | Imports of goods and services (% of GDP)
1960
1961
1962
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970 42.77102548
1971 41.81661767
1972 41.07716074
1973 46.11215017
1974 52.37771955
1975 45.60771211
1976 48.26137557
1977 48.17027252
1978 46.55095976
1979 51.65053204
1980 52.9381673
1981 56.15783009
1982 59.82203774
1983 59.99993593
1984 63.81838335
1985 61.42265867
1986 55.0439747
1987 54.05133686
1988 57.01486335
1989 61.37018374
1990 59.85416012
1991 58.36048284
1992 56.26035717
1993 52.90499584
1994 54.80734069
1995 56.2641961
1996 58.0203848
1997 60.90235898
1998 60.53477761
1999 60.60693102
2000 69.68273991
2001 67.96488091
2002 65.25385179
2003 63.67904433
2004 66.0121279
2005 70.24622175
2006 72.76251224
2007 74.16664217
2008 80.20782782
2009 66.57203682
2010 74.1476086
2011 80.79636075
2012 80.34153972
2013 78.52649664
2014 78.98220685
2015 76.38726436
2016 78.23541051
2017 82.1434261
2018 83.41515763
2019 81.76903301
2020 76.63180956
2021 86.15991271
2022 97.36066232

Belgium | Imports of goods and services (% of GDP)

Imports of goods and services represent the value of all goods and other market services received from the rest of the world. They include the value of merchandise, freight, insurance, transport, travel, royalties, license fees, and other services, such as communication, construction, financial, information, business, personal, and government services. They exclude compensation of employees and investment income (formerly called factor services) and transfer payments. Limitations and exceptions: Because policymakers have tended to focus on fostering the growth of output, and because data on production are easier to collect than data on spending, many countries generate their primary estimate of GDP using the production approach. Moreover, many countries do not estimate all the components of national expenditures but instead derive some of the main aggregates indirectly using GDP (based on the production approach) as the control total. Data on exports and imports are compiled from customs reports and balance of payments data. Although the data from the payments side provide reasonably reliable records of cross-border transactions, they may not adhere strictly to the appropriate definitions of valuation and timing used in the balance of payments or corresponds to the change-of ownership criterion. This issue has assumed greater significance with the increasing globalization of international business. Neither customs nor balance of payments data usually capture the illegal transactions that occur in many countries. Goods carried by travelers across borders in legal but unreported shuttle trade may further distort trade statistics. Statistical concept and methodology: Gross domestic product (GDP) from the expenditure side is made up of household final consumption expenditure, general government final consumption expenditure, gross capital formation (private and public investment in fixed assets, changes in inventories, and net acquisitions of valuables), and net exports (exports minus imports) of goods and services. Such expenditures are recorded in purchaser prices and include net taxes on products.
Publisher
The World Bank
Origin
Kingdom of Belgium
Records
63
Source