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How it is governed

Belgium on the 12 axes

MLPGFree-Market CosmopolitanOpen markets, open minds, open borders for ideas.

Belgium is classed MLPG, the Free-Market Cosmopolitan. Its leanings are strongest on Progressive Morality (-0.90), Shared Welfare (-0.85) and Local Structure (-0.85). The Shared lean comes from government spending of 54% of GDP (IMF, 2025) and public social spending of 29% of GDP (2024). The Local lean matches a federation with a strong elected regional governments index of 0.843. Trade is also clearly Global at -0.75, with trade equal to 153% of GDP (2025). Technology is the milder axis, leaning Embrace at -0.35.

Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom tie around 88%, with Germany listed first. Belgium and Germany are both federations, but Germany leans Caution on Technology (+0.30) while Belgium leans Embrace, and Germany has moved to phase out nuclear power while Belgium operates reactors. See how politicians and historical figures compare here, or take the test for your own match.

Laws and institutionsData 2026-10
ECONOMYSTATESOCIETYWORLDOwnershipMarketsWelfareAuthoritySecurityStructureMoralityReligionTechnologyCultureTradeForeign
Axis by axis

Where Belgium sits

  1. 01Ownership+65
    PublicPrivate
  2. 02Markets+45
    PlannedFree
  3. 03Welfare-85
    SharedSelf-reliant
  4. 04Authority-80
    DemocraticStrong leader
  5. 05Security-70
    LibertyOrder
  6. 06Structure-85
    LocalCentral
  7. 07Morality-90
    ProgressiveTraditional
  8. 08Religion-35
    SecularReligious
  9. 09Technology-35
    EmbraceCaution
  10. 10Culture-50
    MulticulturalNational identity
  11. 11Trade-75
    GlobalProtected
  12. 12Foreign policy-75
    CooperationStrength

Scores come from laws, budgets and institutional indexes, not from polls or the party in power. How country profiles are built

Governed most like Belgium

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Your 12 Axes result ranks the countries governed most like your answers, next to ideologies, figures and politicians.

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Belgium: questions

What is Belgium's type on the 12 axes?

Read from its laws and institutions, Belgium comes out as MLPG (Free-Market Cosmopolitan). The type takes one letter per family of three axes: Economy, State, Society and World. It describes how the country is governed, not what its people think.

Which countries are governed most like Belgium?

On the 12 axes, Germany is closest at 88%, followed by Spain at 88%. The comparison uses the same country profiles as the country match on your 12 Axes result.