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Choose a score and give the benchmark a specific reason to reconsider it.

When you submit, the form attaches the current score and confidence for the country and capability you chose.

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Capability agenda

Belgium

Generated 2026-10-03

The frame includes 125 countries. Each dimension is scored from 0 to 100, with no overall ranking, and each score shows its confidence beside it. Read the known limits of the data before you quote a score.

Open the profile: indicators, values, years and sources

Where Belgium stands

DimensionScoreConfidenceTrend
Anticipation70.90.46+10.1 over 10 years using 2 indicators
Agency67.30.40no trend
Coordination94.70.39no trend
Trust79.10.30no trend
Learning79.60.55no trend
Experimentation32.60.18no trend
Adaptability70.60.62no trend
Building47.00.57+0.4 over 10 years using 3 indicators
Shared Purpose77.80.30+1.2 over 10 years using 2 indicators

Score

  • weakNear the floor of the frame. Check the confidence before reading anything into it.0 to 25
  • below middleIn the lower half of the frame.25 to 50
  • above middleIn the upper half of the frame.50 to 75
  • strongNear the top of the frame on this dimension.75 and above

Confidence

  • very thin0.00 to 0.25

    The score rests on one or two indicators. Do not quote it on its own.

  • thin0.25 to 0.45

    A minority of indicators, or evidence old enough to have moved. Read with care.

  • usable0.45 to 0.65

    Enough evidence to compare countries, with known holes.

  • good0.65 and above

    Most indicators observed, recent, from official or intergovernmental sources.

Capability over time

Select a dimension to see how Belgiumโ€™s comparable evidence has moved over time. The vertical scale is the current comparison frame, from 0 to 100.

Dimension

Period

Capability position in the current frame0 to 100
02550751001996200120062011201620212026

Shared Purpose 1996 โ†’ 2026: 80.0 to 77.8 (-2.2) over 30 years using 2 indicators

Historical values use todayโ€™s frame from 0 to 100 and a matched basket of indicators. They show movement in the available evidence, not an overall development score. Dated agenda items appear on a separate timeline and do not change the score. A missing line means the evidence does not support a comparable trend for that dimension.

What to raise

These are the lowest scores with usable evidence. Thin evidence appears below.

Building

47.00.57

How capable is the country of turning plans and knowledge into functioning systems?

Uses 4 observed indicators. +0.4 over 10 years using 3 indicators.

Highest usable scores: South Korea 85.1, Ireland 80.3, China 77.4.

Related deliveries in other countries: Pix instant payment system (Brazil); GOV.BR federal identity and service platform (Brazil); X-Road national data exchange layer (Estonia); Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana bank accounts (India); Electricity supply rebuilt on renewable sources (Uruguay); Plan Ceibal, one connected laptop per child (Uruguay); Sistema Unico de Saude, universal public health system (Brazil); Programa Nacional de Imunizacoes, and its erosion (Brazil); Luz para Todos, rural electrification (Brazil); Bolsa Familia and the single registry behind it (Brazil); Fully electronic national elections (Brazil); Deepwater and pre-salt oil production (Brazil); Seguro Popular, and its abolition (Mexico); Sure Start children's centres, and their erosion (United Kingdom); Grid power, and load shedding (South Africa); Measles elimination, and its erosion (United States); BNDES, the national development bank (Brazil); Casa da Moeda do Brasil, the national mint (Brazil); Housing and Development Board, public housing at scale (Singapore); AFE passenger rail and network contraction (Uruguay); Flamanville 3 EPR, and the erosion of nuclear new-build delivery (France); Phoenix pay system, and its prolonged failure (Canada); Groningen gas system, and its closure after induced earthquakes (Netherlands); DigiD, a shared digital identity rail for public services (Netherlands); Delta Works, a 43-year national flood-defence programme (Netherlands); Betuweroute, a freight railway that missed its operating promise (Netherlands); MijnOverheid, a shared citizen mailbox and data portal (Netherlands); Fyra V250, a high-speed service withdrawn after a failed launch (Netherlands); OVpay, nationwide contactless transit payments (Netherlands); Omgevingswet and the Digital Environment System (Netherlands); Transantiago, an integrated transport reform with rising subsidy dependence (Chile); 4G road concessions, a national infrastructure portfolio (Colombia); Reficar, a refinery modernization with a fiscal-liability finding (Colombia); GIGA School, one learning device per student (Japan); Monju, a fast-breeder programme ended before commercial operation (Japan); Invierte.pe, a national multi-year investment-management system (Peru); Reconstrucciรณn con Cambios, a delayed recovery portfolio (Peru); ICE and a mostly renewable national electricity system (Costa Rica); CCSS universal health-insurance reach (Costa Rica); Metro de Quito, a cross-administration urban rail delivery (Ecuador); Panama Canal expansion and self-financing operations (Panama); Metro de Panamรก network operations (Panama); Mi Telefรฉrico urban cable-car network (Bolivia); Industrial lithium carbonate plant below design capacity (Bolivia); Itaipรบ binational hydropower operations (Paraguay); Metrobรบs, an unfinished bus rapid transit project (Paraguay); ARSAT-3 satellite programme suspended before launch (Argentina); DPWH national infrastructure delivery and transparency portal (Philippines); Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, a mothballed megaproject (Philippines); Trans-Sumatra toll-road programme, still short of its planned network (Indonesia); National expressway build-out in 2024 (Vietnam); Cat Linhโ€“Ha Dong metro, a delayed and over-budget delivery (Vietnam); MRT Putrajaya Line (Malaysia); Kuala Lumpurโ€“Singapore high-speed rail, terminated before construction (Malaysia); Hopewell elevated road-and-rail concession, and its termination (Thailand); AVE high-speed rail network (Spain); Castor underground gas storage, and its closure (Spain); Ostroล‚ฤ™ka C coal block, and its abandonment (Poland); Nya Karolinska Solna publicโ€“private hospital project (Sweden); Barsebรคck nuclear plant closure and decommissioning (Sweden); New Children's Hospital cost escalation (Ireland); Rural electrification and near-universal grid coverage (Nicaragua); Gran Misiรณn Vivienda Venezuela's five-million-home milestone (Venezuela); Plano de Recuperaรงรฃo e Resiliรชncia delivery governance (Portugal); Lisbonโ€“Madrid high-speed rail concession, formally abandoned (Portugal); Delhi Commonwealth Games, and the cost-estimate escalation (India); MeerKAT radio telescope, a delivered national research facility (South Africa); CFE Telecomunicaciones e Internet para Todos (Mexico); New International Airport of Mexico, and its cancellation (Mexico); Marmaray, the Bosphorus rail crossing (Turkey); FATฤฐH education technology infrastructure (Turkey); YEKA RES-1 renewable tender, and its cancellation (Turkey); Gotthard Base Tunnel (Switzerland); Standard Gauge Railway, Mombasa to Naivasha (Kenya); Canadian long-gun registry, its information system overrun and its dismantling (Canada); Tel Aviv light rail Red Line (Israel); National high-speed rail network (China); Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant (United Arab Emirates); Aeropuerto Internacional de Palmerola (Honduras); El Chaparral (3 de Febrero) hydroelectric plant (El Salvador); Programa Ampliado de Inmunizaciones, and its erosion (Venezuela); PetroCaribe-financed public investment programme, and its audited failure (Haiti); Interstate Highway System (United States); Programa Nacional de la Vivienda, and its collapse (Cuba); Punta Catalina thermoelectric plant, and its cost overrun (Dominican Republic); Grand Paris Express (France); Modjo-Hawassa expressway, World Bank-financed Lot 3 (Ethiopia); Lรญnea Rivera rail rehabilitation, and its decay (Uruguay); Gyeongbu high-speed railway (KTX), and its cost and schedule overrun (South Korea); Gasoducto Sur Peruano, a terminated pipeline concession (Peru); Talara refinery modernisation, delivered late and over cost (Peru); Program 35.000 MW power generation programme, and its schedule slip (Indonesia); El Mutรบn steel complex, inaugurated in 2025 and found never to have operated (Bolivia); Quang Trach to Pho Noi 500kV circuit-3 transmission line (Vietnam); Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant (Ecuador); Puente Hรฉroes del Chaco, Asunciรณn to Chaco'i bridge (Paraguay); Floating LNG import terminals of 2022 (Germany); Atucha II nuclear plant, and its 33-year build (Argentina); Vistula Spit shipping canal (Przekop Mierzei Wiล›lanej) (Poland); Israel Railways electrification and the Jerusalem express line, and their delays (Israel); Samuel De Champlain Bridge corridor (Canada); Hokuriku Shinkansen Kanazawa to Tsuruga extension, and its overrun (Japan); Botniabanan coastal railway (Sweden); High Speed Two, and the cancellation of Phase 2 (United Kingdom); Crossrail, the Elizabeth line (United Kingdom); Dedicated Freight Corridors, Eastern and Western (India); Olmeca refinery at Dos Bocas (Mexico); Inland Rail, and its consolidation at Parkes (Australia); Kehรคrata airport rail loop, and its cost overrun (Finland); Chixoy hydroelectric project, and its cost and time overrun (Guatemala); Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano dual carriageway, and the termination of its 2017 contract (Nigeria); Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project, and its shutdown (Pakistan); Tarbela Fourth Extension Hydropower Project (Pakistan); MOSE, the Venice lagoon flood barrier (Italy); Padma Multipurpose Bridge (Bangladesh); Noor-Ouarzazate solar complex (Morocco); Pap-Angren railway and Kamchik tunnel (Uzbekistan); Pro-Routes high-priority road reopening and maintenance (Democratic Republic of the Congo); Karuma Hydropower Project (Uganda); Julius Nyerere Hydropower Project (Tanzania); A1 motorway, Bucharest to Nadlac (Romania); South-West Roads: Western Europe-Western China corridor (CAREC 1b and 6b) (Kazakhstan); Reseau Ferroviaire Rapide de Tunis, lines D and E, and its overruns (Tunisia); Southern Expressway (Southern Transport Development Project) (Sri Lanka); Melamchi Water Supply Project, and its erosion after the 2021 flood (Nepal); Harare-Masvingo-Beitbridge highway rehabilitation, behind schedule (Zimbabwe); Solar powered milling plants contract, and its erosion (Zambia); Urban Water Supply Project (PEMU), part of the Kabala programme for Bamako (Mali); Ouagadougou Water Supply Project (Ziga) (Burkina Faso); Jiji and Mulembwe hydropower project (Burundi); Transport Infrastructure Investment Project (national roads, ports and the Northern Railway) (Madagascar); Energy Sector Support Project (substations and distribution lines) (Malawi); Morupule B coal power station, and its underperformance (Botswana); Metolong Dam and Water Supply Programme (Lesotho); B6 Belle Rive to Quartier Militaire road upgrade (Mauritius); Rahad Irrigation Project, and its cost and time overrun (Sudan); Accra bus rapid transit under the Ghana Urban Transport Project, and its cancellation (Ghana); Yabayo-Gagnoa road under the Fourth Highway Project, and its cost and time overrun (Cรดte d'Ivoire); Fourth Highway Project: paving of the Mamou-Kankan and Dubreka-Kolaboui roads (Guinea); Realignment of the Congo-Ocean Railway through the Mayombe, and its overruns (Republic of the Congo); Banjul Rehabilitation Project (roads, drainage and sewage), and its delay (Gambia); Bissau Port Project, delivered two and a half years late (Guinea-Bissau); ล oลกtanj thermal power plant unit 6 (TEล  6), and its cost overrun (Slovenia); Rail Baltica in Latvia, and its cost and schedule overrun (Latvia); Koralmbahn Graz to Klagenfurt, opened seven years after its contracted completion date (Austria); Fehmarn Belt fixed link, and its cost and schedule overrun (Denmark); Motorway construction by the Road and Motorway Directorate, and its unit cost (Czechia); Peljeลกac Bridge, the first stage of the road connection to South Dalmatia (Croatia); Decommissioning of the Bohunice V1 nuclear power plant, and its four-year slip (Slovakia); Decommissioning of the Ignalina nuclear power plant, and its delays (Lithuania); Corridor X motorway sections (E-75 and E-80) (Serbia); Road Sector Development Project on the M-03 and M-12, and its cut scope (Ukraine); M6 Minsk to Grodno transit corridor upgrade (Belarus); Federation Road Sector Modernization Project, and its shrunken rehabilitation scope (Bosnia and Herzegovina); Local Roads Improvement Project, and its halved scope (Moldova); Regional and Local Roads Connectivity Project (Albania); Kicevo to Ohrid motorway, and its cost and time overrun (North Macedonia); Budapest metro line 4, first section, and its cost and time overrun (Hungary); Road Infrastructure Rehabilitation Project, and its cut after the 2009 budget squeeze (Bulgaria); Ain Sokhna supercritical power plant (Egypt); Hartha power station units 2 and 3 rehabilitation, and its halt (Iraq); Greater Beirut Water Supply Project (Awali to Beirut conveyor), and its unfinished delivery (Lebanon); Amman Development Corridor (Amman Ring Road phase 1), and its overrun (Jordan); East-West Highway Corridor Improvement Project (Rikoti Pass sections) (Georgia); North-South Road Corridor Investment Program, Tranche 1 (Armenia); Second National Water Supply and Sanitation Project (rayon centres), and its downsizing (Azerbaijan); National Road Rehabilitation (Osh-Batken-Isfana) Project (Kyrgyzstan); Tehran Sewerage Project (first phase: interceptors, trunk main and southern treatment plant) (Iran); Central Ring Road around Moscow (TsKAD), audited by the Accounts Chamber (Russia); Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Project (Papua New Guinea); Road No. 13 South upgrading under the Third Highway Improvement Project (Laos); Second Energy Sector Project, distribution rehabilitation and the 10 MWp western solar plant (Mongolia); City Rail Link, Auckland, and its cost and time overrun (New Zealand); Rogun hydropower plant (Tajikistan); Kvalitetsfonden hospital building programme (supersygehuse), and its overruns (Denmark); Modernizace dรกlnice D1 (D1 motorway modernisation, Miroลกovice to Kรฝvalka) (Czechia); Lae Port Development Project (Lae Tidal Basin, phase 1) (Papua New Guinea); Second-wave motorway concessions (Central E-65, Olympia Odos, Moreas), and their reset (Greece); Third Highway Project: M4 Baku-Shamakhi and M3 Yenikend-Shorsulu motorways (Azerbaijan); Belene nuclear power plant, and its cancellation (Bulgaria); Belarusian nuclear power plant (BelAES), delivered behind schedule (Belarus); Bishkek-Osh road rehabilitation, third phase (Kyrgyzstan).

Missing indicators: Large project delivery, Firm scale-up rate.

Rejected datasets: Logistics infrastructure quality.

What to measure first

The evidence is too thin to manage these dimensions confidently.

Agency

0.40

How able are individuals and organizations to turn an intention into action?

Uses 3 observed indicators.

Missing indicators: Adults doing digital tasks.

What to keep watching

These dimensions score at least 50 with usable evidence.

DimensionScoreConfidence
Learning79.60.55
Anticipation70.90.46
Adaptability70.60.62

Missing data

18 requested indicators have no comparable dataset, and each one lowers confidence. A gap can become an indicator when a comparable series covers at least two countries.

DimensionMissing indicatorWhat it asks
AnticipationGovernment foresight capacityExistence, mandate and continuity of a national strategic foresight function.
AnticipationLong-horizon research commitmentsNew competitively awarded public research grants that run for five years or longer, as a share of all new competitive public research grants awarded in the year.
AgencyAdults doing digital tasksShare of adults who carried out a named digital task in the last three months, such as sending a message with an attached file, moving a file between devices or using a spreadsheet formula, counted one task at a time and never as a skill level.
CoordinationUniversity-industry collaborationIntensity of research collaboration between universities and firms.
CoordinationPublic-private collaborationFrequency and scale of joint public-private delivery of national objectives.
TrustTrust in public institutionsConfidence in national government, courts and civil service.
TrustCourt case clearance rateCivil and commercial cases resolved in a year as a share of cases filed in the same year.
LearningAdult learning participationShare of adults in formal or non-formal education and training in the last 12 months.
ExperimentationVenture dealsFirst venture capital rounds closed by companies based in the country in the year, per million people, counted by deal and never by amount.
ExperimentationFirms through regulatory sandboxesFirms admitted to, and firms completing, a regulatory sandbox or controlled trial regime in the year, per million people, summed across every regulator in the country.
ExperimentationUniversity spinoutsCompanies formed to commercialise university research, per million people.
AdaptabilityDisaster preparedness and recoveryDemonstrated capacity to prepare for and recover from major shocks.
AdaptabilityInstitutional responsivenessSpeed at which rules and public programmes are changed in response to new conditions.
BuildingLarge project deliveryCost and schedule performance of major public infrastructure projects.
BuildingFirm scale-up rateShare of young firms reaching significant employment or turnover thresholds.
Shared PurposeSense of national belongingReported identification with and attachment to the national community, as distinct from pride in the nation.
Shared PurposeVolunteeringShare of adults who volunteered time to an organisation in the last month.
Shared PurposePolitical polarisationDegree to which political differences run along a single hostile divide.

What the indicators miss about Belgium

Documented deliveries linked to missing indicators. They do not affect scores or confidence.

  • Bureau federal du Plan (Anticipation)

    Belgium's Federal Planning Bureau, which produces the government's economic forecasts and long-term demographic, ageing, energy and transport outlooks, published 34 publications in 2025 and employed 91 full-time equivalents at the end of the year, down from 96 at the end of 2023, after it stopped replacing departing staff in 2024 to meet savings targets.

  • Chรดmage temporaire corona, 2020 (Adaptability)

    Belgium's National Employment Office treated every COVID-19 work stoppage as temporary unemployment for force majeure and paid allowances to 939,532 workers for March 2020 and 1,117,133 for April, when 1,221,412 workers, 35.3 percent of private and contractual employees, were declared temporarily unemployed; almost 1.4 million received at least one payment during 2020.

  • De Kade prison in Antwerp, a federal DBFM contract (Coordination)

    Belgium's federal Buildings Agency had the new 440-place prison de Kade in Antwerp, part of the federal prisons masterplan, designed, built and financed by the consortium Hortus Conclusus under a DBFM contract, with works from 2023 to 2026 at a construction cost of EUR 195.5 million and an annual availability fee of EUR 23.1 million for 25 years of maintenance, after which the prison returns to the federal state free of charge.

  • Federal strategic stock of protective masks, and its dismantling (Adaptability)

    The Federal Public Service Public Health held a strategic stock of masks for pandemic influenza in military warehouses in Namur from 2006, sized at 32 million surgical masks when the Bioethics Committee reviewed the pandemic plan in 2009. It destroyed the expired masks in operations in late 2015 and late 2018 without replacing them, so Belgium entered the COVID-19 crisis in early 2020 with no strategic mask stock.

  • BE-Alert (Adaptability)

    The National Crisis Centre of the Federal Public Service Interior has run BE-Alert, the national system that lets municipalities and provinces alert the population by SMS, including location-based SMS, and information screens, since 2017. By 1 September 2025, 537 of 565 municipalities, covering 95 percent of Belgian territory, were affiliated, 1,369,659 citizen addresses were registered, and the system had been used 273 times in 2025.

Contribute

Fill a gap, file evidence or challenge an indicator at github.com/envisioning/national-capability-benchmark. The docs explain the method and decisions.