The wealthiest 10% in Belgium hold over half of the country’s net wealth (55%), according to a new report released by the National Bank of Belgium.
The data confirms a decline from a decade ago, when they held 58.4%.
Conversely, the bottom 50% of households increased their share, holding 8.3% of the national net wealth, up slightly from 8.0% in 2014.
The distribution of listed shares is more unequal than that of total net wealth, as noted in the National Bank’s “distributional wealth accounts,” which detail household wealth distribution.
Currently, 80% of listed shares are owned by the wealthiest 10%, compared to 90% in 2014.
A similar pattern is observed in investment funds, where the wealthiest 10% own 76%, up from 74% a decade ago.
The total value of listed shares and investment funds has risen over the past ten years, with shares increasing from €55 billion to €87 billion, and investment funds nearly doubling in value from €153 billion to €303 billion.
These increases are partly due to net household purchases (15% for shares and 52% for investment funds) and are largely driven by valuation effects, such as price and exchange rate changes.
The 55% of net wealth held by the wealthiest 10% in Belgium is below the Eurozone average of 57.3%, while the median net wealth in Belgium is €291,641, significantly above the Eurozone’s figure of €152,480.
The Gini coefficient, which measures net wealth inequality, stood at 68% in Belgium, compared to 72% for the Eurozone. A higher coefficient indicates greater inequality.
