Belgium: Adjusted savings, net forest depletion (% of GNI)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2021, Belgium's adjusted savings, net forest depletion (% of GNI) fell 0 percentage points on 2020 (from 0.00755% to 0.00744%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2020), the average change was −0 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.01 percentage points in 1989 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.02 percentage points in 1991. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2012 to 2021 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.000842 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 94% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about 0.0033% for 2024. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2019 to 2021 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 0.000451%, against 0.00285% for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

In 2021, Belgium had the 87th highest value of the 168 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Belgium in the 2021 ranking

• Barbados — 84th of 168: 0.01%
• Italy — 85th of 168: 0.00979%
• Greece — 86th of 168: 0.00861%
• Luxembourg — 88th of 168: 0.00621%
• Denmark — 89th of 168: 0.00531%
• Maldives — 90th of 168: 0.00407%

What this measures

Net forest depletion is calculated as the product of unit resource rents and the excess of roundwood harvest over natural growth. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross National Income (GNI) which is the total income earned by all residents within an economic territory during an accounting period. It is equal to gross domestic product plus earned income receivable from abroad minus earned income payable abroad.

Limitations: A positive net depletion figure for forest resources implies that the harvest rate exceeds the rate of natural growth; this is not the same as deforestation, which represents a change in land use. In principle, there should be an addition to savings in countries where growth exceeds harvest, but empirical estimates suggest that most of this net growth is in forested areas that cannot currently be exploited economically. Because the depletion estimates reflect only timber values, they ignore all the external and nontimber benefits associated with standing forests.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 52 values

Adjusted savings, net forest depletion (% of GNI) in nearby economies

• Albania — 0.14% (2021)
• Armenia — 0.28% (2021)
• Austria — 0.03% (2021)
• Azerbaijan — 0% (2021)
• Belarus — 0% (2021)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 0% (2021)
• Bulgaria — 0% (2021)
• Croatia — 0.15% (2021)
• Cyprus — 0% (2021)
• Czechia

More economic policy & debt data for Belgium

• Total reserves, including gold (current US$) — US$56.39 billion (2025)
• Total reserves, excluding gold (current US$) — US$24.46 billion (2025)
• GDP (current US$) — US$725.47 billion (2025)
• GDP (current LCU) — 642.02 billion (2025)
• GDP (constant 2015 US$) — US$539.12 billion (2025)
• GDP (constant LCU) — 531.48 billion (2025)
• GDP per capita (current US$) — US$60,750 (2025)
• GDP per capita (current LCU) — 53,762 (2025)
• GDP per capita (constant 2015 US$) — US$45,146 (2025)
• GDP per capita (constant LCU) — 44,506 (2025)
• GNI (current US$)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Belgium's adjusted savings, net forest depletion (% of GNI)?

0.00744% in 2021, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1970?

It is down 0.04 percentage points from 0.04% in 1970. The highest value was 0.05% in 1973 and the lowest 0.00744% in 2021.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator NY.ADJ.DFOR.GN.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB); The Changing Wealth of Nations: Measuring Sustainable Development in the New Millennium, World Bank (WB) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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