Belgium: Borrowers from commercial banks (per 1,000 adults)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2021, Belgium's borrowers from commercial banks (per 1,000 adults) fell 7.38 on 2020 (from 680.33 to 672.95).

Across the 13 yearly changes before that (2008 to 2020), the average change was +9.91 and a typical year strayed about 35.59 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 standard deviations below 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 126.24 in 2011 and the biggest yearly fall was 8.45 in 2019. 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 3.96 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.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

Closest to Belgium in the 2021 ranking

• Brunei Darussalam — 2nd of 3: 352.34
• Qatar — 3rd of 3: 280.89

What this measures

Borrowers from commercial banks are the reported number of resident customers that are nonfinancial corporations (public and private) and households who obtained loans from commercial banks and other banks functioning as commercial banks.

Limitations: For many countries data cover the total number of loan accounts due to lack of information on loan account holders. For several countries, data cover all borrowers including commercial banks, credit unions and financial cooperatives, deposit taking microfinance institutions, and other deposit takers. These include all resident financial corporations and quasi-corporations (except the central bank) that are mainly engaged in financial intermediation and that issue liabilities included in the national definition of broad money.

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

All 15 values

Borrowers from commercial banks (per 1,000 adults) in nearby economies

• Albania — 155.95 (2024)
• Azerbaijan — 392.8 (2024)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 333.59 (2024)
• Croatia — 540.72 (2024)
• Cyprus — 348.79 (2024)
• Estonia — 505.66 (2024)
• Georgia — 559.22 (2024)
• Hungary — 417.28 (2024)
• Italy — 587.27 (2024)
• Kosovo

More financial sector data for Belgium

• Consumer price index (2010 = 100) — 145.67 (2025)
• Inflation, consumer prices (annual % growth) — 2.47% (2025)
• GDP deflator (base year varies by country) — 120.8 (2025)
• DEC alternative conversion factor (LCU per US$) — US$0.88 (2025)
• Official exchange rate (LCU per US$, period average) — US$0.88 (2025)
• Inflation, GDP deflator (annual % growth) — 2.56% (2025)
• Real effective exchange rate index (2010 = 100) — 105.38 (2025)
• Market capitalization of listed domestic companies (current US$) — US$321.09 billion (2018)
• Market capitalization of listed domestic companies (% of GDP) — 59.17% (2018)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Belgium's borrowers from commercial banks (per 1,000 adults)?

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

How has it changed since 2007?

It is up 22.01% from 551.53 in 2007 (1.43% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 711.57 in 2012 and the lowest 551.53 in 2007.

Is the latest change in borrowers from commercial banks (per 1,000 adults) unusual for Belgium?

In 2021, Belgium's borrowers from commercial banks (per 1,000 adults) fell 7.38 on 2020 (from 680.33 to 672.95). Across the 13 yearly changes before that (2008 to 2020), the average change was +9.91 and a typical year strayed about 35.59 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Financial Access Survey, International Monetary Fund (IMF), uri: https://data.imf.org/en/datasets/IMF.STA:FAS.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator FB.CBK.BRWR.P3, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Financial Access Survey, International Monetary Fund (IMF), uri: https://data.imf.org/en/datasets/IMF.STA:FAS 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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