Belgium vs Netherlands: Share of global plastic waste imports
Belgium
7.3%
in 2024
Netherlands
13.8%
in 2024
Belgium rank
5th
Netherlands rank
2nd
Share of global plastic waste imports over time
- Belgium
- Netherlands
How they compare
Netherlands currently reports 13.8% against 7.3% in Belgium, a difference of 6.5%.
That makes Netherlands's figure about 1.9 times Belgium's.
The two have swapped places 6 times across 26 shared years of data; in 1999 it was Netherlands ahead.
Belgium ranks 5th and Netherlands ranks 2nd of 183 countries.
Across the 4 decades both report, Belgium averaged higher in 1 and Netherlands in 3.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Belgium | Netherlands | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 3.0% | 3.4% | 0.4% | Netherlands |
| 2000s | 2.1% | 1.9% | 0.2% | Belgium |
| 2010s | 1.8% | 4.1% | 2.3% | Netherlands |
| 2020s | 3.2% | 14.8% | 11.6% | Netherlands |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of global plastic waste imports, Belgium or Netherlands?
- Netherlands, at 13.8% against 7.3% in Belgium as of 2024.
- What is the difference in share of global plastic waste imports between Belgium and Netherlands?
- 6.5%, with Netherlands ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Belgium and Netherlands?
- 26 years are reported by both, from 1999 to 2024.
- How do Belgium and Netherlands rank globally for share of global plastic waste imports?
- Belgium ranks 5th and Netherlands ranks 2nd of 183 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of global plastic waste imports. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
The percentage of global plastic waste imports that a country accounts for.