Share of global plastic waste imports in Belgium
Belgium: Share of global plastic waste imports was 7.3% in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Share of global plastic waste imports in Belgium, 1999–2024
Source: United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, share of global plastic waste imports in Belgium stood at 7.3%. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 484.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of global plastic waste imports in Belgium peaked at 7.3% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 2021.
That places Belgium 5th out of 183 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Share of global plastic waste imports in Belgium, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 3.0% | — |
| 2000 | 2.7% | -9.8% |
| 2001 | 2.7% | -0.5% |
| 2002 | 2.2% | -17.0% |
| 2003 | 2.1% | -6.5% |
| 2004 | 1.7% | -17.1% |
| 2005 | 1.5% | -15.0% |
| 2006 | 1.9% | +31.2% |
| 2007 | 2.0% | +4.8% |
| 2008 | 2.1% | +2.9% |
| 2009 | 2.3% | +11.9% |
| 2010 | 1.0% | -55.5% |
| 2011 | 2.0% | +91.8% |
| 2012 | 1.5% | -25.9% |
| 2013 | 1.6% | +7.8% |
| 2014 | 1.3% | -20.6% |
| 2015 | 1.4% | +8.5% |
| 2016 | 1.2% | -9.4% |
| 2017 | 1.5% | +21.7% |
| 2018 | 2.8% | +88.9% |
| 2019 | 3.6% | +26.6% |
| 2020 | 3.4% | -3.8% |
| 2021 | 0.0% | -100.0% |
| 2022 | 5.4% | — |
| 2023 | 0.0% | -100.0% |
| 2024 | 7.3% | — |
Belgium compared with similar countries
- Belgium's 7.3% is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.0%, 390.6× the median. (68 countries reporting)
- Belgium's 7.3% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.1%, 59.3× the median. (50 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 3.0% | 3.0% | 3.0% | 1 |
| 2000s | 2.1% | 1.5% | 2.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.8% | 1.0% | 3.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.2% | 0.0% | 7.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Belgium
More environment data for Belgium
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -5.46 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -6.46 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.574 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.19 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.5577 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate 0.0605 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of global plastic waste imports in Belgium?
- Share of global plastic waste imports in Belgium was 7.3% in 2024, according to United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of global plastic waste imports recorded in Belgium?
- The highest recorded value was 7.3% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of global plastic waste imports recorded in Belgium?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 2021.
- How does Belgium rank for share of global plastic waste imports?
- Belgium ranks 5th out of 183 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of global plastic waste imports rising or falling in Belgium?
- Over the last ten years it is up 484.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Belgium data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of global plastic waste imports. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Percentage of global plastic waste imports that a country accounts for.