5 key insights from the Belgian Attractiveness Survey 2026

Read in Dutch / Read in French

Belgium keeps its place among Europe’s top foreign investment destinations despite a sharper drop in projects, while job creation rebounds. 

In brief

• Belgium attracted 185 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in 2025, down 11% year‑on‑year, marking its lowest project level in over a decade.
• Belgium retained its eighth place among Europe’s top FDI destinations, despite a sharper decline in projects than the European average.
• FDI‑related job creation rose 13% to 6,094 jobs, while 72% of executives expect Belgium’s attractiveness to improve over the next three years.

Against the backdrop of a 10-year low in foreign direct investment (FDI) across Europe, Belgium recorded a further decline in the number of investment projects in 2025. The country retained its 8^th position in the European ranking, but the 11% drop in FDI marked Belgium’s weakest year since 2014. The impact on job creation was more positive: foreign investments resulted in 6,094 jobs, an increase of 13%. These are the main conclusions of the EY Belgian Attractiveness Survey 2026, the annual study conducted by EY that gauges the attractiveness of Belgium as a destination for foreign investment.

Europe experienced a challenging year for foreign direct investment. In 2025, the number of FDI projects across the continent dropped by 7%, reaching the lowest level in the past decade. Job creation from foreign investments fell even more sharply, dropping 25% year-on-year. Lingering geopolitical tensions, trade and tariff uncertainties, volatile energy prices, as well as subdued economic growth continued to weigh on investment decisions, particularly in manufacturing sectors exposed to global supply chain disruptions.

Europe’s largest investment destinations also took the biggest hits: France recorded a 17% decline, the United Kingdom 14% and Germany 10%. By contrast, investment projects surged across key Southern, Central and Eastern European economies, with Spain (+7%), Poland (+10%), Romania (+16%), and Turkey (+20%) standing out.

1. Belgium maintains its position despite a challenging European investment climate

Against this European backdrop, Belgium’s performance broadly mirrored the downward trend, with a slightly stronger decline in project numbers (-11%) than the European average (-7%). Nonetheless, Belgium preserved its eighth position among Europe’s top recipient countries for foreign direct investment.

All this FDI-activity generated a marked increase in job creation in Belgium compared to the previous year, reaching 6,094 jobs, a 13% increase. This growth was driven by a very limited number of large-scale projects. Some nuance is warranted: Belgium’s FDI-related job creation is still recovering from a sharp decline in 2023, when it fell from 8,071 to 4,918 jobs.

2. Manufacturing and business services remain key drivers

Manufacturing and business services continued to be the main drivers of foreign investment in Belgium, accounting for 46 and 44 projects respectively. Logistics, which overtook business services in the previous year, fell back to third place with 42 projects.

Of all foreign investment projects in Belgium, 67% were greenfield investments. This category of investments continues to decline: in 2023, greenfield projects accounted for 72% of total FDI projects. The remaining investments related to the expansion of existing operations, indicating that Belgium continues to play a role in long-term investment strategies of international companies.

3. United States remains Belgium’s leading investor

The United States retained its position as Belgium’s largest foreign investor, despite a 21% decline in the number of projects, with 34 investments recorded. France and the Netherlands completed the top three investor countries, with 27 and 20 projects respectively.

Notable shifts in the investor landscape include a further drop in German investments, which halved compared with the previous year, and a strong increase from Turkey, which emerged as the fastest-growing investor in Belgium in 2025.

4. Belgium resists the downward trend in investor confidence

In line with previous years, EY also surveyed international executives on their investment intentions and perceptions. The results show a continued decline in confidence in Europe as an investment destination: 60% of respondents expect an increase in Europe’s attractiveness over the next three years, down from 63% last year. 

Belgium, however, stands out positively in this perception survey. 72% of surveyed executives expect Belgium’s attractiveness to increase over the next three years, compared with 70% last year.

5. Cost pressures remain key challenge

For Europe as a whole, investors identify labor and other input costs, tax competitiveness and energy prices as the main disadvantages. Market size, quality of infrastructure and Europe’s climate and sustainability policies remain its core strengths.

In Belgium, high energy costs, the regulatory environment and labor costs are perceived as the main challenges. At the same time, investors consistently point to the quality of infrastructure, the availability and skills of the workforce, and Belgium’s innovation and R&D capabilities as key assets.

Taken together, these insights highlight the key forces influencing foreign investment in Belgium, within a European environment marked by heightened uncertainty. 

The full Belgian Attractiveness Survey 2026 will be available on June 23 and will include additional insights, results and recommendations.