The Sustainable development indicators provide information on social, environmental and economic issues. Together, they describe the evolution of people's well-being and the development of the Belgian society. They fall under two different mandates.

• The Sustainable development indicators are measuring the development of the Belgian society towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

In 2015 the United Nations adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with 169 associated targets: Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. To measure the progress of Belgium towards the SDGs, the Interfederal Statistical Institute (ISI, website available in French and Dutch) selected a set of indicators. These indicators were also presented in the Belgian Voluntary National Review 2017 (VNR) and in the Voluntary National Review 2023 to the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.

• The Sustainable development indicators are also complementary indicators to the gross domestic product (GDP)

• The Act of 14 March 2014 on the complementary indicators (PDF text available in French and Dutch) assigns the Federal Planning Bureau within the framework of the National Accounts Institute (website available in French and Dutch) to develop indicators “ for measuring quality of life, human development, social progress and the sustainability of our economy”. They are published in an annual report, available in French and Dutch, on the website of the Federal Planning Bureau. This report moreover proposes synthetic indicators about the evolution of the well-being of Belgians and its sustainability for future generations and the rest of the world.

The following institutions are involved in these processes

• Federal Planning Bureau, Sustainable Development;

• National Bank of Belgium;

• Statbel, thème SDG (French), thema SDG (Dutch);

• Brussels Institute of Statistics and Analysis (BISA), Plan Régional de Développement Durable, Gewestelijk Plan voor Duurzame Ontwikkeling;

• Statistics Flanders;

• Institut wallon de l’évaluation, de la prospective et de la statistique (IWEPS), Publications développement durable;

• Service public de Wallonie (SPW), Wallonie durable.

Trends in Sustainable Development Indicators

In addition, the Federal Planning Bureau assesses trends in indicators on Belgium's progress towards the SDGs in the Assessment of sustainable development indicators.