Definition: gross investment in the physical capital stock (section AN.11, excluding section AN.117 of the national accounts; Eurostat, 2013) is expressed as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP). The data for Belgium is collected by the National Accounts Institute. To allow comparison with other European countries, the data used come from Eurostat.

Goal: there is no sustainable development goal for gross investment in the physical capital stock.

The Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs adopted by the UN in 2015 include target 9.1: “Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including regional and trans-border infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being, with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all”.

The Federal Long-Term Strategic Vision for Sustainable Development includes the following objective: "Economic development and environmental degradation will be fully disconnected”. This development gives a central position to the creation of decent jobs, while ensuring an adequate supply of goods and services that meets basic needs" (introduction to the challenge "a society that adjusts its economy to economic, social and environmental challenges"; Belgian Official Gazette, 08/10/2013).

To have a performing economy with as limited negative effects on the environment as possible, it is essential to have enough environmentally friendly capital goods available. Moreover, capital goods can also be used by future generations and contribute to their well-being. It is thus necessary to make enough investments in capital goods, not only to replace obsolete capital goods, but also to make capital goods more efficient and environmentally friendly, as new investments allow the latest technological developments to be taken into account. However, it is not possible to set an optimal level for this indicator.

International comparison: between 1995 and 2008, the average level of the indicator in Belgium and in the EU27 is similar: around 19%. From 2009, after the onset of the economic and financial crisis, investments relative GDP were consistently higher in Belgium than in the EU27. In 2021, the gap between EU27 and Belgium is 1.7 percentage points, compared to 0.2 in 1995.

UN indicator: The selected indicator does not correspond to any monitoring indicator for the SDGs but is related to target 9.1. Investing in the physical capital stock provides indeed the necessary infrastructure for economic development.

Sources

• General

  • SDGs, Sustainable Development Goals: United Nations (2015), Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 25 September 2015, document A/RES/70/1.

  • Indicators: United Nations (2017), Work of the Statistical Commission pertaining to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 6 July 2017, document A/RES/71/313.

  • UN Sustainable Development: https://sdgs.un.org/ (consulted on 18/01/2023).

  • UN Sustainable Development Goal indicators website: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/ (consulted on 18/01/2023).

• Specific

  • Belgian Official Gazette: http://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/cgi/welcome.pl; research on http://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/doc/rech_f.htm (consulted on 24/09/2020).

  • Eurostat (2013), European system of accounts. ESA 2010, Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2013.

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