Strictness of employment protection — Temporary contracts in Belgium
Belgium: Strictness of employment protection — Temporary contracts was 2.06 0-6 scale in 2025. ▼ Falling
Strictness of employment protection — Temporary contracts in Belgium, 1985–2025
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in 0-6 scale.
Analysis
In 2025, strictness of employment protection — temporary contracts in Belgium stood at 2.06 0-6 scale. That is the lowest value across all 41 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, strictness of employment protection — temporary contracts in Belgium peaked at 4.5 0-6 scale in 1985 and was at its lowest, 2.06 0-6 scale, in 2014.
That places Belgium 15th out of 41 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 41 years of available data.
Strictness of employment protection — Temporary contracts in Belgium, year by year
| Year | 0-6 scale | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 4.5 0-6 scale | — |
| 1986 | 4.5 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 4.5 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 4.5 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 4.5 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 4.5 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 4.5 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 4.5 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 4.5 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 4.5 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 4.5 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 4.5 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 4.5 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 2.25 0-6 scale | -50.0% |
| 1999 | 2.25 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 2.25 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 2.25 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 2.25 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 2.25 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 2.25 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 2.25 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 2.25 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 2.25 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 2.25 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 2.25 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 2.25 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 2.25 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 2.25 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 2.25 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 2.06 0-6 scale | -8.3% |
| 2015 | 2.06 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 2.06 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 2.06 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 2.06 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 2.06 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 2.06 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 2.06 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 2.06 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 2.06 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 2.06 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 2.06 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 4.5 0-6 scale | 4.5 0-6 scale | 4.5 0-6 scale | 5 |
| 1990s | 4.05 0-6 scale | 2.25 0-6 scale | 4.5 0-6 scale | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.25 0-6 scale | 2.25 0-6 scale | 2.25 0-6 scale | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.14 0-6 scale | 2.06 0-6 scale | 2.25 0-6 scale | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.06 0-6 scale | 2.06 0-6 scale | 2.06 0-6 scale | 6 |
Countries ranked near Belgium
More work & labour data for Belgium
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.1652 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.1676 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.1614 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -1.59 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.1395 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 12,349 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 139 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 5,498 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 5,563 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 11,061 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is strictness of employment protection — temporary contracts in Belgium?
- Strictness of employment protection — temporary contracts in Belgium was 2.06 0-6 scale in 2025, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
- What is the highest strictness of employment protection — temporary contracts recorded in Belgium?
- The highest recorded value was 4.5 0-6 scale in 1985.
- What is the lowest strictness of employment protection — temporary contracts recorded in Belgium?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.06 0-6 scale in 2014.
- How does Belgium rank for strictness of employment protection — temporary contracts?
- Belgium ranks 15th out of 41 countries with data for 2025.
- Is strictness of employment protection — temporary contracts rising or falling in Belgium?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Belgium data come from?
- The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Strictness of employment protection — Temporary contracts. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
The OECD indicators of employment protection are synthetic indicators of the strictness of regulation on dismissals and the use of temporary contracts. For each year, indicators refer to regulation in force on the 1st of January. For more information and full methodology, see OECD Indicators of Employment Protection webpage Last data update: May 2022 OECD statistics contact: ELS.Contact@oecd.org