Famed for its beer, chocolate and the statue of a urinating boy in its capital, Belgium also has a well established scientific heritage. The country excels in biotechnology and space science, and has a world-leading nanotechnology research centre, the Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre in Leuven. Belgium also has the world's highest number of clinical trials per capita; this has been attributed to the nation's research capacity and very short time to approval for Phase I trials, compared with other European nations. The science budgets of Flemish-speaking Flanders and French-speaking Wallonia are administered separately, as is that of the small Brussels-Capital Region. Collaboration between individual researchers is not unusual, but there are few formal mechanisms to promote cross-region collaboration.

Government budgets allocated to research and development

Belgium's research funding has increased in general over the last 12 years, both regionally and country-wide.

Download the PDF for a high resolution image. Credit: SOURCE: CFS/STAT; DATA COMPUTATION: BELSPO 2010 USING FRASCATI DEFINITION/FPS FINANCE

Employment in the capital

  • The remaining 16.6% of researchers are in the Brussels-Capital Region.

  • Brussels-based biopharmaceutical company UCB (Union Chimique Belge) is building a biotechnology plant at its Braine-l'Alleud site. The plant, which will produce drugs for clinical trials in nervous system and immunological diseases, is scheduled to open in 2012 and will employ 100 professionals.