Updated 31 July 2026
What does the United Nations represent for Belgium, one of its founding members, and what does Belgium mean for the UN? At a time when international cooperation faces growing budget pressures, it’s worth revisiting some key facts and figures to reflect on this historic partnership.
Belgium, eighth largest supplier to the United Nations
It’s a little-known fact, but one that deserves to be highlighted: Belgium is the world’s eighth-largest supplier to the United Nations. Belgium is ahead of its neighbours: the Netherlands 17th and Germany 23rd, according to statistics from the UN Procurement Portal (2025).
Most of the UN’s purchases in Belgium are destined for UNICEF, an agency that supplies nearly half of the world’s children with vaccines, saving 3 million lives every year.
In 2025, 1714 Belgian companies received $553.9 million in contracts from the United Nations, representing 2.4% of the worldwide total awarded that year.
The pharmaceutical sector is the most concerned ($412 million), followed by food and beverages ($31.2 million), and then Financial and Insurance ($25.0 million), according to data from the United Nations Global Marketplace (UNGM).
Belgium’s contribution to the UN general budget
Belgium’s contribution amounts to 0.773% of the UN’s total general budget, or around $3.8 billion a year. These expenses, which correspond to the mandatory contribution of all member states, are borne by the Federal Public Service for Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation.
At the same time, as part of its voluntary contributions to the UN, its specialized organizations, agencies, funds, and programs, Belgium has contributed approximately € 100 million in recent years, according to the Belgian Permanent Representation to the UN.
Humanitarian aid, a pillar of international cooperation
In 2025, Belgium allocated $165.2 million for humanitarian aid, including $49.6 million to UN agencies, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Some of the primary beneficiaries of Belgian aid in 2025 were the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
International cooperation, dear to the hearts of Belgians
According to the Baromètre de la solidarité internationale 2025 (International Solidarity Barometer 2025) published by the CNCD 11.11.11. association and Le Vif newspaper, “almost one in two Belgians is in favour of increasing development aid and more than one in two Belgians of regularising the situation of undocumented immigrants“.
The poll also reveals that “six out of ten Belgians support the European Green Deal, (…) and that 84% of Belgians want an immediate and definite ceasefire in Gaza.”
Belgium and peacekeeping
The history of Belgian participation in peacekeeping operations is a special one, partly due to the trauma of the death of 10 Belgian peacekeepers in Rwanda on 7 April, 1994, the first day of the genocide against the Tutsis. Today, only one Belgian national is currently working in peacekeeping.
Belgium’s Permanent Representation to the UN explains that “our first intervention was in Kashmir (1949), followed by a major operation in Korea (1950). Over the following decades, Belgium did not participate in any peacekeeping operations until the operations in Somalia (UNOSOM), the former Yugoslavia (UNPROFOR/UNTAES), and Rwanda (UNAMIR) in the 1990s.
During the latter operation, ten Belgian peacekeepers were killed, leading to a temporary suspension of Belgium’s participation in peacekeeping operations. In recent years, the Belgian army has deployed peacekeepers in Sudan (UNMIS), Lebanon (UNIFIL), the Middle East (UNTSO), the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) and Mali (MINUSMA).
Soldiers have also been sent as part of UN-mandated coalitions, such as ISAF in Afghanistan. When participating in peacekeeping missions, Belgium emphasises excellence. The limited size of our armed forces does not allow us to send large contingents to the four corners of the world.”
Belgium in the UN system
In 2025, the UN workforce comprised 709 Belgian nationals spread across various entities and countries. Additionally, 410 UN international civil servants are based on Belgian territory, representing a portion of the 33 041 UN staff members active in Europe, which accounts for 27,5% of the total, making it the second continent with the most UN staff after Africa.
They are mainly based in Brussels, where they represent over 30 UN agencies and entities working in liaison with the Belgian authorities and European institutions.
Belgium also boasts 16 UNESCO World Heritage sites, including the medieval historic core of Ghent, the Palais de Justice in Brussels, and the university buildings in Leuven. The splendid Forêt de Soignes is Belgium’s only UNESCO World Heritage site. A UN hiking trail was inaugurated here in October 2024.
The local work of UN agencies in Brussels
Many of the agencies active in Brussels contribute to national issues. The IOM has published a detailed report on migrant remittances in Belgium, which exceeds 7 billion euros annually.
The UNHCR has worked effectively with the country’s authorities. As of population statistics from mid-2025, Belgium hosted 89,072 refugees from Ukraine. On temporary protection specifically, between January and November 2025, 8,157 people were granted temporary protection, bringing the cumulative total of temporary protection beneficiaries in Belgium to 99,963 since February 2022.
UNEP also participates in numerous Belgian initiatives, including World Environment Day. Notably, the famous Manneken Pis statue was dressed in orange for UN Women’s “Orange the World” campaign against violence against women.
“Interesting details“ about Belgium and the UN
In post since January 2025, Belgium’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Sophie De Smedt, heads a team of 18. On the website of the Belgian delegation to the UN, a few “interesting details” are highlighted on Belgian personalities linked to the UN:
“Former Belgian Prime Minister Paul-Henri Spaak was the first President of the General Assembly, in 1946.
Belgian architect Gaston Brunfaut was part of the architectural team that designed the United Nations headquarters in New York (alongside other architects such as Le Corbusier and Oskar Niemeyer).
Queen Mathilde of Belgium is an official advocate of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
The Smurfs (yes, they’re Belgian!) are also committed to the SDGs, as the blue cartoon characters are frequently used to explain these global goals to people all over the world, including children.”