Flanders

Flanders represents northern Belgium's Dutch-speaking economic engine, generating 58% of Belgian GDP with 57% of the population and contributing net fiscal transfers to the federal system estimated at €8-16 billion annually. The Port of Antwerp-Bruges ranks as Europe's second-largest by cargo tonnage, handling 287 million tonnes in 2023 and serving as the continent's dominant petrochemical and automotive logistics hub—a trophic cascade node where supply chain disruptions ripple across European manufacturing. Flanders' economy grew 1.4% in 2024 with 1.5% forecast for 2025, outpacing both Brussels and Wallonia, driven by pharmaceutical clusters around Ghent (Janssen, Pfizer operations) and advanced manufacturing in Limburg. Historical textile wealth built medieval Bruges and Ghent; today's chemical refineries along the Scheldt represent the same port-based commodity processing adapted to the petroleum age. Political tensions simmer as Flemish separatist movements argue the region's prosperity is drained southward—a source-sink dynamic where economic productivity flows to less productive areas through federal redistribution. By 2026, Flanders faces critical decisions on Antwerp port expansion versus environmental restrictions on Scheldt estuary development, a path-dependent choice that will shape logistics competitiveness for decades.