Economic growth strongest in three years

The latest figures released from Belgium’s central bank are good news, showing that the country’s economic growth is at its strongest since the first quarter of 2011. The final quarter of 2013 marked a 0.4% growth in the economy. This marks an upward trend that began last year as the second quarter of 2013 grew 0.2%, followed by a third quarter gain of 0.3%.

Last year began with zero growth in the first quarter. Although the latest numbers remain only an estimate from the National Bank, if the upward trend proves to be true, it could be a sign that Belgium is emerging from the economic crisis. Overall, last year the economy grew on average 0.2%, which was a turnaround to the 2012 recession that saw the economy shrink by 0.1%.