National Level

At the national level, the Interfederal Statistical Institute has created a working group on indicators to monitor the implementation of the SDG’s. In 2017, it prepared a list of 34 indicators (2 per SDG) and their disaggregation by sex, age, income level, education, etc., which was included in the 2017 Voluntary National Review. The working group has later defined a list of 116 indicators existing in Belgium that correspond to the UN proposed indicators to monitor sustainable development goals. Additional indicators have been identified as possible addition to this set. Currently, 82 SD indicators are presented on the website www.indicators.be.

In accordance with the act of March 2014, a new annual statistical report on indicators "beyond GDP" is published yearly by the National Accounts Institute (NAI) and the FPB.  According to the law, these indicators must measure the quality of life, the human development, the social advancement, and the sustainability of the economy in Belgium. In 2022, this set of 69 indicators was merged with the SD indicators and published in the yearly Report on SD indicators, which replaces the report on beyond GDP indicators. In 2023, it also provides a detailed overview of Belgium's international position and of the differences between women and men. This report also updates the composite indicator to measure well-being 'Here and now’ and ‘Later’. The composite indicators are also presented for various population categories: by sex, age and income. It should be completed in the forthcoming updates by composite indicators for the remaining dimension of sustainable development, ’Elsewhere’, for which two environmental footprint indicators were published in the 2023 report as initial information.

Federal Level

At the federal level, the 2010 Federal Act on SD stipulates that within the development of the long-term vision, indicators must be used to assess whether the objectives are achieved. The Interfederal Statistical Institute has defined a list of SD indicators. Eighty-two SD indicators (this list is to be expanded in the future) are currently published by the Task Force on Sustainable Development (TFSD) of the Federal Planning Bureau (FPB) on the website www.indicators.be, in a yearly report on SD indicators and as part of the Federal Reports on Sustainable Development. The latest set, updated in February 2023, includes 82 indicators. It also includes an assessment of the progress of a selection of 51 indicators (3 per SDG) towards their objectives. These 51 indicators are an extension of the 34 included in the statistical annex of the 2017 Voluntary National Review. The Federal Sustainable Development Plan adopted in 2021, includes the organisation of a debate on SDG indicators with the main advisory councils. This debate was organised in spring 2023.

The Interdepartmental Commission on Sustainable Development (ICSD) and the public services monitor the implementation of the Federal Plan measures. The analysis of these data by the TFSD resulted in the construction of an indicator on the Plan implementation.

Flanders

At the Flemish level there is the Research Centre of the Flemish Government which publicises an overview of regional indicators (VRIND), every year. Some indicators can be related to SD. In 2016 this Centre prepared the sdg-indicators and they are an active member of the Interfederal Institute on Statistics.

Focus 2030 together with the corresponding Flemish set of indicators, formally approved by the Government of Flanders on the 5th of April 2019, is dynamic and evolutive and so it is being further developed and adjusted according to (new) long-term Flemish policy plans or new developments in the EU-approach on the SDGs. This dynamic approach is necessary as many of the objectives from the 2030 ASD are set out in long-term sectoral policies that are being drawn up. We have chosen to let these plans follow their own development path. Following the adoption of these long-term policy plans, their 2030 objectives will form an integral part of Focus 2030 and thus complete it. The 2030 objectives framework and the associated indicators are thus adjusted on the basis of these (new) long-term policy plans and after evaluation by the Government of Flanders.

The Flemish set of indicators, based on the EUROSTAT and Flemish public statistics frameworks is also being further developed to monitor the implementation of Focus 2030. For a number of Flemish 2030 objectives, no indicators are available yet in the Flemish Public Statistics or new indicators need to be developed. As the list of Flemish Public Statistics is revised annually, statistics can be added (or omitted) at a later date. For any proposal to change the set of indicators feedback is given via the working group between Ministers' offices before making any changes. For a number of relevant indicators that are not yet available at the Flemish level, contact has been made with the actors involved to see to what extent these indicators can be broken down and used regionally.

The monitoring of Focus 2030 through the reporting of the adjusted Flemish set of indicators, is planned once a year alongside the September Statement of the Flemish Government.

Brussels-Capital Region

The draft of the Regional Sustainable Development Plan proposes a framework to monitor the implementation of actions included in the plan.  Indicators will be defined by each public administration or agency in order to monitor the implementation of the actions foreseen in the Regional Sustainable Development Plan, and follow step by step its achievements. These indicators are limited to operational measures and differ from those used in the framework of the evaluation. This approach implies to establish a process for gathering information, reporting and analyzing the state of play of the actions included in the plan.   All public administration or agencies in charge of one or more measures will report the evolution of their implementation, both the achievements made and the results obtained.   These information and monitoring data are an essential source for the evaluation exercise.

Wallonia

At the Walloon level, a list of sustainable development indicators has been elaborated for the diagnosis of the SD strategy. They reflect the economic, environmental and social trends in Wallonia and help report on the transition of Wallonia to a sustainable development.

Furthermore, the SD strategy foresees the elaboration of a report on the implementation of the SDGs in Wallonia every 3 to 4 years and for the 1st time in 2017.

The Walloon Government has adopted its first SDGs’ implementation report in April 2017. It includes an inventory of the Walloon strategies, programs and plans that contribute to achieving the SDGs, an analysis of 70 indicators selected to monitor SDGs in Wallonia and a set of good practices implemented by Walloon public institutions, civil society and the private sector. The indicators presented in this report are updated and a new publication is scheduled in autumn 2019 to assess the progress of the Region in its transition to sustainable development. The latest report analyzing the regional progress towards SDGs was published in 2020. The indicators-set is composed of 80 indicators related to environmental, social, economic, and governance issues. The report presents the temporal evolutions of these indicators and makes recommendations drawn up by academic experts in order to improve the monitoring process of SDGs in Wallonia. More information can be found here.