Belgium Data Desk

Official Belgian statistics: population, income, prices, labour market

belgian_statistics

Read-only

Answers with Statbel's official figures (not dataset links). Places: any of the 565 municipalities (2025 boundaries; Dutch, French or pre-merger names such as Melle work; NIS codes too), the provinces, the three regions or Belgium. topic 'profile' (default) gives population on 1 January (total, sex, age bands, non-Belgian nationality, change since 2019) and average net taxable income per inhabitant and per declaration (income years up to the latest published); a single municipality comes with its province, region and Belgium for comparison. rank_by ranks municipalities within a province, region or Belgium (e.g. highest income per inhabitant in Limburg, oldest population); with no places, topic 'population' or 'income' ranks the municipalities of Belgium by it. topic 'prices' gives the latest CPI, inflation and (smoothed) health index read live from Statbel; topic 'labour' gives the latest quarterly employment, unemployment and activity rates for Belgium and the regions (Labour Force Survey). Each answer starts with key_facts and states reference dates, definitions and the Statbel citation (CC BY 4.0). Examples: How many people live in Ghent? → {"places":["Gent"],"topic":"population"}; The largest municipalities in Belgium (no places: ranks by population) → {"topic":"population"}; Which municipalities in Limburg have the highest income per inhabitant? → {"rank_by":"income_per_inhabitant","within":"Limburg","limit":5}; What is the current inflation and health index? → {"topic":"prices"}.

Tool call template

This tool declares no required parameters. Add optional parameters from the input schema as needed.

{
  "id": 1,
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "arguments": {},
    "name": "belgian_statistics"
  }
}

Input Schema

Name	Required	Description
`year`	No	Population year (1 January), 2019 to the latest; default latest.
`limit`	No	With rank_by; default 10.
`order`	No	With rank_by; default highest.
`topic`	No	Default 'profile' (population and income).
`places`	No	Up to 6 places to compare, e.g. ['Leuven','Gent'], ['Limburg','Wallonia','Belgium'] or ['44088']. A bare 'Brussels' means the region; use 'City of Brussels' for the municipality.
`within`	No	With rank_by: a province, region or 'Belgium' (default).
`rank_by`	No	Rank municipalities by this indicator instead of listing places.
`income_year`	No	Income year, default the latest published.
`with_context`	No	Default true: one municipality is shown with its province, region and Belgium.

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

First observedNov 15, 2026

TDQS

A4.5/5.0

Behavior4/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

Beyond the readOnly/openWorld annotations, the description discloses that answers start with key_facts, carry reference dates, definitions and a CC BY 4.0 Statbel citation, that prices are read live, that figures run to the latest published year, and that 2025 municipal boundaries and pre-merger name aliases apply. It stops short of describing answer size or how live reads fail if Statbel is unreachable.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness4/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

It is front-loaded with the core promise (official figures, not links) and every section carries specifics rather than filler. The single dense run-on sentence covering topics and ranking could be split for scanability, but no clause is genuinely expendable.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness5/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

For a nine-parameter, zero-required tool with no output schema, the description covers input semantics, default behavior, data vintage and the shape of the returned answer (key_facts plus definitions and citation). An agent can pick a topic, build a places list and trigger a ranking without further information.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters5/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Even though schema coverage is already 100%, the description adds real meaning: what topic 'profile' actually returns (population by sex, age bands, nationality, change since 2019, plus income per inhabitant and per declaration), how places interacts with comparison context, and how rank_by without within defaults to ranking all Belgian municipalities. The examples bind whole parameter combinations to intent, which the schema alone cannot do.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose5/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

The description states a specific verb and resource: it returns Statbel's official figures rather than dataset links, covering population, income, prices and labour. Coverage is scoped precisely (565 municipalities, provinces, three regions, Belgium) and is immediately distinguishable from siblings such as real_estate_prices, air_quality or get_dataset.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines4/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

Usage is made concrete through worked natural-language-to-parameter examples (Ghent population, largest municipalities, Limburg income ranking, current inflation), and the '(not dataset links)' clause implicitly routes dataset-discovery needs to the dataset siblings. There is, however, no explicit 'use X instead when...' statement naming an alternative tool.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

All Belgium Data Desk tools Inspect

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