Live 2026 data · Tuition, rent, visa, salaries, PR pathways & more
Belgium
53
GoScore
Budget/mo
$1,300
Salary/mo
$2,900
Saudi Arabia
49
GoScore
Budget/mo
$800
Salary/mo
$2,500
AI insights unavailable
Study Abroad GoScore Ranking
GoScore 0-100 · Weights: affordability, PR pathway, safety, career & quality of life
Key Comparison Metrics
Public university tuition / year
Monthly student budget
Part-time wage / hour
Student visa fee
Post-study work visa
IELTS band required
Safety index
Quick Verdict — 2026
Belgium wins for students (GoScore 53 vs 49). A 2-year master's costs $35,200 in Saudi Arabia — 15% less than Belgium, saving $6,000.
Belgium wins for working professionals (GoScore 54 vs 52). Professionals in Saudi Arabia retain $1,320/month after expenses — $40/month more than in Belgium.
Belgium is stronger for permanent residence (GoScore 63 vs 59). PR takes ~5 years in Belgium vs ~10 years in Saudi Arabia.
Total cost of attendance in Belgium — tuition ($10,000) plus living ($31,200) — is $41,200. In Saudi Arabia: $35,200 ($16,000 tuition + $19,200 living).Saudi Arabia is 15% cheaper, saving $6,000 over the degree.
In Belgium, 20 hrs/week at $12/hr earns $960/month — covering 123% of outside-city rent.
After rent, groceries, transport, and utilities, a professional in Belgium retains $1,280/month from $2,900. In Saudi Arabia: $1,320/month from $2,500. Over 5 years the gap compounds to $2,400. Tech salaries: $4,500/mo (Belgium) vs $4,500/mo (Saudi Arabia).
Belgium: PR pathway ~5 years. Saudi Arabia: ~10 years. Post-study work visas: 12 months (Belgium) and 0 months (Saudi Arabia). Student visa fee: $350 vs $500.
Minimum IELTS band: 6.0 (Belgium) and 6.0 (Saudi Arabia).Take a free IELTS mock test on mockDe to benchmark your exact skill-level gaps before applying.
| Metric | 🇧🇪 Belgium | 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Study GoScore | 53 | 49 |
| Work GoScore | 54 | 52 |
| Settle GoScore | 63 | 59 |
| Public university tuition / yr | $5,000 | $8,000 |
| Monthly student budget | $1,300 | $800 |
| Avg net salary / month | $2,900 | $2,500 |
| Rent 1-bed (city centre) | $1,050/mo | $900/mo |
| Post-study work visa | 12 months | 0 months |
| PR pathway | 5 years | 10 years |
| Safety index | 51 / 100 | 77 / 100 |
Understanding a country beyond spreadsheets — unique facts about each destination that shape the experience of living and working there.
🇧🇪 Belgium
Belgium hosts NATO HQ, the EU Parliament, and over 1,400 international organizations — Brussels is the world's second most important diplomatic city after Washington DC.
Belgian engineers are among the highest-paid in continental Europe, with average salaries of €65,000–95,000/year.
Belgian universities charge €890–4,175/year for non-EU international students — among the lowest in Western Europe.
Source: Nuffic 2024
Belgium has the world's densest rail network per square kilometre — 95% of jobs are reachable by train from any Belgian city.
Source: Infrabel 2023
Belgians invented the internet protocol TCP/IP implementation used by CERN, french fries (despite the name), and the saxophone.
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 is committing $1 trillion to diversification — creating the world's largest single programme of economic transformation jobs.
Source: Vision 2030 2024
NEOM, the planned $500 billion mega-city project, is hiring engineers, urban planners, and tech professionals at salaries 30–40% above Gulf market rates.
Source: NEOM 2024
Saudi Arabia levies 0% personal income tax — and introduced a Privileged Iqama programme offering permanent-style residency to high earners.
Source: MISA Saudi Arabia 2024
Riyadh was the world's fastest-growing city by FDI inflow in 2023, overtaking Dubai and Singapore.
Source: Financial Times fDi Intelligence 2024
Popular Comparisons
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Data Sources
Editorial
Compiled by mockDe Editorial Team
Verified by IELTS-certified advisors with study-abroad counselling experience.
Freshness
Data reflects 2026 benchmarks.
Last reviewed June 2026.
AI verdict cached permanently; regenerated on data change.
All figures in USD. AI insights by Gemini Pro. Values are indicative — verify official sources before making relocation decisions.