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Country information - Belgium Historically, Belgium has been a part of the Low Countries, which also includes the Netherlands and Luxembourg. From the end of the Middle Ages until the seventeenth century, it was a prosperous center of commerce and culture. From the sixteenth century until independence in 1830, Belgium, called at that time the Southern Netherlands, was the site of many battles between the European powers. During World Wars I & II Belgium was occupied by Germany. Belgium has prospered in the past half century as a modern, technologically advanced European state and member of NATO and the EU. After World War II, Belgium joined NATO and, together with the Netherlands and Luxembourg, formed the Benelux group of nations. Belgium was also one of the founding members of the European Economic Community. Belgium hosts the headquarters of NATO and a major part of the European Union's institutions and administrations, including the European Commission, the Council of the European Union and most of the sessions of the European Parliament. During the 20th century, and in particular since World War II, the history of Belgium has been increasingly dominated by the autonomy of its two main language communities. Through constitutional reforms in the 1970s and 1980s, regionalization of the unitary state had led to the establishment of a three-tiered system of federalism, linguistic-community and regional governments, a compromise designed to minimize linguistic tensions. Nowadays, these federal entities uphold more legislative power than the national bicameral parliament. Geography Belgium Location Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between France and the Netherlands Area total: 30,528 sq km Land 30,278 sq km Water 250 sq km Land boundaries total: 1,385 km Border countries France 620 km, Germany 167 km, Luxembourg 148 km, Netherlands 450 km Coastline 66.5 km Climate temperate; mild winters, cool summers; rainy, humid, cloudy Terrain flat coastal plains in northwest, central rolling hills, rugged mountains of Ardennes Forest in southeast Elevation extremes lowest point: North Sea 0 m, highest point: Signal de Botrange 694 m Natural resources construction materials, silica sand, carbonates Natural hazards flooding is a threat along rivers and in areas of reclaimed coastal land, protected from the sea by concrete dikes People Belgium Population 10,364,388 Nationality noun: Belgian(s) Adjective Belgian Ethnic groups Fleming 58%, Walloon 31%, mixed or other 11% Religions Roman Catholic 75%, Protestant or other 25% Languages Dutch (official) 60%, French (official) 40%, German (official) less than 1%, legally bilingual (Dutch and French) Government Belgium Country name conventional long form: Kingdom of Belgium Conventional short form Belgium Local long form Royaume de Belgique/Koninkrijk België Local short form Belgique/België Government type federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarch Capital Brussels Administrative divisions 10 provinces (French: provinces, singular - province; Dutch: provincies, singular - provincie); Antwerpen, Brabant Wallon, Hainaut, Liege, Limburg, Luxembourg, Namur, Oost-Vlaanderen, Vlaams-Brabant, West-Vlaanderen and 3 regions (French: regions; Dutch: gewesten); Brussels (Bruxelles), Flanders and Wallonia. Independence 4 October 1830 (a provisional government declares independence from the Netherlands); 21 July 1831 (King Leopold I ascends to the throne) National holiday 21 July (1831) ascension to the Throne of King Leopold I Constitution 7 February 1831; amended many times; revised 14 July 1993 to create a federal state Legal system civil law system influenced by English constitutional theory; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations Suffrage 18 years of age; universal and compulsory Executive branch chief of state: King Albert II (since 9 August 1993); Heir Apparent Prince Philippe, son of the monarch Head of government Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt (since 13 July 1999) Cabinet Council of Ministers formally appointed by the monarch Elections none; the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch and then approved by parliament Legislative branch bicameral Parliament consists of a Senate or Senaat in Dutch, Senat in French (71 seats; 40 members are directly elected by popular vote, 31 are indirectly elected; members serve four-year terms) and a Chamber of Deputies or Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers in Dutch, Chambre des Representants in French (150 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms) elections Senate and Chamber of Deputies - last held 18 May 2003 (next to be held, May 2007) Judicial branch Supreme Court of Justice or Hof van Cassatie (in Dutch) or Cour de Cassation (in French) (judges are appointed for life by the Government; candidacies have to be submitted by the High Justice Council) Flag description three equal vertical bands of black (hoist side), yellow, and red; the design was based on the flag of France Economy Belgium Densely populated, Belgium is located at the heart of one of the world's most highly industrialized regions. Belgium was the first continental European country to undergo the Industrial Revolution, in the early 1800s. Industry is concentrated mainly in the populous Flemish area in the north. Belgium has a particularly open economy. It has developed an excellent transportation infrastructure of ports, canals, railways and highways to integrate its industry with that of its neighbors. Antwerp is the second-largest European port. With few natural resources, Belgium must import substantial quantities of raw materials and export a large volume of manufactures, making its economy unusually dependent on the state of world markets. Roughly three-quarters of its trade is with other EU countries Belgium began circulating the euro currency in January 2002. The Belgian economy is strongly oriented towards foreign trade, in particular of high value-added goods. The main imports are food products, machinery, rough diamonds, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, clothing and accessories, and textiles. The main exports are automobiles, food and food products, iron and steel, finished diamonds, textiles, plastics, petroleum products, and nonferrous metals. Labor force 4.77 million Labor force - by occupation agriculture 1.3%, industry 24.5%, services 74.2% Unemployment rate 7.6% Population below poverty line 4% Agriculture - products sugar beets, fresh vegetables, fruits, grain, tobacco; beef, veal, pork, milk Industries engineering and metal products, motor vehicle assembly, transportation equipment, scientific instruments, processed food and beverages, chemicals, basic metals, textiles, glass, petroleum Currency (code) euro (EUR) Transportation Belgium Airports 43 Airports - with paved runways total: 25 Airports - with unpaved runways total: 18 Heliports 1 Railways total: 3,521 km Roadways total: 149,757 km Paved 117,110 km (including 1,747 km of expressways), unpaved: 32,647 km Waterways 2,043 km (1,528 km in regular commercial use) Ports and terminals Antwerp, Brussels, Gent, Liege, Oostende, Zeebrugge

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