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Capital Brussels
50°54? N 4°32? E Largest city Brussels Official language(s) Dutch, French, German 1830 Area
• Total
• Water (%)
10,445,852 (79th)
10,445,852
342/km² (17th)
{{{population_densitymi²}}}/mi² 2004 estimate
$316.2 billion (30th)
$29,707 (14th) 0.945 (9th) – high Currency Time zone
• Summer (DST) CET (UTC+1)
CEST (UTC+2) Internet TLD .be Calling code +32 |
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Belgium Information
Main article: Politics of Belgium
 Guy Verhofstadt, Prime Minister since July 1999
Guy Verhofstadt, Prime Minister since July 1999
Belgium is a constitutional popular monarchy and parliamentary democracy that evolved after World War II from a unitary state to a federation. The bicameral parliament is composed of a Senate and a Chamber of Representatives. The former is a mix of directly elected senior politicians and representatives of the communities and regions; while the latter represents all Belgians over the age of eighteen in a proportional voting system. Belgium is one of the few countries that has compulsory voting, thus having one of the highest rates of voter turnout in the world.[3]
The federal government, formally nominated by the king, must have the confidence of the Chamber of Representatives. It is led by the Prime Minister. The numbers of Dutch- and French-speaking ministers are equal as prescribed by the Constitution.[4] The King or Queen is the head of state, though he has limited prerogatives. Actual power is vested in the Prime Minister and the different governments, who govern the country. The judicial system is based on civil law and originates from the Napoleonic code. The Court of Appeals is one level below the Court of Cassation, an institution based on the French Court of Cassation.
Belgium's political institutions are complex; most political power is organised around the need to represent the main language communities. Since around 1970, the significant national Belgian Federation of Enterprises in Belgium.
 Albert II, King of the Belgians
Albert II, King of the Belgians
The current king, Albert II, succeeded King Baudouin in 1993. In 1999, Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt from the VLD has led a six-party Liberal-Social Democrat-Greens coalition, often referred to as 'the rainbow government'. This was the first government without the Christian Democrats since 1958.[5] In the 2003 elections, Verhofstadt won a second term in office and has led a Liberal-Social Democrat coalition of four parties.[6] More recently however, the steady rise of the Flemish ultra-right nationalist separatist party Vlaams Belang, has superseded the Vlaams Blok amidst concerns of racism promoted by the party. [7][8]
A significant achievement of the two successive Verhofstadt governments has been the achievement of a balanced budget; Belgium is one of the few member-states of the EU to have done so. This policy was applied by the successive governments during the 1990s under pressure from the European Council. The fall of the previous government was mainly due to the dioxin crisis,[9] a major food intoxication scandal in 1999 that led to the establishment of the Belgian Food Agency.[10] This event resulted in an atypically large representation by the Greens in parliament, and a greater emphasis on environmental politics during the first Verhofstadt government. One Green policy, for example, resulted in nuclear phase-out legislation, which has been modified by the current government. The absence of Christian Democrats from the ranks of the government has enabled Verhofstadt to tackle social issues from a more liberal point of view and to develop new legislation on the use of soft drugs, same-sex marriage and euthanasia. During the two most recent parliaments, the government has promoted active diplomacy in Africa,[11] opposed a military intervention during the Iraq disarmament crisis, and has passed legislation concerning war crimes. Both of Verhofstadt's terms have been marked by disputes between the Belgian communities. The major points of contention are the nocturnal air traffic routes at Brussels Airport and the status of the electoral district of Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde.
See also: list of Belgian monarchs, Belgian federal parliament, Belgian federal government, list of Belgian Prime Ministers, and Political parties in Belgium
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Main article: Geography of Belgium
 Brussels, Antwerp (Antwerpen), Ghent (Gent), Charleroi, Liège, Bruges (Brugge) and Namur are the seven largest cities of Belgium, with populations above 100,000
Namur are the seven largest cities of Belgium, with populations above 100,000
Belgium, with an area of 30,528 km², has three main geographical regions: the coastal plain in the north-west, the central plateau, and the Ardennes uplands in the south-east. The coastal plain consists mainly of sand dunes and polders. Polders are areas of land, close to or below sea level that have been reclaimed from the sea, from which they are protected by dikes or, further inland, by fields that have been drained with canals. The second geographical region, the central plateau, lies further inland. This is a smooth, slowly rising area that has many fertile valleys and is irrigated by many waterways. Here one can also find rougher land, including caves and small gorges.
 Landscape in the Hautes Fagnes, in the Ardennes
Landscape in the Hautes Fagnes, in the Ardennes
 Polders of Bachten de Kupe, in West Flanders
Polders of Bachten de Kupe, in West Flanders
 The Semois river, southern Ardennes
The Semois river, southern Ardennes
The third geographical region, called the Ardennes, is more rugged than the first two. It is a thickly forested plateau, very rocky and not very good for farming, which extends into northern France. This is where much of Belgium's wildlife can be found. Belgium's highest point, the Signal de Botrange is located in this region at only 694 metres.
The climate is maritime temperate, with significant precipitation in all seasons (Köppen climate classification: Cfb; the average temperature is 3°C in January, and 18°C in July; the average precipitation is 65 mm in January, and 78 mm in July).[13]
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Main article: Demographics of Belgium
The Namur. The Ardennes have the lowest density. As of 2005, the Flemish Region has a population of about 6,043,161, Wallonia 3,395,942 and Brussels 1,006,749.[18] Almost all of the population is urban (97.3% in 1999[19]). The main cities and their populations are Brussels (1,006,749), Antwerp (457,749), Ghent (230,951), Charleroi (201,373), and Liège (185,574).[20]
 Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Brussels. The basilica is the National Basilica of Belgium. It stands as a symbol of the historical link between the Belgian monarchy and the Catholic Church.
Brussels. The basilica is the National Basilica of Belgium. It stands as a symbol of the historical link between the Belgian monarchy and the Catholic Church.
About 60% of the country is Dutch-speaking, 40% French-speaking, and 1% German-speaking. Brussels is officially French-Dutch bilingual, but mostly French speaking; it evolved from a Dutch-speaking place to its current dominantly French character when the Belgian state became independent in 1830, with at that time only French as an official language (although the majority of the people spoke Dutch).
Both the France and the Netherlands. Many people can still speak dialects of Flemish and Walloon. These dialects, along with some other ones like Picard or Limburgish,[21] are not used in public life.
The CSC/ACV) and the Christian Democrat parties (CD&V, CDH).
The vast majority of Belgians are Morocco and Algeria, and Turkish immigrants number over 3% of the total population.
98% of the adult population is literate.[23] Education is compulsory from the ages of six to 18, but many Belgians continue to study until the age of about 23. Among the OECD countries in 1999, Belgium had the third highest proportion of 18–21-year-olds enrolled in postsecondary education, at 42%.[24] Nevertheless, in recent years, concern is rising over certain forms of illiteracy, such as functional illiteracy. In the period 1994–98, 18.4% of the population lacks functional literacy skills.[25] Mirroring the historical political conflicts between the freethought and Catholic segments of the population, the Belgian educational system in each communities is split into a laïque branch controlled by the communities, the provinces, or the municipalities, and a subsidised religious—mostly Catholic—branch controlled by both the communities and the religious authorities—usually the dioceses. It should however be noted that - at least for the Catholic schools - the religious authorities have very limited power over these schools.
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