Advanced search
image
Travel & living abroad
   

Europe

Belgium

 Flag of Belgium

Last reviewed: 15 July 2011

Country information

BELGIUM TODAY

Country Facts

Area: 33,990 sq km (Total: 30,528 sq km; land: 30,333 sq km; water: 195 sq km)
Population: 10,839,905
Capital City: Brussels (population: 1,089,538)
People:
0-14 years: 16.9% (M 936,451; F 895,783)
15-64 years: 65.9% (M 3,591,555; F 3,555,957)
65 years and over: 17.2% (M 784,215; F 1,075,944)
Languages: Dutch 58%, French 32%, German 10%
Religions: Roman Catholic 75% (approximately 10% practising), Protestant or Other 25%
Currency: Euro
Major political parties:
Dutch Speaking parties:  NVA (Flemish Nationalists)CD&V (Flemish Christian Democrats); Open-VLD (Flemish Liberals and Democrats);  sp.a/ (Flemish Socialists); Lijst Dedecker (right of centre); Vlaams Belang (far-right Flemish Nationalists); Groen! (Greens)
Francophone Parties: PS (Socialist); MR (Liberals);; CDH (Humanist Centre Democrats); Ecolo (Greens); Front National (far-right).

More information: Belgium Government website

Government: Federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarch.
Head of State: King Albert II (since 9 August 1993) Heir Apparent: Prince Phillipe
Prime Minister: Yves Leterme (CD&V)
Foreign Minister: Steven Vanackere (CD&V)
Parties forming the current Federal government: Open-VLD, CD&V, MR, PS, CDH.
Membership of international organisations: Benelux; Bank for International Settlements (BIS); European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN); Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC); European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD); European Union (EU); International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU); International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (ICRM); Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW); North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO); United Nations (UN); United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO); United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR); United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK); World Health Organisation (WHO); World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO); World Meteorological Organisation (WMO); World Trade Organisation (WTO). Brussels is also home to the majority of the EU institutions and NATO HQ.

DID YOU KNOW?

  • Famous Belgians: tennis stars Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin, inventor of the saxophone Adolphe Sax; artist Rene Magritte, 5-times Tour de France winner Eddy Merckx. Not to mention fictional favourites such as  Tintin, Poirot and the Smurfs!
  • There are over 800 beers brewed in Belgium, ranging from lagers and pilsners through to ‘lambic’, white and fruit beers, and Trappist monastery beers. . 

Country information

Pick Another Country :