Guide to Belgium Introduction Background: Belgium became independent from the Netherlands in 1830 and was occupied by Germany during World Wars I and II. It has prospered in the past half century as a modern, technologically advanced European state and member of NATO and the EU. Tensions between the Dutch-speaking Flemings of the north and the French-speaking Walloons of the south have led in recent years to constitutional amendments granting these regions formal recognition and autonomy.
Geography Location: Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between France and the Netherlands
Geographic coordinates: 50 50 N, 4 00 E
Map references: Europe
Area: total
Area - comparative: about the size of Maryland
Land boundaries: total
Coastline: 66.5 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea
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
Natural resources: construction materials, silica sand, carbonates
Land use: arable land
Irrigated land: 40 sq km (includes Luxembourg) (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: flooding is a threat along rivers and in areas of reclaimed coastal land, protected from the sea by concrete dikes
Environment - current issues: the environment is exposed to intense pressures from human activities
Environment - international agreements: party to
Geography - note: crossroads of Western Europe; majority of West European capitals within 1,000 km of Brussels, the seat of both the European Union and NATO
People Population: 10,364,388 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years
Median age: total
Population growth rate: 0.15% (2005 est.)
Birth rate: 10.48 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate: 10.22 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate: 1.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth
Infant mortality rate: total
Life expectancy at birth: total population
Total fertility rate: 1.64 children born/woman (2005 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.2% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 10,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 100 (2003 est.)
Nationality: noun
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)
Literacy: definition
Government Country name: conventional long form
Government type: federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarch
Capital: Brussels
Administrative divisions: 10 provinces (French
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
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
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)
Political parties and leaders: Flemish parties
Political pressure groups and leaders: Christian, Socialist, and Liberal Trade Unions; Federation of Belgian Industries; numerous other associations representing bankers, manufacturers, middle-class artisans, and the legal and medical professions; various organizations represent the cultural interests of Flanders and Wallonia; various peace groups such as Pax Christi and groups representing immigrants
International organization participation: ACCT, AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, Benelux, BIS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, ONUB, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNMOGIP, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, WADB (nonregional), WCL, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission
Flag description: three equal vertical bands of black (hoist side), yellow, and red; the design was based on the flag of France
Economy Economy - overview: This modern private enterprise economy has capitalized on its central geographic location, highly developed transport network, and diversified industrial and commercial base. Industry is concentrated mainly in the populous Flemish area in the north. 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. Public debt is nearly 100% of GDP. On the positive side, the government has succeeded in balancing its budget, and income distribution is relatively equal. Belgium began circulating the euro currency in January 2002. Economic growth in 2001-03 dropped sharply because of the global economic slowdown, with moderate recovery in 2004.
GDP (purchasing power parity): $316.2 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 2.6% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $30,600 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture
Labor force: 4.75 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 1.3%, industry 24.5%, services 74.2% (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate: 12% (first half, 2004)
Population below poverty line: 4% (1989 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 28.7 (1996)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.9% (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): 19.1% of GDP (2004 est.)
Budget: revenues
Public debt: 96.2% of GDP (2004 est.)
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
Industrial production growth rate: 3.5% (2004 est.)
Electricity - production: 76.58 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel
Electricity - consumption: 78.82 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports: 9.1 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports: 16.7 billion kWh (2002)
Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption: 595,100 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: 450,000 bbl/day (2001)
Oil - imports: 1.042 million bbl/day (2001)
Natural gas - production: 0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: 15.5 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports: 15.4 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Current account balance: $11.4 billion (2004 est.)
Exports: $255.7 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Exports - commodities: machinery and equipment, chemicals, diamonds, metals and metal products, foodstuffs
Exports - partners: Germany 19.9%, France 17.2%, Netherlands 11.8%, UK 8.6%, US 6.5%, Italy 5.2% (2004)
Imports: $235 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, chemicals, diamonds, pharmaceuticals, foodstuffs, transportation equipment, oil products
Imports - partners: Germany 18.4%, Netherlands 17%, France 12.5%, UK 6.8%, Ireland 6.3%, US 5.5% (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $14.45 billion (2003)
Debt - external: $28.3 billion (1999 est.)
Economic aid - donor: ODA, $1.072 billion (2002)
Currency (code): euro (EUR) note
Currency code: EUR
Exchange rates: euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Telephones - main lines in use: 5,120,400 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 8,135,500 (2002)
Telephone system: general assessment
Radio broadcast stations: FM 79, AM 7, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios: 8.075 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 25 (plus 10 repeaters) (1997)
Televisions: 4.72 million (1997)
Internet country code: .be
Internet hosts: 166,799 (2004)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 61 (2000)
Internet users: 3.4 million (2002)
Transportation Railways: total
Highways: total
Waterways: 2,043 km (1,528 km in regular commercial use) (2003)
Pipelines: gas 1,485 km; oil 158 km; refined products 535 km (2004)
Ports and harbors: Antwerp, Brussels, Gent, Liege, Oostende, Zeebrugge
Merchant marine: total
Airports: 43 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total
Airports - with unpaved runways: total
Heliports: 1 (2004 est.)
Military Military branches: Land, Naval, and Air Components (2005)
Military service age and obligation: 16 years of age for voluntary military service; women comprise some 7% of the Belgian armed forces (2001)
Manpower available for military service: males age 16-49
Manpower fit for military service: males age 16-49
Manpower reaching military service age annually: males
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $3.999 billion (2003)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.3% (2003)
Transnational Issues Disputes - international: none
Illicit drugs: growing producer of synthetic drugs; transit point for US-bound ecstasy; source of precursor chemicals for South American cocaine processors; transshipment point for cocaine, heroin, hashish, and marijuana entering Western Europe; despite a strengthening of legislation, the country remains vulnerable to money laundering related to narcotics, automobiles, alcohol, and tobacco
Last updated: 20 October, 2005
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