fbpx
Wikipedia

Belgium

January 13, 2023

This article is about the country. For other uses, see Belgium (disambiguation).
"Belgique" redirects here. For the city in the United States, see Belgique, Missouri.

Coordinates: 50°50′N 4°00′E / 50.833°N 4.000°E / 50.833; 4.000

Belgium,[A] officially the Kingdom of Belgium,[B] is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the southwest, and the North Sea to the northwest. It covers an area of 30,528 km2 (11,787 sq mi) and has a population of more than 11.5 million,[11] making it the 22nd most densely populated country in the world and the 6th most densely populated country in Europe, with a density of 376/km2 (970/sq mi). Belgium is part of an area known as the Low Countries, historically a somewhat larger region than the Benelux group of states, as it also included parts of northern France. The capital and largest city is Brussels; other major cities are Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi, Liège, Bruges, Namur, and Leuven.

Kingdom of Belgium
  • Koninkrijk België (Dutch)
  • Royaume de Belgique (French)
  • Königreich Belgien (German)
Motto: Eendracht maakt macht (Dutch)
L'union fait la force (French)
Einigkeit macht stark (German)
Anthem: 
La Brabançonne
(English: "The Brabantian")
Location of Belgium (dark green)

– in Europe (green & dark grey)
– in the European Union (green)

Capital
and largest city
Brussels
50°51′N 4°21′E / 50.850°N 4.350°E / 50.850; 4.350
Official languages
Ethnic groups
(2022[1])
Religion
(2019[2])
Demonym(s)
GovernmentFederal parliamentary
constitutional monarchy[3]
• Monarch
Philippe
Alexander De Croo
LegislatureFederal Parliament
• Upper house
Senate
• Lower house
Chamber of Representatives
Independence 
from the Netherlands
• Declared
4 October 1830
19 April 1839
Area
• Total
30,528[4] km2 (11,787 sq mi) (136th)
• Water (%)
0.71 (2015)[5]
Population
• 2022 estimate
 11,584,008[6] (82nd)
• Density
376/km2 (973.8/sq mi) (22nd)
GDP (PPP)2022 estimate
• Total
$723 billion [7] (37th)
• Per capita
$62,065[7] (20th)
GDP (nominal)2022 estimate
• Total
$589 billion[7] (26th)
• Per capita
$50,598[7] (17th)
Gini (2021) 23.9[8]
low
HDI (2021) 0.937[9]
very high · 13th
CurrencyEuro (€) (EUR)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)
UTC+2 (CEST)
Driving sideright
Calling code+32
ISO 3166 codeBE
Internet TLD.be
  1. The flag's official proportions of 13:15 are rarely seen; proportions of 2:3 or similar are more common.
  2. The Brussels region is the de facto capital, but the City of Brussels municipality is the de jure capital.[10]
  3. The .eu domain is also used, as it is shared with other European Union member states.

Belgium is a sovereign state and a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system. Its institutional organization is complex and is structured on both regional and linguistic grounds. It is divided into three highly autonomous regions:[12] the Flemish Region (Flanders) in the north, the Walloon Region (Wallonia) in the south, and the Brussels-Capital Region.[13] Brussels is the smallest and most densely populated region, as well as the richest region in terms of GDP per capita. Belgium is also home to two main linguistic communities: the Flemish Community, which constitutes about 60 percent of the population, and the French Community, which constitutes about 40 percent of the population. A small German-speaking Community, numbering around one percent, exists in the East Cantons. The Brussels-Capital Region is officially bilingual in French and Dutch,[14] although French is the dominant language.[15] Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in its complex system of governance, made up of six different governments.

Since the Middle Ages, Belgium's central location near several major rivers has meant that the area has been relatively prosperous, connected commercially and politically to its bigger neighbours. The country as it exists today was established following the 1830 Belgian Revolution, when it seceded from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, which had incorporated the Southern Netherlands (which comprised most of modern-day Belgium) after the Congress of Vienna in 1815. The name chosen for the new state is derived from the Latin word Belgium, used in Julius Caesar's "Gallic Wars", to describe a nearby region in the period around 55 BCE.[16] Belgium has also been the battleground of European powers, earning the moniker the "Battlefield of Europe",[17] a reputation reinforced in the 20th century by both world wars.

Belgium participated in the Industrial Revolution,[18][19] and during the course of the 20th century, possessed a number of colonies in Africa.[20] Between 1885 and 1908, the Congo Free State, which was privately owned by King Leopold II of Belgium, was characterized by widespread atrocities and disease, leading to a population decline of millions; amid public outcry in Europe, Belgium annexed the territory as a colony.[21] The Belgian colonial empire gained independence between 1960 and 1962.[22]

The second half of the 20th century was marked by rising tensions between the Dutch-speaking and the French-speaking citizens fuelled by differences in language and culture and the unequal economic development of Flanders and Wallonia. This continuing antagonism has led to several far-reaching state reforms, resulting in the transition from a unitary to a federal arrangement between 1970 and 1993. Despite the reforms, tensions between the groups have remained, if not increased; there is significant separatism particularly among the Flemish; controversial language laws exist such as the municipalities with language facilities;[23] and the formation of a coalition government took 18 months following the June 2010 federal election, a world record.[24] Unemployment in Wallonia is more than double that of Flanders, which boomed after the Second World War.[25]

Belgium is one of the six founding countries of the European Union, and its capital, Brussels, is also the de facto capital of the European Union itself, hosting the official seats of the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, and the European Council, as well as one of two seats of the European Parliament (the other being Strasbourg). Belgium is also a founding member of the Eurozone, NATO, OECD, and WTO, and a part of the trilateral Benelux Union and the Schengen Area. Brussels also hosts the headquarters of many major international organizations, such as NATO.[C]

Belgium is a developed country, with an advanced high-income economy. It has very high standards of living, quality of life,[26] health care,[27] education,[28] and is categorized as "very high" on the Human Development Index.[29] It also ranks relatively high on the Global Peace Index.[30]

History

Main article: History of Belgium
For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Belgian history.

Antiquity

 
Gallia Belgica at the time of Julius Caesar's conquest of Gaul in 54 BCE

Gaul is divided into three parts, one of which the Belgae inhabit, the Aquitani another, those who in their own language are called Celts, in ours Gauls, the third.

(...) Of all these, the Belgae are the strongest (...) .

— Julius Caesar, De Bello Gallico, Book I, Ch. 1

According to Julius Caesar, the Belgae were the inhabitants of the northernmost part of Gaul, which was much bigger than modern Belgium. He also specifically used the Latin word "Belgium", to refer to a politically dominant part of that larger region, which is now in northernmost France.[31] Modern Belgium corresponds to the lands of the Morini, Menapii, Nervii, Germani Cisrhenani, Aduatuci, and, around Arlon, a part of the country of the Treveri. Caesar described these regions as a less economically developed transition zone, which had links to the Germanic tribes over the Rhine.

After Caesar's conquests, Gallia Belgica came to be the Latin name of a large Roman province covering most of Northern Gaul, including the Treveri. Areas closer to the lower Rhine frontier, including the eastern part of modern Belgium, eventually became part of the frontier province of Germania Inferior, which continued to interact with their neighbours outside the empire. At the time when central government collapsed in the Western Roman Empire, the Roman provinces of Belgica and Germania were inhabited by a mix of a Romanized population and Germanic-speaking Franks who came to dominate the military and political class.

Middle Ages

During the 5th century, the area came under the rule of the Frankish Merovingian kings, who established a kingdom ruling over the Romanized population in what is northern France, and then conquered the other Frankish kingdoms. During the 8th century, this kingdom of the Franks came to be ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, whose centre of power included the area which is now eastern Belgium.[32] Over the centuries, the kingdom was divided up in many ways, but the Treaty of Verdun in 843 divided the Carolingian Empire into three kingdoms whose borders had a lasting impact on medieval political boundaries. Most of modern Belgium was in the Middle Kingdom, later known as Lotharingia, but the coastal county of Flanders, west of the Scheldt, became the northernmost part of West Francia, the predecessor of France. In 870 in the Treaty of Meerssen, modern Belgium lands all became part of the western kingdom for a period, but in 880 in the Treaty of Ribemont, Lotharingia returned to the lasting control of the Eastern king, or Holy Roman Emperor. The lordships and bishoprics along the "March" (frontier) between the two great kingdoms maintained important connections between each other. For example, the county of Flanders expanded over the Scheldt into the empire, and during several periods was ruled by the same lords as the county of Hainaut.

In the 13th and 14th centuries, the cloth industry and commerce boomed especially in the County of Flanders and it became one of the richest areas in Europe. This prosperity played a role in conflicts between Flanders and the king of France. Famously, Flemish militias scored a surprise victory at the Battle of the Golden Spurs against a strong force of mounted knights in 1302, but France soon regained control of the rebellious province.

Burgundian and Habsburg Netherlands

 
The Burgundian State of Charles the Bold in the 15th century

In the 15th century, the Duke of Burgundy in France took control of Flanders, and from there they proceeded to unite much of what is now the Benelux, the so-called Burgundian Netherlands.[33] "Belgium" and "Flanders" were the first two common names used for the Burgundian Netherlands which was the predecessor of the Austrian Netherlands, the predecessor of modern Belgium.[34] The union, technically stretching between two kingdoms, gave the area economic and political stability which led to an even greater prosperity and artistic creation.

Born in Belgium, the House of Habsburg Emperor Charles V was heir of the Burgundians, but also of the royal families of Austria, Castile and Aragon. With the Pragmatic Sanction of 1549 he gave the Seventeen Provinces more legitimacy as a stable entity, rather than just a temporary personal union. He also increased the influence of these Netherlands over the Prince-Bishopric of Liège, which continued to exist as a large semi-independent enclave.[35]

Spanish and Austrian Netherlands

The Eighty Years' War (1568–1648), was triggered by the Spanish government's policy towards Protestantism, which was becoming popular in the Low Countries. The rebellious northern United Provinces (Belgica Foederata in Latin, the "Federated Netherlands") eventually separated from the Southern Netherlands (Belgica Regia, the "Royal Netherlands"). The latter were ruled successively by the Spanish (Spanish Netherlands) and the Austrian House of Habsburgs (Austrian Netherlands) and comprised most of modern Belgium. This was the theatre of several more protracted conflicts during much of the 17th and 18th centuries involving France, including the Franco-Dutch War (1672–1678), the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714), and part of the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748).

The French revolution and the Kingdom of the Netherlands

Following the campaigns of 1794 in the French Revolutionary Wars, the Low Countries – including territories that were never nominally under Habsburg rule, such as the Prince-Bishopric of Liège – were annexed by the French First Republic, ending Austrian rule in the region. A reunification of the Low Countries as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands occurred at the dissolution of the First French Empire in 1814, after the abdication of Napoleon.

Independent Belgium

 
Episode of the Belgian Revolution of 1830, Gustaf Wappers, 1834

In 1830, the Belgian Revolution led to the separation of the Southern Provinces from the Netherlands and to the establishment of a Catholic and bourgeois, officially French-speaking and neutral, independent Belgium under a provisional government and a national congress.[36][37] Since the installation of Leopold I as king on 21 July 1831, now celebrated as Belgium's National Day, Belgium has been a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy, with a laicist constitution based on the Napoleonic code.[38] Although the franchise was initially restricted, universal suffrage for men was introduced after the general strike of 1893 (with plural voting until 1919) and for women in 1949.

The main political parties of the 19th century were the Catholic Party and the Liberal Party, with the Belgian Labour Party emerging towards the end of the 19th century. French was originally the single official language adopted by the nobility and the bourgeoisie. It progressively lost its overall importance as Dutch became recognized as well. This recognition became official in 1898, and in 1967, the parliament accepted a Dutch version of the Constitution.[39]

The Berlin Conference of 1885 ceded control of the Congo Free State to King Leopold II as his private possession. From around 1900 there was growing international concern for the extreme and savage treatment of the Congolese population under Leopold II, for whom the Congo was primarily a source of revenue from ivory and rubber production.[40] Many Congolese were killed by Leopold's agents for failing to meet production quotas for ivory and rubber.[41] In 1908, this outcry led the Belgian state to assume responsibility for the government of the colony, henceforth called the Belgian Congo.[42] A Belgian commission in 1919 estimated that Congo's population was half what it was in 1879.[41]

 
Cheering crowds greet British troops entering Brussels, 4 September 1944

Germany invaded Belgium in August 1914 as part of the Schlieffen Plan to attack France, and much of the Western Front fighting of World War I occurred in western parts of the country. The opening months of the war were known as the Rape of Belgium due to German excesses. Belgium assumed control of the German colonies of Ruanda-Urundi (modern-day Rwanda and Burundi) during the war, and in 1924 the League of Nations mandated them to Belgium. In the aftermath of the First World War, Belgium annexed the Prussian districts of Eupen and Malmedy in 1925, thereby causing the presence of a German-speaking minority.

German forces again invaded the country in May 1940, and 40,690 Belgians, over half of them Jews, were killed during the subsequent occupation and the Holocaust. From September 1944 to February 1945 the Allies liberated Belgium. After World War II, a general strike forced King Leopold III to abdicate in 1951 in favour of his son, Prince Baudouin, since many Belgians felt he had collaborated with Germany during the war.[43] The Belgian Congo gained independence in 1960 during the Congo Crisis;[44] Ruanda-Urundi followed with its independence two years later. Belgium joined NATO as a founding member and formed the Benelux group of nations with the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

Belgium became one of the six founding members of the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951 and of the European Atomic Energy Community and European Economic Community, established in 1957. The latter has now become the European Union, for which Belgium hosts major administrations and institutions, including the European Commission, the Council of the European Union and the extraordinary and committee sessions of the European Parliament.

In the early 1990s, Belgium saw several large corruption scandals notably surrounding Marc Dutroux, Andre Cools, the Dioxin Affair, Agusta Scandal and the murder of Karel van Noppen.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Belgium
 
Relief map of Belgium

Belgium shares borders with France (620 km), Germany (167 km), Luxembourg (148 km) and the Netherlands (450 km). Its total surface, including water area, is 30,528 km2 (11,787 sq mi). Before 2018, its total area was believed to be 30,528 km2 (11,787 sq mi). However, when the country's statistics were measured in 2018, a new calculation method was used. Unlike previous calculations, this one included the area from the coast to the low-water line, revealing the country to be 160 km2 (62 sq mi) larger in surface area than previously thought.[45][46] Its land area alone is 30,278 km2.[47][needs update] It lies between latitudes 49°30' and 51°30' N, and longitudes 2°33' and 6°24' E.[48]

Belgium has three main geographical regions; the coastal plain in the northwest and the central plateau both belong to the Anglo-Belgian Basin, and the Ardennes uplands in the southeast to the Hercynian orogenic belt. The Paris Basin reaches a small fourth area at Belgium's southernmost tip, Belgian Lorraine.[49]

The coastal plain consists mainly of sand dunes and polders. Further inland lies a smooth, slowly rising landscape irrigated by numerous waterways, with fertile valleys and the northeastern sandy plain of the Campine (Kempen). The thickly forested hills and plateaus of the Ardennes are more rugged and rocky with caves and small gorges. Extending westward into France, this area is eastwardly connected to the Eifel in Germany by the High Fens plateau, on which the Signal de Botrange forms the country's highest point at 694 m (2,277 ft).[50][51]

The climate is maritime temperate with significant precipitation in all seasons (Köppen climate classification: Cfb), like most of northwest Europe.[52] The average temperature is lowest in January at 3 °C (37.4 °F) and highest in July at 18 °C (64.4 °F). The average precipitation per month varies between 54 mm (2.1 in) for February and April, to 78 mm (3.1 in) for July.[53] Averages for the years 2000 to 2006 show daily temperature minimums of 7 °C (44.6 °F) and maximums of 14 °C (57.2 °F) and monthly rainfall of 74 mm (2.9 in); these are about 1 °C and nearly 10 millimetres above last century's normal values, respectively.[54]

Phytogeographically, Belgium is shared between the Atlantic European and Central European provinces of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom.[55] According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, the territory of Belgium belongs to the terrestrial ecoregions of Atlantic mixed forests and Western European broadleaf forests.[56][57] Belgium had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 1.36/10, ranking it 163rd globally out of 172 countries.[58]

Provinces

Main article: Provinces of Belgium

The territory of Belgium is divided into three Regions, two of which, the Flemish Region and Walloon Region, are in turn subdivided into provinces; the third Region, the Brussels Capital Region, is neither a province nor a part of a province.

Province Dutch name French name German name Capital Area[4] Population
(1 January 2019)[6]		 Density ISO 3166-2:BE
[59]
Flemish Region
  Antwerp Antwerpen Anvers Antwerpen Antwerp 2,876 km2 (1,110 sq mi) 1,857,986 647/km2 (1,680/sq mi) VAN
  East Flanders Oost-Vlaanderen Flandre orientale Ostflandern Ghent 3,007 km2 (1,161 sq mi) 1,515,064 504/km2 (1,310/sq mi) VOV
  Flemish Brabant Vlaams-Brabant Brabant flamand Flämisch-Brabant Leuven 2,118 km2 (818 sq mi) 1,146,175 542/km2 (1,400/sq mi) VBR
  Limburg Limburg Limbourg Limburg Hasselt 2,427 km2 (937 sq mi) 874,048 361/km2 (930/sq mi) VLI
  West Flanders West-Vlaanderen Flandre occidentale Westflandern Bruges 3,197 km2 (1,234 sq mi) 1,195,796 375/km2 (970/sq mi) VWV
Walloon Region
  Hainaut Henegouwen Hainaut Hennegau Mons 3,813 km2 (1,472 sq mi) 1,344,241 353/km2 (910/sq mi) WHT
  Liège Luik Liège Lüttich Liège 3,857 km2 (1,489 sq mi) 1,106,992 288/km2 (750/sq mi) WLG
  Luxembourg Luxemburg Luxembourg Luxemburg Arlon 4,459 km2 (1,722 sq mi) 284,638 64/km2 (170/sq mi) WLX
  Namur Namen Namur Namur (Namür) Namur 3,675 km2 (1,419 sq mi) 494,325 135/km2 (350/sq mi) WNA
  Walloon Brabant Waals-Brabant Brabant wallon Wallonisch-Brabant Wavre 1,097 km2 (424 sq mi) 403,599 368/km2 (950/sq mi) WBR
Brussels Capital Region
  Brussels Capital Region Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest Région de Bruxelles-Capitale Region Brüssel-Hauptstadt Brussels City 162.4 km2 (62.7 sq mi) 1,208,542 7,442/km2 (19,270/sq mi) BBR
Total België Belgique Belgien Brussels City 30,689 km2 (11,849 sq mi) 11,431,406 373/km2 (970/sq mi)

Politics

Main articles: Politics of Belgium and Belgian federal government
 
Philippe
King of the Belgians since 2013
 
Alexander De Croo
Prime Minister since 2020
 
Chart illustrating the federal government construction of Belgium

Belgium is a constitutional, popular monarchy and a federal parliamentary democracy. The bicameral federal parliament is composed of a Senate and a Chamber of Representatives. The former is made up of 50 senators appointed by the parliaments of the communities and regions and 10 co-opted senators. Prior to 2014, most of the Senate's members were directly elected. The Chamber's 150 representatives are elected under a proportional voting system from 11 electoral districts. Belgium has compulsory voting and thus maintains one of the highest rates of voter turnout in the world.[60]

The King (currently Philippe) is the head of state, though with limited prerogatives. He appoints ministers, including a Prime Minister, that have the confidence of the Chamber of Representatives to form the federal government. The Council of Ministers is composed of no more than fifteen members. With the possible exception of the Prime Minister, the Council of Ministers is composed of an equal number of Dutch-speaking members and French-speaking members.[61] The judicial system is based on civil law and originates from the Napoleonic code. The Court of Cassation is the court of last resort, with the courts of appeal one level below.[62]

Political culture

Belgium's political institutions are complex; most political power rests on representation of the main cultural communities.[63] Since about 1970, the significant national Belgian political parties have split into distinct components that mainly represent the political and linguistic interests of these communities.[64] The major parties in each community, though close to the political center, belong to three main groups: Christian Democrats, Liberals, and Social Democrats.[65] Further notable parties came into being well after the middle of last century, mainly to represent linguistic, nationalist, or environmental interests, and recently smaller ones of some specific liberal nature.[64]

A string of Christian Democrat coalition governments from 1958 was broken in 1999 after the first dioxin crisis, a major food contamination scandal.[66][67][68] A "rainbow coalition" emerged from six parties: the Flemish and the French-speaking Liberals, Social Democrats and Greens.[69] Later, a "purple coalition" of Liberals and Social Democrats formed after the Greens lost most of their seats in the 2003 election.[70]

The government led by Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt from 1999 to 2007 achieved a balanced budget, some tax reforms, a labor-market reform, scheduled nuclear phase-out and instigated legislation allowing more stringent war crime and more lenient soft drug usage prosecution. Restrictions on withholding euthanasia were reduced and same-sex marriage legalized. The government promoted active diplomacy in Africa[71] and opposed the invasion of Iraq.[72] It is the only country that does not have age restrictions on euthanasia.[73]

Verhofstadt's coalition fared badly in the June 2007 elections. For more than a year, the country experienced a political crisis.[74] This crisis was such that many observers speculated on a possible partition of Belgium.[75][76][77] From 21 December 2007 until 20 March 2008 the temporary Verhofstadt III Government was in office. This was a coalition of the Flemish and Francophone Christian Democrats, the Flemish and Francophone Liberals together with the Francophone Social Democrats.[78]

On that day a new government, led by Flemish Christian Democrat Yves Leterme, the actual winner of the federal elections of June 2007, was sworn in by the king. On 15 July 2008 Leterme announced the resignation of the cabinet to the king, as no progress in constitutional reforms had been made.[78] In December 2008, he once more offered his resignation to the king after a crisis surrounding the sale of Fortis to BNP Paribas.[79] At this juncture, his resignation was accepted and Christian Democratic and Flemish Herman Van Rompuy was sworn in as Prime Minister on 30 December 2008.[80]

After Herman Van Rompuy was designated the first permanent President of the European Council on 19 November 2009, he offered the resignation of his government to King Albert II on 25 November 2009. A few hours later, the new government under Prime Minister Yves Leterme was sworn in. On 22 April 2010, Leterme again offered the resignation of his cabinet to the king[81] after one of the coalition partners, the OpenVLD, withdrew from the government, and on 26 April 2010 King Albert officially accepted the resignation.[82]

The Parliamentary elections in Belgium on 13 June 2010 saw the Flemish nationalist N-VA become the largest party in Flanders, and the Socialist Party PS the largest party in Wallonia.[83] Until December 2011, Belgium was governed by Leterme's caretaker government awaiting the end of the deadlocked negotiations for formation of a new government. By 30 March 2011, this set a new world record for the elapsed time without an official government, previously held by war-torn Iraq.[84] Finally, in December 2011 the Di Rupo Government led by Walloon socialist Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo was sworn in.[85]

The 2014 federal election (coinciding with the regional elections) resulted in a further electoral gain for the Flemish nationalist N-VA, although the incumbent coalition (composed of Flemish and French-speaking Social Democrats, Liberals, and Christian Democrats) maintains a solid majority in Parliament and in all electoral constituencies. On 22 July 2014, King Philippe nominated Charles Michel (MR) and Kris Peeters (CD&V) to lead the formation of a new federal cabinet composed of the Flemish parties N-VA, CD&V, Open Vld and the French-speaking MR, which resulted in the Michel Government. It was the first time N-VA was part of the federal cabinet, while the French-speaking side was represented only by the MR, which achieved a minority of the public votes in Wallonia.[86]

In May 2019 federal elections in the Flemish-speaking northern region of Flanders far-right Vlaams Belang party made major gains. In the French-speaking southern area of Wallonia the Socialists were strong. The moderate Flemish nationalist party the N-VA remained the largest party in parliament.[87] In July 2019 prime minister Charles Michel was selected to hold the post of President of the European Council.[88] His successor Sophie Wilmès was Belgium's first female prime minister. She led the caretaker government since October 2019.[89] The Flemish Liberal party politician Alexander De Croo became new prime minister in October 2020. The parties had agreed on federal government 16 months after the elections.[90]

Communities and regions

Main article: Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium
 
Communities:
  Flemish Community / Dutch language area
  Flemish & French Community / bilingual language area
  French Community / French language area
  German-speaking Community / German language area
 
Regions:
  Flemish Region / Dutch language area
  Brussels-Capital Region / bilingual area
  Walloon Region / French and German language areas

Following a usage which can be traced back to the Burgundian and Habsburg courts,[91] in the 19th century it was necessary to speak French to belong to the governing upper class, and those who could only speak Dutch were effectively second-class citizens.[92] Late that century, and continuing into the 20th century, Flemish movements evolved to counter this situation.[93]

While the people in Southern Belgium spoke French or dialects of French, and most Brusselers adopted French as their first language, the Flemings refused to do so and succeeded progressively in making Dutch an equal language in the education system.[93] Following World War II, Belgian politics became increasingly dominated by the autonomy of its two main linguistic communities.[94] Intercommunal tensions rose and the constitution was amended to minimize the potential for conflict.[94]

Based on the four language areas defined in 1962–63 (the Dutch, bilingual, French and German language areas), consecutive revisions of the country's constitution in 1970, 1980, 1988 and 1993 established a unique form of a federal state with segregated political power into three levels:[95][96]

  1. The federal government, based in Brussels.
  2. The three language communities:
  3. The three regions:

The constitutional language areas determine the official languages in their municipalities, as well as the geographical limits of the empowered institutions for specific matters.[97] Although this would allow for seven parliaments and governments when the Communities and Regions were created in 1980, Flemish politicians decided to merge both.[98] Thus the Flemings just have one single institutional body of parliament and government is empowered for all except federal and specific municipal matters.[D]

The overlapping boundaries of the Regions and Communities have created two notable peculiarities: the territory of the Brussels-Capital Region (which came into existence nearly a decade after the other regions) is included in both the Flemish and French Communities, and the territory of the German-speaking Community lies wholly within the Walloon Region. Conflicts about jurisdiction between the bodies are resolved by the Constitutional Court of Belgium. The structure is intended as a compromise to allow different cultures to live together peacefully.[18]

Locus of policy jurisdiction

The Federal State's authority includes justice, defense, federal police, social security, nuclear energy, monetary policy and public debt, and other aspects of public finances. State-owned companies include the Belgian Post Group and Belgian Railways. The Federal Government is responsible for the obligations of Belgium and its federalized institutions towards the European Union and NATO. It controls substantial parts of public health, home affairs and foreign affairs.[99] The budget—without the debt—controlled by the federal government amounts to about 50% of the national fiscal income. The federal government employs around 12% of the civil servants.[100]

Communities exercise their authority only within linguistically determined geographical boundaries, originally oriented towards the individuals of a Community's language: culture (including audiovisual media), education and the use of the relevant language. Extensions to personal matters less directly connected with language comprise health policy (curative and preventive medicine) and assistance to individuals (protection of youth, social welfare, aid to families, immigrant assistance services, and so on.).[101]

Regions have authority in fields that can be broadly associated with their territory. These include economy, employment, agriculture, water policy, housing, public works, energy, transport, the environment, town and country planning, nature conservation, credit and foreign trade. They supervise the provinces, municipalities and intercommunal utility companies.[102]

In several fields, the different levels each have their own say on specifics. With education, for instance, the autonomy of the Communities neither includes decisions about the compulsory aspect nor allows for setting minimum requirements for awarding qualifications, which remain federal matters.[99] Each level of government can be involved in scientific research and international relations associated with its powers. The treaty-making power of the Regions' and Communities' Governments is the broadest of all the Federating units of all the Federations all over the world.[103][104][105]

Foreign relations

 
The Berlaymont building in Brussels, seat of the European Commission
Main article: Foreign relations of Belgium

Because of its location at the crossroads of Western Europe, Belgium has historically been the route of invading armies from its larger neighbors. With virtually defenseless borders, Belgium has traditionally sought to avoid domination by the more powerful nations which surround it through a policy of mediation. The Belgians have been strong advocates of European integration. The headquarters of NATO and of several of the institutions of the European Union are located in Belgium.

Armed forces

Main article: Belgian Armed Forces

The Belgian Armed Forces have about 47,000 active troops. In 2019, Belgium's defense budget totaled €4.303 billion ($4.921 billion) representing .93% of its GDP.[106] They are organized into one unified structure which consists of four main components: Land Component or the Army, Air Component or the Air Force, Marine Component or the Navy and the Medical Component. The operational commands of the four components are subordinate to the Staff Department for Operations and Training of the Ministry of Defense, which is headed by the Assistant Chief of Staff Operations and Training, and to the Chief of Defense.[107]

The effects of the Second World War made collective security a priority for Belgian foreign policy. In March 1948 Belgium signed the Treaty of Brussels and then joined NATO in 1948. However, the integration of the armed forces into NATO did not begin until after the Korean War.[108] The Belgians, along with the Luxembourg government, sent a detachment of battalion strength to fight in Korea known as the Belgian United Nations Command. This mission was the first in a long line of UN missions which the Belgians supported. Currently, the Belgian Marine Component is working closely together with the Dutch Navy under the command of the Admiral Benelux.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Belgium
 
A proportional representation of Belgium exports, 2019

Belgium's strongly globalized economy[109] and its transport infrastructure are integrated with the rest of Europe. Its location at the heart of a highly industrialized region helped make it the world's 15th largest trading nation in 2007.[110][111] The economy is characterized by a highly productive work force, high GNP and high exports per capita.[112] Belgium's main imports are raw materials, machinery and equipment, chemicals, raw diamonds, pharmaceuticals, foodstuffs, transportation equipment, and oil products. Its main exports are machinery and equipment, chemicals, finished diamonds, metals and metal products, and foodstuffs.[47]

The Belgian economy is heavily service-oriented and shows a dual nature: a dynamic Flemish economy and a Walloon economy that lags behind.[18][113][E] One of the founding members of the European Union, Belgium strongly supports an open economy and the extension of the powers of EU institutions to integrate member economies. Since 1922, through the Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union, Belgium and Luxembourg have been a single trade market with customs and currency union.[114]

 
Steelmaking along the Meuse at Ougrée, near Liège

Belgium was the first continental European country to undergo the Industrial Revolution, in the early 19th century.[115] Areas in Liège Province and around Charleroi rapidly developed mining and steelmaking, which flourished until the mid-20th century in the Sambre and Meuse valley and made Belgium one of the three most industrialized nations in the world from 1830 to 1910.[116][117] However, by the 1840s the textile industry of Flanders was in severe crisis, and the region experienced famine from 1846 to 1850.[118][119]

After World War II, Ghent and Antwerp experienced a rapid expansion of the chemical and petroleum industries. The 1973 and 1979 oil crises sent the economy into a recession; it was particularly prolonged in Wallonia, where the steel industry had become less competitive and experienced a serious decline.[120] In the 1980s and 1990s, the economic center of the country continued to shift northwards and is now concentrated in the populous Flemish Diamond area.[121]

By the end of the 1980s, Belgian macroeconomic policies had resulted in a cumulative government debt of about 120% of GDP. As of 2006, the budget was balanced and public debt was equal to 90.30% of GDP.[122] In 2005 and 2006, real GDP growth rates of 1.5% and 3.0%, respectively, were slightly above the average for the Euro area. Unemployment rates of 8.4% in 2005 and 8.2% in 2006 were close to the area average. By October 2010, this had grown to 8.5% compared to an average rate of 9.6% for the European Union as a whole (EU 27).[123][124] From 1832 until 2002, Belgium's currency was the Belgian franc. Belgium switched to the euro in 2002, with the first sets of euro coins being minted in 1999. The standard Belgian euro coins designated for circulation show the portrait of the monarch (first King Albert II, since 2013 King Philippe).

Despite an 18% decrease observed from 1970 to 1999, Belgium still had in 1999 the highest rail network density within the European Union with 113.8 km/1 000 km2. On the other hand, the same period, 1970–1999, has seen a huge growth (+56%) of the motorway network. In 1999, the density of km motorways per 1000 km2 and 1000 inhabitants amounted to 55.1 and 16.5 respectively and were significantly superior to the EU's means of 13.7 and 15.9.[125]

From a biological resource perspective, Belgium has a low endowment: Belgium's biocapacity adds up to only 0.8 global hectares in 2016,[126] just about half of the 1.6 global hectares of biocapacity available per person worldwide.[127] In contrast, in 2016, Belgians used on average 6.3 global hectares of biocapacity - their ecological footprint of consumption. This means they required about eight times as much biocapacity as Belgium contains. As a result, Belgium was running a biocapacity deficit of 5.5 global hectares per person in 2016.[126]

Belgium experiences some of the most congested traffic in Europe. In 2010, commuters to the cities of Brussels and Antwerp spent respectively 65 and 64 hours a year in traffic jams.[128] Like in most small European countries, more than 80% of the airways traffic is handled by a single airport, the Brussels Airport. The ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge (Bruges) share more than 80% of Belgian maritime traffic, Antwerp being the second European harbor with a gross weight of goods handled of 115 988 000 t in 2000 after a growth of 10.9% over the preceding five years.[125][129] In 2016, the port of Antwerp handled 214 million tons after a year-on-year growth of 2.7%.[130]

There is a large economic gap between Flanders and Wallonia. Wallonia was historically wealthy compared to Flanders, mostly due to its heavy industries, but the decline of the steel industry post-World War II led to the region's rapid decline, whereas Flanders rose swiftly. Since then, Flanders has been prosperous, among the wealthiest regions in Europe, whereas Wallonia has been languishing. As of 2007, the unemployment rate of Wallonia is over double that of Flanders. The divide has played a key part in the tensions between the Flemish and Walloons in addition to the already-existing language divide. Pro-independence movements have gained high popularity in Flanders as a consequence. The separatist New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) party, for instance, is the largest party in Belgium.[131][132][133]

Science and technology

Further information: Science and technology in Brussels, Science and technology in Flanders, and Science and technology in Wallonia

Contributions to the development of science and technology have appeared throughout the country's history. The 16th century Early Modern flourishing of Western Europe included cartographer Gerardus Mercator, anatomist Andreas Vesalius, herbalist Rembert Dodoens[134][135][136][137] and mathematician Simon Stevin among the most influential scientists.[138]

Chemist Ernest Solvay[139] and engineer Zenobe Gramme (École industrielle de Liège)[140] gave their names to the Solvay process and the Gramme dynamo, respectively, in the 1860s. Bakelite was developed in 1907–1909 by Leo Baekeland. Ernest Solvay also acted as a major philanthropist and gave his name to the Solvay Institute of Sociology, the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management and the International Solvay Institutes for Physics and Chemistry which are now part of the Université libre de Bruxelles. In 1911, he started a series of conferences, the Solvay Conferences on Physics and Chemistry, which have had a deep impact on the evolution of quantum physics and chemistry.[141] A major contribution to fundamental science was also due to a Belgian, Monsignor Georges Lemaître (Catholic University of Louvain), who is credited with proposing the Big Bang theory of the origin of the universe in 1927.[142]

Three Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine were awarded to Belgians: Jules Bordet (Université libre de Bruxelles) in 1919, Corneille Heymans (University of Ghent) in 1938 and Albert Claude (Université libre de Bruxelles) together with Christian de Duve (Université catholique de Louvain) in 1974. François Englert (Université libre de Bruxelles) was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2013. Ilya Prigogine (Université libre de Bruxelles) was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1977.[143] Two Belgian mathematicians have been awarded the Fields Medal: Pierre Deligne in 1978 and Jean Bourgain in 1994.[144][145] Belgium was ranked 22nd in the Global Innovation Index in 2020 and 2021, up from 23rd in 2019.[146][147][148]

Demographics

Main articles: Demographics of Belgium and Belgians
 
Population density in Belgium by arrondissement.
 
Brussels, the capital city and largest metropolitan area of Belgium

As of 1 January 2020, the total population of Belgium according to its population register was 11,492,641.[6] The population density of Belgium is 376/km2 (970/sq mi) as of January 2019, making it the 22nd most densely populated country in the world, and the 6th most densely populated country in Europe. The most densely populated province is Antwerp, the least densely populated province is Luxembourg. As of January 2019, the Flemish Region had a population of 6,589,069 (57.6% of Belgium), its most populous cities being Antwerp (523,248), Ghent (260,341) and Bruges (118,284). Wallonia had a population of 3,633,795 (31.8% of Belgium) with Charleroi (201,816), Liège (197,355) and Namur (110,939), its most populous cities. The Brussels-Capital Region has 1,208,542 inhabitants (10.6% of Belgium) in the 19 municipalities, three of which have over 100,000 residents.[6]

In 2017 the average total fertility rate (TFR) across Belgium was 1.64 children per woman, below the replacement rate of 2.1; it remains considerably below the high of 4.87 children born per woman in 1873.[149] Belgium subsequently has one of the oldest populations in the world, with an average age of 41.6 years.[150]

Migration

As of 2007, nearly 92% of the population had Belgian citizenship,[151] and other European Union member citizens account for around 6%. The prevalent foreign nationals were Italian (171,918), French (125,061), Dutch (116,970), Moroccan (80,579), Portuguese (43,509), Spanish (42,765), Turkish (39,419) and German (37,621).[152][153] In 2007, there were 1.38 million foreign-born residents in Belgium, corresponding to 12.9% of the total population. Of these, 685,000 (6.4%) were born outside the EU and 695,000 (6.5%) were born in another EU Member State.[154][155]

At the beginning of 2012, people of foreign background and their descendants were estimated to have formed around 25% of the total population i.e. 2.8 million new Belgians.[156] Of these new Belgians, 1,200,000 are of European ancestry and 1,350,000[157] are from non-Western countries (most of them from Morocco, Turkey, and the DR Congo). Since the modification of the Belgian nationality law in 1984 more than 1.3 million migrants have acquired Belgian citizenship. The largest group of immigrants and their descendants in Belgium are Moroccans.[158] 89.2% of inhabitants of Turkish origin have been naturalized, as have 88.4% of people of Moroccan background, 75.4% of Italians, 56.2% of the French and 47.8% of Dutch people.[157]

Statbel released figures of the Belgian population in relation to the origin of people in Belgium. According to the data, as of 1 January 2021, 67.3% of the Belgian population was of ethnic Belgian origin and 32.7% were of foreign origin or nationality, with 20.3% of those of a foreign nationality or ethnic group originating from neighbouring countries. The study also found that 74.5% of the Brussels Capital Region were of non-Belgian origin, of which 13.8% originated from neighbouring countries.[1]

 
 
Largest cities or towns in Belgium
Numbers according to the NIS, table 3 (1 January 2018)
Rank Name Region Pop. Rank Name Region Pop.
 
Antwerp
 
Ghent 		1 Antwerp Flanders 523,248 11 Molenbeek-Saint-Jean Brussels 97,005  
Charleroi
 
Liège
2 Ghent Flanders 260,341 12 Mons Wallonia 95,299
3 Charleroi Wallonia 201,816 13 Ixelles Brussels 86,513
4 Liège Wallonia 197,355 14 Mechelen Flanders 86,304
5 City of Brussels Brussels 179,277 15 Aalst Flanders 85,715
6 Schaerbeek Brussels 133,010 16 Uccle Brussels 82,275
7 Anderlecht Brussels 118,382 17 La Louvière Wallonia 80,637
8 Bruges Flanders 118,284 18 Hasselt Flanders 77,651
9 Namur Wallonia 110,939 19 Sint-Niklaas Flanders 76,756
10 Leuven Flanders 101,396 20 Kortrijk Flanders 76,265

Languages

Main article: Languages of Belgium
Estimated distribution of primary languages in Belgium
Dutch
 
 59%
French
 
 40%
German
 
 1%
 
Bilingual signs in Brussels

Belgium has three official languages: Dutch, French and German. A number of non-official minority languages are spoken as well.[159] As no census exists, there are no official statistical data regarding the distribution or usage of Belgium's three official languages or their dialects.[160] However, various criteria, including the language(s) of parents, of education, or the second-language status of foreign born, may provide suggested figures. An estimated 60% of the Belgian population are native speakers of Dutch (often referred to as Flemish), and 40% of the population speaks French natively. French-speaking Belgians are often referred to as Walloons, although the French speakers in Brussels are not Walloons.[F]

The total number of native Dutch speakers is estimated to be about 6.23 million, concentrated in the northern Flanders region, while native French speakers number 3.32 million in Wallonia and an estimated 870,000 (or 85%) in the officially bilingual Brussels-Capital Region.[G][161] The German-speaking Community is made up of 73,000 people in the east of the Walloon Region; around 10,000 German and 60,000 Belgian nationals are speakers of German. Roughly 23,000 more German speakers live in municipalities near the official Community.[162][163][164][165]

Both Belgian Dutch and Belgian French have minor differences in vocabulary and semantic nuances from the varieties spoken respectively in the Netherlands and France. Many Flemish people still speak dialects of Dutch in their local environment. Walloon, considered either as a dialect of French or a distinct Romance language,[166][167] is now only understood and spoken occasionally, mostly by elderly people. Walloon is divided into four dialects, which along with those of Picard,[168] are rarely used in public life and have largely been replaced by French.

Religion

Main article: Religion in Belgium

Since the country's independence, Roman Catholicism has had an important role in Belgium's politics.[169] However Belgium is largely a secular country as the constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the government generally respects this right in practice. During the reigns of Albert I and Baudouin, the Belgian royal family had a reputation of deeply rooted Catholicism.[170]

Roman Catholicism has traditionally been Belgium's majority religion; being especially strong in Flanders. However, by 2009 Sunday church attendance was 5% for Belgium in total; 3% in Brussels,[171] and 5.4% in Flanders. Church attendance in 2009 in Belgium was roughly half of the Sunday church attendance in 1998 (11% for the total of Belgium in 1998).[172] Despite the drop in church attendance, Catholic identity nevertheless remains an important part of Belgium's culture.[170]

According to the Eurobarometer 2010,[173] 37% of Belgian citizens responded that they believe there is a God. 31% answered that they believe there is some sort of spirit or life-force. 27% answered that they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, God, or life-force. 5% did not respond. According to the Eurobarometer 2015, 60.7% of the total population of Belgium adhered to Christianity, with Roman Catholicism being the largest denomination with 52.9%. Protestants comprised 2.1% and Orthodox Christians were the 1.6% of the total. Non-religious people comprised 32.0% of the population and were divided between atheists (14.9%) and agnostics (17.1%). A further 5.2% of the population was Muslim and 2.1% were believers in other religions.[174] The same survey held in 2012 found that Christianity was the largest religion in Belgium, accounting for 65% of Belgians.[175]

Symbolically and materially, the Roman Catholic Church remains in a favorable position.[170] Belgium officially recognizes three religions: Christianity (Catholic, Protestantism, Orthodox churches and Anglicanism), Islam and Judaism.[176]

 
Interior of the Great Synagogue of Brussels

In the early 2000s, there were approximately 42,000 Jews in Belgium. The Jewish Community of Antwerp (numbering some 18,000) is one of the largest in Europe, and one of the last places in the world where Yiddish is the primary language of a large Jewish community (mirroring certain Orthodox and Hasidic communities in New York, New Jersey, and Israel). In addition, most Jewish children in Antwerp receive a Jewish education.[177] There are several Jewish newspapers and more than 45 active synagogues (30 of which are in Antwerp) in the country. A 2006 inquiry in Flanders, considered to be a more religious region than Wallonia, showed that 55% considered themselves religious and that 36% believed that God created the universe.[178] On the other hand, Wallonia has become one of Europe's most secular/least religious regions. Most of the French-speaking region's population does not consider religion an important part of their lives, and as much as 45% of the population identifies as irreligious. This is particularly the case in eastern Wallonia and areas along the French border.

A 2008 estimate found that approximately 6% of the Belgian population (628,751 people) is Muslim. Muslims constitute 23.6% of the population of Brussels, 4.9% of Wallonia and 5.1% of Flanders. The majority of Belgian Muslims live in the major cities, such as Antwerp, Brussels and Charleroi. The largest group of immigrants in Belgium are Moroccans, with 400,000 people. The Turks are the third largest group, and the second largest Muslim ethnic group, numbering 220,000.[158][179]

Health

Main article: Healthcare in Belgium
 
University Hospital of Antwerp

The Belgians enjoy good health. According to 2012 estimates, the average life expectancy is 79.65 years.[47] Since 1960, life expectancy has, in line with the European average, grown by two months per year. Death in Belgium is mainly due to heart and vascular disorders, neoplasms, disorders of the respiratory system and unnatural causes of death (accidents, suicide). Non-natural causes of death and cancer are the most common causes of death for females up to age 24 and males up to age 44.[180]

Healthcare in Belgium is financed through both social security contributions and taxation. Health insurance is compulsory. Health care is delivered by a mixed public and private system of independent medical practitioners and public, university and semi-private hospitals. Health care service are payable by the patient and reimbursed later by health insurance institutions, but for ineligible categories (of patients and services) so-called 3rd party payment systems exist.[180] The Belgian health care system is supervised and financed by the federal government, the Flemish and Walloon Regional governments; and the German Community also has (indirect) oversight and responsibilities.[180]

For the first time in Belgian history, the first child was euthanized following the 2-year mark of the removal of the euthanization age restrictions. The child had been euthanized due to an incurable disease that was inflicted upon the child. Although there may have been some support for the euthanization there is a possibility of controversy due to the issue revolving around the subject of assisted suicide.[181][182] Excluding assisted suicide, Belgium has the highest suicide rate in Western Europe and one of the highest suicide rates in the developed world (exceeded only by Lithuania, South Korea, and Latvia).[183]

Education

Main article: Education in Belgium
 
The Central Library of the KU Leuven University

Education is compulsory from 6 to 18 years of age for Belgians.[184] Among OECD countries in 2002, Belgium had the third highest proportion of 18- to 21-year-olds enrolled in postsecondary education, at 42%.[185] Though an estimated 99% of the adult population is literate, concern is rising over functional illiteracy.[168][186] The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), coordinated by the OECD, currently ranks Belgium's education as the 19th best in the world, being significantly higher than the OECD average.[187] Education being organized separately by each, the Flemish Community scores noticeably above the French and German-speaking Communities.[188]

Mirroring the dual structure of the 19th-century Belgian political landscape, characterized by the Liberal and the Catholic parties, the educational system is segregated within a secular and a religious segment. The secular branch of schooling is controlled by the communities, the provinces, or the municipalities, while religious, mainly Catholic branch education, is organized by religious authorities, although subsidized and supervised by the communities.[189]

Culture

Main article: Culture of Belgium

Despite its political and linguistic divisions, the region corresponding to today's Belgium has seen the flourishing of major artistic movements that have had tremendous influence on European art and culture. Nowadays, to a certain extent, cultural life is concentrated within each language Community, and a variety of barriers have made a shared cultural sphere less pronounced.[18][190][191] Since the 1970s, there are no bilingual universities or colleges in the country except the Royal Military Academy and the Antwerp Maritime Academy.[192]

Fine arts

See also: List of Belgian painters, Architecture of Belgium, and Music of Belgium
 
The Ghent Altarpiece: The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb (interior view), painted 1432 by van Eyck

Contributions to painting and architecture have been especially rich. The Mosan art, the Early Netherlandish,[193] the Flemish Renaissance and Baroque painting[194] and major examples of Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architecture[195] are milestones in the history of art. While the 15th century's art in the Low Countries is dominated by the religious paintings of Jan van Eyck and Rogier van der Weyden, the 16th century is characterized by a broader panel of styles such as Peter Breughel's landscape paintings and Lambert Lombard's representation of the antique.[196] Though the Baroque style of Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck flourished in the early 17th century in the Southern Netherlands,[197] it gradually declined thereafter.[198][199]

During the 19th and 20th centuries many original romantic, expressionist and surrealist Belgian painters emerged, including James Ensor and other artists belonging to the Les XX group, Constant Permeke, Paul Delvaux and René Magritte. The avant-garde CoBrA movement appeared in the 1950s, while the sculptor Panamarenko remains a remarkable figure in contemporary art.[200][201] Multidisciplinary artists Jan Fabre, Wim Delvoye and the painter Luc Tuymans are other internationally renowned figures on the contemporary art scene.

Belgian contributions to architecture also continued into the 19th and 20th centuries, including the work of Victor Horta and Henry van de Velde, who were major initiators of the Art Nouveau style.[202][203]

The vocal music of the Franco-Flemish School developed in the southern part of the Low Countries and was an important contribution to Renaissance culture.[204] In the 19th and 20th centuries, there was an emergence of major violinists, such as Henri Vieuxtemps, Eugène Ysaÿe and Arthur Grumiaux, while Adolphe Sax invented the saxophone in 1846. The composer César Franck was born in Liège in 1822. Contemporary popular music in Belgium is also of repute. Jazz musicians Django Reinhardt and Toots Thielemans and singer Jacques Brel have achieved global fame. Nowadays, singer Stromae has been a musical revelation in Europe and beyond, having great success. In rock/pop music, Telex, Front 242, K's Choice, Hooverphonic, Zap Mama, Soulwax and dEUS are well known. In the heavy metal scene, bands like Machiavel, Channel Zero and Enthroned have a worldwide fan-base.[205]

Belgium has produced several well-known authors, including the poets Emile Verhaeren, Guido Gezelle, Robert Goffin and novelists Hendrik Conscience, Stijn Streuvels, Georges Simenon, Suzanne Lilar, Hugo Claus and Amélie Nothomb. The poet and playwright Maurice Maeterlinck won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1911. The Adventures of Tintin by Hergé is the best known of Franco-Belgian comics, but many other major authors, including Peyo (The Smurfs), André Franquin (Gaston Lagaffe), Dupa (Cubitus), Morris (Lucky Luke), Greg (Achille Talon), Lambil (Les Tuniques Bleues), Edgar P. Jacobs and Willy Vandersteen brought the Belgian cartoon strip industry a worldwide fame.[206] Additionally, famous crime author Agatha Christie created the character Hercule Poirot, a Belgian detective, who has served as a protagonist in a number of her acclaimed mystery novels.

Belgian cinema has brought a number of mainly Flemish novels to life on-screen.[H] Other Belgian directors include André Delvaux, Stijn Coninx, Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne; well-known actors include Jean-Claude Van Damme, Jan Decleir and Marie Gillain; and successful films include Bullhead, Man Bites Dog and The Alzheimer Affair.[207] Belgium is also home to a number of successful fashion designers Category:Belgian fashion designers.

Folklore

Further information: Folklore of Belgium
 
The Gilles of Binche, in costume, wearing wax masks

Folklore plays a major role in Belgium's cultural life; the country has a comparatively high number of processions, cavalcades, parades, ommegangs, ducasses,[I] kermesses, and other local festivals, nearly always with an originally religious or mythological background. The three-day Carnival of Binche, near Mons, with its famous Gilles (men dressed in high, plumed hats and bright costumes) is held just before Lent (the 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter). Together with the 'Processional Giants and Dragons' of Ath, Brussels, Dendermonde, Mechelen and Mons, it is recognized by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.[208]

Other examples are the three-day Carnival of Aalst in February or March; the still very religious processions of the Holy Blood taking place in Bruges in May, the Virga Jesse procession held every seven years in Hasselt, the annual procession of Hanswijk in Mechelen, the 15 August festivities in Liège, and the Walloon festival in Namur. Originated in 1832 and revived in the 1960s, the Gentse Feesten (a music and theatre festival organised in Ghent around Belgian National Day, on 21 July) have become a modern tradition. Several of these festivals include sporting competitions, such as cycling, and many fall under the category of kermesses.

A major non-official holiday (which is however not an official public holiday) is Saint Nicholas Day (Dutch: Sinterklaas, French: la Saint-Nicolas), a festivity for children, and in Liège, for students.[209] It takes place each year on 6 December and is a sort of early Christmas. On the evening of 5 December, before going to bed, children put their shoes by the hearth with water or wine and a carrot for Saint Nicholas's horse or donkey. According to tradition, Saint Nicholas comes at night and travels down the chimney. He then takes the food and water or wine, leaves presents, goes back up, feeds his horse or donkey, and continues on his course. He also knows whether children have been good or bad. This holiday is especially loved by children in Belgium and the Netherlands. Dutch immigrants imported the tradition into the United States, where Saint Nicholas is now known as Santa Claus.

Cuisine

Main article: Belgian cuisine
 
Moules-frites or mosselen met friet is a representative dish of Belgium.

Belgium is famous for beer, chocolate, waffles and French fries. The national dishes are "steak and fries", and "mussels with fries".[210][211][212][J] Many highly ranked Belgian restaurants can be found in the most influential restaurant guides, such as the Michelin Guide.[213] One of the many beers with the high prestige is that of the Trappist monks. Technically, it is an ale and traditionally each abbey's beer is served in its own glass (the forms, heights and widths are different). There are only eleven breweries (six of them are Belgian) that are allowed to brew Trappist beer.

Although Belgian gastronomy is connected to French cuisine, some recipes were reputedly invented there, such as French fries (despite the name, although their exact place of origin is uncertain), Flemish Stew (a beef stew with beer, mustard and bay laurel), speculaas (or speculoos in French, a sort of cinnamon and ginger-flavoured shortcrust biscuit), Brussels waffles (and their variant, Liège waffles), waterzooi (a broth made with chicken or fish, cream and vegetables), endive with bechamel sauce, Brussels sprouts, Belgian pralines (Belgium has some of the most renowned chocolate houses), charcuterie (deli meats) and Paling in 't groen (river eels in a sauce of green herbs).

Brands of Belgian chocolate and pralines, like Côte d'Or, Neuhaus, Leonidas and Godiva are famous, as well as independent producers such as Burie and Del Rey in Antwerp and Mary's in Brussels.[214] Belgium produces over 1100 varieties of beer.[215][216] The Trappist beer of the Abbey of Westvleteren has repeatedly been rated the world's best beer.[217][218][219] The biggest brewer in the world by volume is Anheuser-Busch InBev, based in Leuven.[220]

Sports

 
Eddy Merckx, regarded as one of the greatest cyclists of all time
Main article: Sport in Belgium

Since the 1970s, sports clubs and federations are organized separately within each language community.[221] The Administration de l'Éducation Physique et du Sport (ADEPS) is responsible for recognising the various French-speaking sports federations and also runs three sports centres in the Brussels-Capital Region.[222] Its Dutch-speaking counterpart is Sport Vlaanderen (formerly called BLOSO).[223]

Association football is the most popular sport in both parts of Belgium; also very popular are cycling, tennis, swimming, judo[224] and basketball.[225] The Belgium national football team has been on the top spot of the FIFA World Rankings ever since September 2018 (it reached this rank for the first time in November 2015).[226] Since the 1990s, the team has been the world's number one for the most years in history, only behind the records of Brazil and Spain.[227] The team's golden generations with the world class players in the squad, namely Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne, Jean-Marie Pfaff, Jan Ceulemans achieved the bronze medals at World Cup 2018, and silver medals at Euro 1980. Belgium hosted the Euro 1972, and co-hosted the Euro 2000 with the Netherlands.

Belgians hold the most Tour de France victories of any country except France. They have also the most victories on the UCI Road World Championships. With five victories in the Tour de France and numerous other cycling records, Belgian cyclist Eddy Merckx is regarded as one of the greatest cyclists of all time.[228] Philippe Gilbert is the 2012 world champion. Another well-known Belgian cyclist is Tom Boonen.

Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin both were Player of the Year in the Women's Tennis Association as they were ranked the number one female tennis player. The Spa-Francorchamps motor-racing circuit hosts the Formula One World Championship Belgian Grand Prix. The Belgian driver, Jacky Ickx, won eight Grands Prix and six 24 Hours of Le Mans and finished twice as runner-up in the Formula One World Championship. Belgium also has a strong reputation in, motocross with the riders Joël Robert, Roger De Coster, Georges Jobé, Eric Geboers and Stefan Everts, among others.[229]

Sporting events annually held in Belgium include the Memorial Van Damme athletics competition, the Belgian Grand Prix Formula One, and a number of classic cycle races such as the Tour of Flanders and Liège–Bastogne–Liège. The 1920 Summer Olympics were held in Antwerp. The 1977 European Basketball Championship was held in Liège and Ostend.

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ Dutch: België [ˈbɛlɣijə] ( listen); French: Belgique [bɛlʒik] ( listen); German: Belgien [ˈbɛlɡi̯ən] ( listen)
  2. ^ Dutch: Koninkrijk België; French: Royaume de Belgique; German: Königreich Belgien
  3. ^ Belgium is a member of, or affiliated to, many international organizations, including ACCT, AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, Benelux, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G-10, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUSCO (observers), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNECE, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNMOGIP, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, WADB (non-regional), WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC.
  4. ^ The Constitution set out seven institutions each of which can have a parliament, government and administration. In fact, there are only six such bodies because the Flemish Region merged into the Flemish Community. This single Flemish body thus exercises powers about Community matters in the bilingual area of Brussels-Capital and in the Dutch language area, while about Regional matters only in Flanders.
  5. ^ The richest (per capita income) of Belgium's three regions is the Flemish Region, followed by the Walloon Region and lastly the Brussels-Capital Region. The ten municipalities with the highest reported income are: Laethem-Saint-Martin, Keerbergen, Lasne, Oud-Heverlee, Hove, De Pinte, Meise, Knokke-Heist, Bierbeek.. trends.be. 2010. Archived from the original on 27 August 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2011.
  6. ^ Native speakers of Dutch living in Wallonia and of French in Flanders are relatively small minorities that furthermore largely balance one another, hence attributing all inhabitants of each unilingual area to the area's language can cause only insignificant inaccuracies (99% can speak the language). Dutch: Flanders' 6.079 million inhabitants and about 15% of Brussels' 1.019 million are 6.23 million or 59.3% of the 10.511 million inhabitants of Belgium (2006); German: 70,400 in the German-speaking Community (which has language facilities for its less than 5% French-speakers) and an estimated 20,000–25,000 speakers of German in the Walloon Region outside the geographical boundaries of their official Community, or 0.9%; French: in the latter area as well as mainly in the rest of Wallonia (3.321 million) and 85% of the Brussels inhabitants (0.866 million) thus 4.187 million or 39.8%; together indeed 100%.
  7. ^ Flemish Academic Eric Corijn (initiator of Charta 91), at a colloquium regarding Brussels, on 2001-12-05, states that in Brussels 91% of the population speaks French at home, either alone or with another language, and about 20% speaks Dutch at home, either alone (9%) or with French (11%)—After ponderation, the repartition can be estimated at between 85 and 90% French-speaking, and the remaining are Dutch-speaking, corresponding to the estimations based on languages chosen in Brussels by citizens for their official documents (ID, driving licenses, weddings, birth, sex, and so on); all these statistics on language are also available at Belgian Department of Justice (for weddings, birth, sex), Department of Transport (for Driving licenses), Department of Interior (for IDs), because there are no means to know precisely the proportions since Belgium has abolished 'official' linguistic censuses, thus official documents on language choices can only be estimations. For a web source on this topic, see e.g. General online sources: Janssens, Rudi
  8. ^ Notable Belgian films based on works by Flemish authors include: De Witte (author Ernest Claes) movie by Jan Vanderheyden and Edith Kiel in 1934, remake as De Witte van Sichem directed by Robbe De Hert in 1980; De man die zijn haar kort liet knippen (Johan Daisne) André Delvaux 1965; Mira ('De teleurgang van de Waterhoek' by Stijn Streuvels) Fons Rademakers 1971; Malpertuis (aka The Legend of Doom House) (Jean Ray [pen name of Flemish author who mainly wrote in French, or as John Flanders in Dutch]) Harry Kümel 1971; De loteling (Hendrik Conscience) Roland Verhavert 1974; Dood van een non (Maria Rosseels) Paul Collet and Pierre Drouot 1975; Pallieter (Felix Timmermans) Roland Verhavert 1976; De komst van Joachim Stiller (Hubert Lampo) Harry Kümel 1976; De Leeuw van Vlaanderen (Hendrik Conscience) Hugo Claus (a famous author himself) 1985; Daens ('Pieter Daens' by Louis Paul Boon) Stijn Coninx 1992; see also (in Dutch). Retrieved on 7 June 2007.
  9. ^ The Dutch word ommegang is here used in the sense of an entirely or mainly non-religious procession, or the non-religious part thereof—see also its article on the Dutch-language Wikipedia; the Processional Giants of Brussels, Dendermonde and Mechelen mentioned in this paragraph are part of each city's ommegang. The French word ducasse refers also to a procession; the mentioned Processional Giants of Ath and Mons are part of each city's ducasse.
  10. ^ Contrarily to what the text suggests, the season starts as early as July and lasts through April.

References

  1. ^ a b "Diversity according to origin in Belgium". Statbel.fgov.be. 16 June 2021.
  2. ^ Eurobarometer 90.4: Attitudes of Europeans towards Biodiversity, Awareness and Perceptions of EU customs, and Perceptions of Antisemitism. European Commission. Retrieved 9 August 2019 – via GESIS.
  3. ^ . The World Factbook. CIA. Archived from the original on 7 February 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
  4. ^ a b "be.STAT". Bestat.statbel.fgov.be. 26 November 2019.
  5. ^ "Surface water and surface water change". Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d "Structure of the Population". Statbel. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2022". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. October 2022. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  8. ^ "Gini coefficient of equivalised disposable income – EU-SILC survey". ec.europa.eu. Eurostat. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  9. ^ "Human Development Report 2021/2022" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 8 September 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  10. ^ The Belgian Constitution (PDF). Brussels, Belgium: Belgian House of Representatives. May 2014. p. 63. (PDF) from the original on 10 August 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  11. ^ "Structuur van de bevolking | Statbel". statbel.fgov.be. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  12. ^ Pateman, Robert and Elliott, Mark (2006). Belgium. Benchmark Books. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-7614-2059-0
  13. ^ (PDF). Brussels, Belgium: Belgian House of Representatives. May 2014. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 August 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2015. Article 3: Belgium comprises three Regions: the Flemish Region, the Walloon Region and the Brussels Region. Article 4: Belgium comprises four linguistic regions: the Dutch-speaking region, the French-speaking region, the bilingual region of Brussels-Capital and the German-speaking region.
  14. ^ Janssens, Rudi (2008). "Language use in Brussels and the position of Dutch". Brussels Studies. Brussels Studies [Online]. doi:10.4000/brussels.520. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  15. ^ Leclerc, Jacques (18 January 2007). . L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde (in French). Host: Trésor de la langue française au Québec (TLFQ), Université Laval, Quebec. Archived from the original on 9 June 2007. Retrieved 18 June 2007. C'est une région officiellement bilingue formant au centre du pays une enclave dans la province du Brabant flamand (Vlaams Brabant)
    *. Belgian Federal Public Service (ministry) / Embassy of Belgium in the Republic of Korea. Archived from the original on 2 October 2008. Retrieved 21 June 2007. the Brussels-Capital Region is an enclave of 162 km2 within the Flemish region.
    *"Flanders (administrative region)". Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia. Microsoft. 2007. Archived from the original on 31 October 2009. Retrieved 21 June 2007. The capital of Belgium, Brussels, is an enclave within Flanders.
    *McMillan, Eric (October 1999). (PDF). Capital translator, Newsletter of the NCATA, Vol. 21, No. 7, p. 1. National Capital Area Chapter of the American Translators Association (NCATA). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 June 2007. Retrieved 21 June 2007. The country is divided into three autonomous regions: Dutch-speaking Flanders in the north, mostly French-speaking Brussels in the center as an enclave within Flanders and French-speaking Wallonia in the south, including the German-speaking Cantons de l'Est.
    *Van de Walle, Steven. "Language Facilities in the Brussels Periphery". KULeuven—Leuvens Universitair Dienstencentrum voor Informatica en Telematica. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 October 2009. Retrieved 21 June 2007. Brussels is a kind of enclave within Flanders—it has no direct link with Wallonia.
  16. ^ C. Julius Caesar, De Bello Gallico, book 8, chapter 46.
  17. ^ Haß, Torsten (17 February 2003). (in German). FH-Zeitung (journal of the Fachhochschule). ISBN 978-0-8204-5824-3. Archived from the original on 9 June 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2007. die Bezeichnung Belgiens als "the cockpit of Europe" (James Howell, 1640), die damals noch auf eine kriegerische Hahnenkampf-Arena hindeutete—The book reviewer, Haß, attributes the expression in English to James Howell in 1640. Howell's original phrase "the cockpit of Christendom" became modified afterwards, as shown by:
    *Carmont, John. . War Poets Collection. Napier University's Business School. Archived from the original on 11 May 2008. Retrieved 24 May 2007.—and as such coined for Belgium:
    *Wood, James (1907). "Nuttall Encyclopaedia of General Knowledge—Cockpit of Europe". from the original on 9 August 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2007. Cockpit of Europe, Belgium, as the scene of so many battles between the Powers of Europe. (See also The Nuttall Encyclopaedia)
  18. ^ a b c d Fitzmaurice, John (1996). "New Order? International models of peace and reconciliation—Diversity and civil society". Democratic Dialogue Northern Ireland's first think tank, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK. from the original on 13 May 2011. Retrieved 12 August 2007.
  19. ^ "Belgium country profile". EUbusiness, Richmond, UK. 27 August 2006. from the original on 7 October 2009. Retrieved 12 August 2007.
  20. ^ Karl, Farah; Stoneking, James (1999). (PDF). World History II. Appomattox Regional Governor's School (History Department), Petersburg, Virginia, USA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 September 2007. Retrieved 16 August 2007.
  21. ^ Gerdziunas, Benas (17 October 2017). "Belgium's genocidal colonial legacy haunts the country's future". The Independent. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  22. ^ Braeckman, Colette (1 June 2021). "Belgium's role in Rwandan genocide". Le Monde Diplomatique. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  23. ^ Buoyant Brussels. "Bilingual island in Flanders". UCL. from the original on 24 May 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  24. ^ . Expatica. 6 December 2011. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
  25. ^ Robinson, Duncan (3 November 2015). "Belgium: A nation divided by more than two languages". Financial Times. from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  26. ^ "Quality of Life Index by Country 2017 Mid-Year". www.numbeo.com. from the original on 23 January 2018. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  27. ^ (PDF). World Health Organization. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 August 2011.
  28. ^ "Education index | Human Development Reports". hdr.undp.org. from the original on 4 January 2018. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  29. ^ (PDF). undp.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2017.
  30. ^ "Global Peace Index 2017" (PDF). reliefweb.int. (PDF) from the original on 28 December 2017.
  31. ^ Caesar, Gallic War, 8.46 "quattuor legiones in Belgio collocavit", "his confectis rebus ad legiones in Belgium se recipit hibernatque Nemetocennae". (In online English translations the second part is often included in the next paragraph 8.47. Wightman, Edith (1985), Gallia Belgica, p. 12, ISBN 978-0-520-05297-0. González Villaescusa; Jacquemin (2011), "Gallia Belgica: An Entity with No National Claim", Études rurales, 2 (2): 93–111, doi:10.4000/etudesrurales.9499
  32. ^ Werner, Matthias (1980), Der Lütticher Raum in frühkarolingischer Zeit : Untersuchungen zur Geschichte einer karolingischen Stammlandschaft
  33. ^ Edmundson, George (1922). "Chapter I: The Burgundian Netherlands". History of Holland. The University Press, Cambridge. Republished: Authorama. from the original on 28 April 2011. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
  34. ^ Van Der Essen, Leon (1925), "Notre nom national", Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire, 4 (1): 121–131, doi:10.3406/rbph.1925.6335
  35. ^ Edmundson, George (1922). "Chapter II: Habsburg Rule in the Netherlands". History of Holland. The University Press, Cambridge. Republished: Authorama. from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 9 June 2007.
  36. ^ Dobbelaere, Karel; Voyé, Liliane (1990). "From Pillar to Postmodernity: The Changing Situation of Religion in Belgium". Sociological Analysis. 51: S1–S13. doi:10.2307/3711670. JSTOR 3711670.
  37. ^ Gooch, Brison Dowling (1963). Belgium and the February Revolution. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, The Hague, Netherlands. p. 112. from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
  38. ^ "National Day and feast days of Communities and Regions". Belgian Federal Government. 3 October 2010. from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
  39. ^ Deschouwer, Kris (January 2004). (PDF). United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 June 2007. Retrieved 22 May 2007.
  40. ^ Forbath, Peter (1977). The River Congo: The Discovery, Exploration and Exploitation of the World's Most Dramatic Rivers. Harper & Row. p. 278. ISBN 978-0-06-122490-4.
  41. ^ a b Riding, Alan (21 September 2002). "Belgium Confronts Its Heart of Darkness; Unsavory Colonial Behavior in the Congo Will Be Tackled by a New Study – The New York Times". nytimes.com. from the original on 24 December 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  42. ^ Meredith, Martin (2005). The State of Africa. Jonathan Ball. pp. 95–96(?). ISBN 978-1-86842-220-3.
  43. ^ Arango, Ramon (1961). Leopold III and the Belgian Royal Question. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-8018-0040-5.
  44. ^ "The Congolese Civil War 1960–1964". BBC News. from the original on 24 May 2010. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
  45. ^ "New data on land use". Statbel. from the original on 19 March 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  46. ^ "België is 160 km² groter dan gedacht". Het Laatste Nieuws. 10 January 2019. from the original on 17 February 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  47. ^ a b c "Belgium". The World Factbook (2023 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency. 23 September 2021. (Archived 2021 edition)
  48. ^ (in Dutch) Geografische beschrijving van België – Over Belgie – Portaal Belgische Overheid 19 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Belgium.be. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
  49. ^ . Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Chicago, Illinois, US. 2007. Archived from the original on 17 December 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2007.
  50. ^ "Geography of Belgium". 123independenceday.com. from the original on 12 September 2007. Retrieved 10 August 2007.
  51. ^ "Life—Nature" (PDF). Office for Official Publications of the European Communities. 2005. (PDF) from the original on 25 September 2007. Retrieved 10 August 2007.
  52. ^ Peel, Murray C.; Finlayson, Bryan L. & McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen–Geiger climate classification". Hydrology and Earth System Sciences. 11 (5): 1633–1644. Bibcode:2007HESS...11.1633P. doi:10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007. ISSN 1027-5606. from the original on 10 February 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2011. (direct: Final Revised Paper 29 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine)
  53. ^ "Climate averages—Brussels". EuroWEATHER/EuroMETEO, Nautica Editrice Srl, Rome, Italy. from the original on 21 October 2007. Retrieved 27 May 2007.
  54. ^ (PDF) (in Dutch). Belgian Federal Government Service (ministry) of Economy—Directorate-general Statistics Belgium. pp. 9–10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 June 2007. Retrieved 8 May 2007.
  55. ^ Takhtajan, Armen, 1986. Floristic Regions of the World. (translated by T.J. Crovello and A. Cronquist). University of California Press, Berkeley.
  56. ^ Dinerstein, Eric; Olson, David; Joshi, Anup; Vynne, Carly; Burgess, Neil D.; Wikramanayake, Eric; Hahn, Nathan; Palminteri, Suzanne; Hedao, Prashant; Noss, Reed; Hansen, Matt; Locke, Harvey; Ellis, Erle C; Jones, Benjamin; Barber, Charles Victor; Hayes, Randy; Kormos, Cyril; Martin, Vance; Crist, Eileen; Sechrest, Wes; Price, Lori; Baillie, Jonathan E. M.; Weeden, Don; Suckling, Kierán; Davis, Crystal; Sizer, Nigel; Moore, Rebecca; Thau, David; Birch, Tanya; Potapov, Peter; Turubanova, Svetlana; Tyukavina, Alexandra; de Souza, Nadia; Pintea, Lilian; Brito, José C.; Llewellyn, Othman A.; Miller, Anthony G.; Patzelt, Annette; Ghazanfar, Shahina A.; Timberlake, Jonathan; Klöser, Heinz; Shennan-Farpón, Yara; Kindt, Roeland; Lillesø, Jens-Peter Barnekow; van Breugel, Paulo; Graudal, Lars; Voge, Maianna; Al-Shammari, Khalaf F.; Saleem, Muhammad (2017). "An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm". BioScience. 67 (6): 534–545. doi:10.1093/biosci/bix014. ISSN 0006-3568. PMC 5451287. PMID 28608869.
  57. ^ "Atlantic mixed forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.
  58. ^ Grantham, H. S.; Duncan, A.; Evans, T. D.; Jones, K. R.; Beyer, H. L.; Schuster, R.; Walston, J.; Ray, J. C.; Robinson, J. G.; Callow, M.; Clements, T.; Costa, H. M.; DeGemmis, A.; Elsen, P. R.; Ervin, J.; Franco, P.; Goldman, E.; Goetz, S.; Hansen, A.; Hofsvang, E.; Jantz, P.; Jupiter, S.; Kang, A.; Langhammer, P.; Laurance, W. F.; Lieberman, S.; Linkie, M.; Malhi, Y.; Maxwell, S.; Mendez, M.; Mittermeier, R.; Murray, N. J.; Possingham, H.; Radachowsky, J.; Saatchi, S.; Samper, C.; Silverman, J.; Shapiro, A.; Strassburg, B.; Stevens, T.; Stokes, E.; Taylor, R.; Tear, T.; Tizard, R.; Venter, O.; Visconti, P.; Wang, S.; Watson, J. E. M. (2020). "Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity - Supplementary Material". Nature Communications. 11 (1): 5978. Bibcode:2020NatCo..11.5978G. doi:10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 7723057. PMID 33293507.
  59. ^ "BE – Belgium". iso.org. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  60. ^ López Pintor, Rafael; Gratschew, Maria (2002). "Voter Turnout Rates from a Comparative Perspective" (PDF). IDEA. (PDF) from the original on 21 November 2011. Retrieved 22 June 2011.
  61. ^ (PDF). Belgian House of Representatives. January 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  62. ^ "Belgium 1831 (rev. 2012)". Constitute. from the original on 23 February 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  63. ^ "Belgium, a federal state". Belgium.be. from the original on 12 November 2010. Retrieved 26 November 2010.
  64. ^ a b "Background Note: Belgium". U.S. Department of States. 29 April 2010. Retrieved 26 November 2010.
  65. ^ "Belgium – Political parties". European Election Database. Norwegian Social Science Data Services. 2010. from the original on 27 April 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2010.
  66. ^ Tyler, Richard (8 June 1999). "Dioxin contamination scandal hits Belgium: Effects spread through European Union and beyond". World Socialist Web Site (WSWS). International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI). from the original on 1 August 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  67. ^ ElAmin, Ahmed (31 January 2006) Belgium, Netherlands meat sectors face dioxin crisis 14 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine. foodproductiondaily.com
  68. ^ European Commission (16 June 1999). "Food Law News—EU : CONTAMINANTS—Commission Press Release (IP/99/399) Preliminary results of EU-inspection to Belgium". School of Food Biosciences, University of Reading, UK. from the original on 27 September 2006. Retrieved 29 May 2007.
  69. ^ "Belgium's "rainbow" coalition sworn in". BBC News. 12 July 1999. Retrieved 20 May 2007.
  70. ^ "La Chambre des représentants—Composition" [Composition of the Chamber of Representatives] (PDF) (in French). The Chamber of Representatives of Belgium. 9 March 2006. (PDF) from the original on 7 November 2006. Retrieved 25 May 2007.
  71. ^ . tiscali.reference. Tiscali UK. Archived from the original on 24 September 2009. Retrieved 27 May 2007. The article shows an example of Belgium's recent[when?] African policies.
  72. ^ . CNN. 16 February 2003. Archived from the original on 16 January 2005. Retrieved 16 June 2007.
  73. ^ "Belgium minor first to be granted euthanasia – BBC News". BBC News. bbc.co.uk. 17 September 2016. from the original on 6 January 2017. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  74. ^ "Time-line Belgium". BBC News. 5 January 2009. from the original on 29 September 2009. Retrieved 16 July 2009. 2007 September – Belgium without a government for 100 days.
  75. ^ Bryant, Elizabeth (12 October 2007). "Divisions could lead to a partition in Belgium". San Francisco Chronicle. from the original on 29 April 2011. Retrieved 28 May 2008.
  76. ^ Hughes, Dominic (15 July 2008). "Analysis: Where now for Belgium?". BBC News. from the original on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 16 July 2008.
  77. ^ Banks, Martin (6 September 2010). "Fears over 'break up' of Belgium". The Daily Telegraph. London. from the original on 9 September 2010. Retrieved 6 September 2010.
  78. ^ a b "Belgian PM offers his resignation". BBC News. 15 July 2008. from the original on 20 April 2010. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
  79. ^ CNN.com 1 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine, "Belgium Prime Minister offers resignation over banking deal"
  80. ^ Belgian king asks Van Rompuy to form government 4 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine Reuters.
  81. ^ "Prime Minister Leterme resigns after liberals quit government". France 24. 22 April 2010. from the original on 26 April 2010. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
  82. ^ "King Albert II accepts resignation of Prime Minister Yves Leterme". France 24. 26 April 2010. from the original on 29 April 2010. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
  83. ^ "Federal Elections in Belgium – Chamber of Representatives Results". from the original on 22 September 2010. Retrieved 14 June 2010.
  84. ^ Kovacevic, Tamara (6 May 2015). "Reality Check: How long can nations go without governments?". BBC News Online. from the original on 13 October 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  85. ^ "Political crisis nears an end as new PM, cabinet named". France 24. 5 December 2011.
  86. ^ "Belgium agrees to form coalition government | DW | 07.10.2014". DW.COM.
  87. ^ "No coalition in sight after fractured Belgium election | DW | 27.05.2019". DW.COM.
  88. ^ Houzel, Timothée (1 April 2021). "Who is Charles Michel, the next President of the European Council?". The New Federalist.
  89. ^ "Belgium gets first female PM as Sophie Wilmès takes office". The Guardian. 28 October 2019.
  90. ^ Didili, Zoi (1 October 2020). "Belgium agrees on federal government, De Croo to become PM".
  91. ^ Kramer, Johannes (1984). Zweisprachigkeit in den Benelux-ländern (in German). Buske Verlag. p. 69. ISBN 978-3-87118-597-7. Zur prestige Sprache wurde in den Spanischen Niederlanden ganz eindeutig das Französische. Die Vertreter Spaniens beherrschten normalerweise das Französische, nicht aber das Niederländische; ein beachtlicher Teil der am Hofe tätigen Adligen stammte aus Wallonien, das sich ja eher auf die spanische Seite geschlagen hatte als Flandern und Brabant. In dieser Situation war es selbstverständlich, dass die flämischen Adligen, die im Laufe der Zeit immer mehr ebenfalls zu Hofbeamten wurden, sich des Französischen bedienen mussten, wenn sie als gleichwertig anerkannt werden wollten. [Transl.: The prestigious language in the Spanish Netherlands was clearly French. Spain's representatives usually mastered French but not Dutch; a notable part of the nobles at the court came from Wallonia, which had taken party for the Spanish side to a higher extent than Flanders and Brabant. It was therefore evident within this context that the Flemish nobility, of which a progressively larger number became servants of the court, had to use French, if it wanted to get acknowledged as well.]
  92. ^ Witte, Els; Craeybeckx, Jan & Meynen, Alain (2009). Political History of Belgium: From 1830 Onwards. Brussels: Academic and Scientific Publishers. p. 56.
  93. ^ a b Fitzmaurice (1996), p. 31.
  94. ^ a b "Belgium". European Election Database. Norwegian Social Science Data Services. 2010. from the original on 29 April 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2010.
  95. ^ Willemyns, Roland (2002). (PDF). Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. 23 (1&2): 36–49. doi:10.1080/01434630208666453. S2CID 143809695. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 June 2007. Retrieved 22 June 2007.
  96. ^ (PDF). Belgian House of Representatives. January 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  97. ^ Fitzmaurice (1996), p. 121
  98. ^ Fitzmaurice (1996), p. 122.
  99. ^ a b "The Federal Government's Powers". .be Portal. Belgian Federal Government. 3 October 2010. from the original on 16 December 2010. Retrieved 4 February 2011.
  100. ^ Lagasse, Charles-Etienne (2003). Les nouvelles institutions politiques de la Belgique et de l'Europe. Namur: Erasme. p. 289. ISBN 978-2-87127-783-5. In 2002, 58.92% of the fiscal income was going to the budget of the federal government, but more than one-third was used to pay the interests of the public debt. Without including this post, the share of the federal government budget would be only 48.40% of the fiscal income. There are 87.8% of the civil servants who are working for the Regions or the Communities and 12.2% for the Federal State.
  101. ^ "The Communities". .be Portal. Belgian Federal Government. 3 October 2010. from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  102. ^ "The Regions". .be Portal. Belgian Federal Government. 3 October 2010. from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  103. ^ Lagasse, Charles-Etienne (18 May 2004). "Federalism in Russia, Canada and Belgium: experience of comparative research" (in French). Kazan Institute of Federalism. from the original on 20 June 2010. Retrieved 5 October 2008. La Belgique constitue ainsi le seul exemple clair du transfert d'une partie de la compétence " affaires étrangères " à des entités fédérées. (Transl.: Belgium is thus the only clear example of a transfer of a part of the "Foreign Affairs" competences to federated units.)
  104. ^ Lagasse, Charles-Etienne. Les nouvelles institutions de la Belgique et de l'Europe (in French). p. 603. [Le fédéralisme belge] repose sur une combinaison unique d'équipollence, d'exclusivité et de prolongement international des compétences. ([Belgian federalism] is based on a unique combination of equipollence, of exclusivity, and of international extension of competences.)
  105. ^ Suinen, Philippe (October 2000). "Une Première mondiale". Le Monde diplomatique (in French). from the original on 17 November 2000. Retrieved 5 October 2008. Dans l'organisation de ces autonomies, la Belgique a réalisé une " première " mondiale: afin d'éviter la remise en cause, par le biais de la dimension internationale, de compétences exclusives transférées aux entités fédérées, les communautés et régions se sont vu reconnaître une capacité et des pouvoirs internationaux. (In organizing its autonomies, Belgium realized a World's First: to avoid a relevant stalemate, international consequences caused transfers of exclusive competences to federal, community and regional entities that are recognized to have become internationally enabled and empowered.)
  106. ^ "Defence Data of Belgium in 2010". European Defence Agency. from the original on 24 September 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  107. ^ "Defensie La Défense". from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
  108. ^ David Isby and Charles Kamps Jr, 'Armies of NATO's Central Front,' Jane's Publishing Company, 1985, p.59
  109. ^ Belgium ranked first in the KOF Globalization Index 2009ETH Zürich (ed.). "KOF Index of Globalization". from the original on 31 May 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2009.
  110. ^ . CIA – The 2008 world factbook. Archived from the original on 4 October 2008. Retrieved 5 October 2008. 15[th]: Belgium $322,200,000,000 (2007 est.)
  111. ^ . CIA – The 2008 world factbook. Archived from the original on 4 October 2008. Retrieved 5 October 2008. 15[th]: Belgium $323,200,000,000 (2007 est.)
  112. ^ "Belgian economy". Belgium. Belgian Federal Public Service (ministry) of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation. from the original on 15 June 2009. Retrieved 12 June 2009. Belgium is the world leader in terms of export per capita and can justifiably call itself the 'world's largest exporter'.
  113. ^ . Expatica Communications BV. 9 March 2005. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 16 June 2007.
  114. ^ (in French). Luxembourgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Archived from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
  115. ^ . European Route of Industrial Heritage. Archived from the original on 31 July 2013. Retrieved 8 May 2007.
  116. ^ Rioux, Jean-Pierre (1989). La révolution industrielle (in French). Paris: Seuil. p. 105. ISBN 978-2-02-000651-4.
  117. ^ "Industrial History, Belgium". European route of industrial heritage. from the original on 31 July 2010. Retrieved 15 November 2010.
  118. ^ Vanhaute, Eric; Paping, Richard & Ó Gráda, Cormac (2006). The European subsistence crisis of 1845–1850: a comparative perspective (PDF). IEHC. Helsinki. (PDF) from the original on 11 October 2011. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
  119. ^ Vanhaute, Eric (2007). . When the potato failed. Causes and effects of the 'last' European subsistance crisis, 1845–1850. Brepols. pp. 123–148. ISBN 978-2-503-51985-2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
  120. ^ "Background Note: Belgium". US Department of State, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. April 2007. Retrieved 8 May 2007.
  121. ^ Vanhaverbeke, Wim. (in Dutch). Netherlands Institute of Business Organization and Strategy Research, University of Maastricht. Archived from the original on 14 March 2007. Retrieved 19 May 2007.
  122. ^ . CIA. 17 April 2007. Archived from the original on 13 June 2007. Retrieved 8 May 2007.
  123. ^ . National Bank of Belgium. Archived from the original on 30 April 2007. Retrieved 19 May 2007.
  124. ^ "EurActiv". Belgium makes place for urban enterprises. EurActiv. from the original on 30 April 2011. Retrieved 19 March 2011.
  125. ^ a b (PDF). Office for Official Publications of the European Communities. 2003. ISBN 978-92-894-4845-1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 August 2011.
  126. ^ a b "Country Trends". Global Footprint Network. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  127. ^ Lin, David; Hanscom, Laurel; Murthy, Adeline; Galli, Alessandro; Evans, Mikel; Neill, Evan; Mancini, Maria Serena; Martindill, Jon; Medouar, Fatime-Zahra; Huang, Shiyu; Wackernagel, Mathis (2018). "Ecological Footprint Accounting for Countries: Updates and Results of the National Footprint Accounts, 2012–2018". Resources. 7 (3): 58. doi:10.3390/resources7030058.
  128. ^ Fidler, Stephen (3 November 2010). "Europe's Top Traffic Jam Capitals". The Wall Street Journal. from the original on 19 January 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  129. ^ Another comparative study on transportation in Belgium: OECD environmental performance reviews: Belgium. OECD. 2007. ISBN 978-92-64-03111-1.
  130. ^ "Double record for freight volume". port of Antwerp. from the original on 23 February 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  131. ^ "The Belgian Crisis". from the original on 11 September 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  132. ^ John Lichfield (2007). "Belgium: A nation divided". Independent. from the original on 31 May 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  133. ^ Cook, B.A. (2002). Belgium: A History. Peter Lang. p. 139. ISBN 978-0-8204-5824-3. from the original on 18 November 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  134. ^ "Rembert Dodoens: iets over zijn leven en werk—Dodoens' werken". Plantaardigheden—Project Rembert Dodoens (Rembertus Dodonaeus) (in Dutch). Balkbrug: Stichting Kruidenhoeve/Plantaardigheden. 20 December 2005. from the original on 10 June 2007. Retrieved 17 May 2007. het Cruijdeboeck, dat in 1554 verscheen. Dit meesterwerk was na de bijbel in die tijd het meest vertaalde boek. Het werd gedurende meer dan een eeuw steeds weer heruitgegeven en gedurende meer dan twee eeuwen was het het meest gebruikte handboek over kruiden in West-Europa. Het is een werk van wereldfaam en grote wetenschappelijke waarde. De nieuwe gedachten die Dodoens erin neerlegde, werden de bouwstenen voor de botanici en medici van latere generaties. (... the Cruijdeboeck, published in 1554. This masterpiece was, after the Bible, the most translated book in that time. It continued to be republished for more than a century and for more than two centuries it was the mostly used referential about herbs. It is a work with world fame and great scientific value. The new thoughts written down by Dodoens, became the building bricks for botanists and physicians of later generations.)
  135. ^ O'Connor, J. J.; Robertsonfirst2=E. F. (2004). . School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St Andrews, Scotland. Archived from the original on 9 June 2007. Retrieved 11 May 2007. Although he did not invent decimals (they had been used by the Arabs and the Chinese long before Stevin's time) he did introduce their use in mathematics in Europe.
  136. ^ De Broe, Marc E.; De Weerdt, Dirk L.; Ysebaert, Dirk K.; Vercauteren, Sven R.; De Greef, Kathleen E.; De Broe, Luc C. (1999). "Abstract (*)". American Journal of Nephrology. 19 (2): 282–289. doi:10.1159/000013462. PMID 10213829. The importance of A. Vesalius' publication 'de humani corporis fabrica libri septem' cannot be overestimated. (*) Free abstract for pay-per-view article byDe Broe, Marc E.; De Weerdt, Dirk L.; Ysebaert, Dirk K.; Vercauteren, Sven R.; De Greef, Kathleen E.; De Broe, Luc C. (1999). "The Low Countries – 16th/17th century". American Journal of Nephrology. 19 (2): 282–9. doi:10.1159/000013462. PMID 10213829.
  137. ^ Midbon, Mark (24 March 2000). "'A Day Without Yesterday': Georges Lemaitre & the Big Bang". Commonweal, republished: Catholic Education Resource Center (CERC). pp. 18–19. from the original on 6 July 2007. Retrieved 7 June 2007.
  138. ^ Carson, Patricia (1969). The Fair Face of Flanders. Lannoo Uitgeverij. p. 136. ISBN 978-90-209-4385-6.
  139. ^ Day, Lance (2003). Lance Day; Ian McNeil (eds.). Biographical Dictionary of the History of Technology. Routledge. p. 1135. ISBN 978-0-203-02829-2.
  140. ^ Woodward, Gordon (2003). Lance Day; Ian McNeil (eds.). Biographical Dictionary of the History of Technology. Routledge. p. 523. ISBN 978-0-203-02829-2.
  141. ^ Larsson, Ulf (2001). Cultures of Creativity: the Centennial Exhibition of the Nobel Prize. Science History Publications. p. 211. ISBN 978-0-88135-288-7.
  142. ^ . American Museum of Natural History. 2000. Archived from the original on 17 January 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
  143. ^ "The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1977". Nobelprize.org. from the original on 3 December 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
  144. ^ O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Pierre Deligne", MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, University of St Andrews (Retrieved 10 November 2011)
  145. ^ O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Jean Bourgain", MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, University of St Andrews (Retrieved 10 November 2011)
  146. ^ "Global Innovation Index 2021". World Intellectual Property Organization. United Nations. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  147. ^ "Release of the Global Innovation Index 2020: Who Will Finance Innovation?". World Intellectual Property Organization. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  148. ^ "Global Innovation Index 2019". World Intellectual Property Organization. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  149. ^ Max Roser (2014), "Total Fertility Rate around the world over the last two centuries", Our World In Data, Gapminder Foundation
  150. ^ "World Factbook EUROPE : BELGIUM", The World Factbook, 3 February 2021
  151. ^ This number evolved to 89% in 2011. Belgian Federal Government. (in French). Archived from the original on 31 October 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  152. ^ Perrin, Nicolas (April 2006). (PDF). Study Group of Applied Demographics (Gédap). Belgian Federal Government Service (ministry) of Interior—Immigration Office. pp. 5–9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 June 2007. Retrieved 28 May 2007.
  153. ^ . ecodata.mineco.fgov.be
  154. ^ L'IMMIGRATION EN BELGIQUE. EFFECTIFS, MOUVEMENTS. ET MARCHE DU TRAVAIL 31 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Rapport 2009. Direction générale Emploi et marché du travai
  155. ^ Belgian Federal Government. (in French). Archived from the original on 25 August 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  156. ^ BuG 155 – Bericht uit het Gewisse – 01 januari 2012 Archived 8 September 2012 at archive.today. npdata.be (1 January 2012).
  157. ^ a b BuG 159 – Bericht uit het Gewisse – 7 mei 2012 26 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine. npdata.be (7 May 2012).
  158. ^ a b Voor het eerst meer Marokkaanse dan Italiaanse migranten 18 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine. hbvl.be. 21 May 2007
  159. ^ Lewis, M. Paul, ed. (2009). Languages of Belgium. Ethnologue: Languages of the World (sixteenth ed.). Dallas, Texas, U.S.A.: SIL International. pp. 1, 248. ISBN 978-1-55671-216-6. from the original on 29 April 2011. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
  160. ^ de Witte, Bruno (1996). Rainey, Anson F. (ed.). "Surviving in Babel? Language rights and European integration". Canaanite in the Amarna Tablets. Vol. 1. Brill. p. 122. ISBN 978-90-04-10521-8.
  161. ^ . British Council. Archived from the original on 22 November 2007. Retrieved 5 May 2007. The capital Brussels, 80–85 percent French-speaking, ...—Strictly, the capital is the municipality (City of) Brussels, though the Brussels-Capital Region might be intended because of its name and also its other municipalities housing institutions typical for a capital.
  162. ^ . The German-speaking Community. Archived from the original on 30 May 2007. Retrieved 5 May 2007. The (original) version in German language 29 May 2007 at the Wayback Machine (already) mentions 73,000 instead of 71,500 inhabitants.
  163. ^ . The German-speaking Community. Archived from the original on 28 June 2007. Retrieved 5 May 2007.
  164. ^ . Mercator, Minority Language Media in the European Union, supported by the European Commission and the University of Wales. Archived from the original on 11 May 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2007.
  165. ^ Leclerc, Jacques (19 April 2006). "Belgique • België • Belgien—La Communauté germanophone de Belgique". L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde (in French). Host: Trésor de la langue française au Québec (TLFQ), Université Laval, Quebec. from the original on 3 May 2007. Retrieved 7 May 2007.
  166. ^ According to Le Petit Larousse, Walloon is a dialect of the langue d'oïl. According to the Meyers grosses Taschenlexikon
  167. ^ Jules, Feller (1912). Notes de philologie wallonne. Liège: Vaillant Carmanne.
  168. ^ a b Among Belgium native German speakers many are familiar with the local dialect varieties of their region, that include dialects that spill over into neighboring Luxembourg and Germany.Gordon, Raymond G. Jr., ed. (2005). Languages of Belgium. Ethnologue: Languages of the World (Fifteenth ed.). Dallas, Texas, U.S.A.: SIL International. (Online version: Sixteenth edition 3 December 2005 at the Wayback Machine)
  169. ^ See for example Belgium entry of the Catholic Encyclopedia
  170. ^ a b c Loopbuyck, P. & Torfs, R. (2009). The world and its people – Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Vol. 4. Marshall Cavendish. p. 499. ISBN 978-0-7614-7890-4.
  171. ^ "Churchgoers in Brussels threatened with extinction". Brusselnieuws.be (in Dutch). 30 November 2010. from the original on 11 January 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  172. ^ Kerken lopen zeer geleidelijk helemaal leeg – Dutch news article describing church attendance in Flanders 27 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Standaard.be (25 November 2010). Retrieved 26 September 2011.
  173. ^ Eurobarometer Biotechnology report 2010 30 April 2011 at the Wayback Machine p.381.
  174. ^ Eurobarometer 437: Discrimination in the EU in 2015. European Commission. from the original on 15 October 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2017 – via GESIS.
  175. ^ (PDF), Special Eurobarometer, 383, European Union: European Commission, p. 233, 2012, archived from the original (PDF) on 2 December 2012, retrieved 14 August 2013
  176. ^ . euresisnet.eu. 31 October 2007. Archived from the original on 17 July 2010.
  177. ^ Ghiuzeli, Haim F. The Jewish Community of Antwerp, Belgium 29 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Beit Hatfutsot, the Museum of the Jewish People
  178. ^ Inquiry by 'Vepec', 'Vereniging voor Promotie en Communicatie' (Organization for Promotion and Communication), published in Knack magazine 22 November 2006 p. 14 [The Dutch language term 'gelovig' is in the text translated as 'religious'. More precisely it is a very common word for believing in particular in any kind of God in a monotheistic sense or in some afterlife], or both.
  179. ^ "Moslims in België per gewest, provincie en gemeente". Npdata.be. 18 September 2015. from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  180. ^ a b c Corens, Dirk (2007). "Belgium, health system review" (PDF). Health Systems in Transition. 9 (2). (PDF) from the original on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
  181. ^ "Belgium euthanasia: First child dies - CNN.com". edition.cnn.com. 17 September 2016. from the original on 10 February 2017. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  182. ^ Santa Clara University. "Assisted Suicide: A Right or a Wrong? – Resources – Bioethics – Focus Areas – Markkula Center for Applied Ethics – Santa Clara University". scu.edu. from the original on 10 February 2017. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  183. ^ "GHO | By category | Suicide rate estimates, age-standardized - Estimates by country". WHO. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  184. ^ Hofman, Roelande H.; Hofman, W. H. A.; Gray, J. M.; Daly, P. (2004). Institutional context of education systems in Europe: a cross-country comparison on quality and equity. Kluwer Academic Publishers. pp. 97, 105. ISBN 978-1-4020-2744-4. from the original on 12 April 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2015. Extracts: p. 97 12 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine, p. 105 12 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  185. ^ "Table 388. Percentage of population enrolled in secondary and postsecondary institutions, by age group and country – Chapter 6. International Comparisons of Education, data: 2002". Digest of Education Statistics—Tables and Figures. National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences (IES), US Department of Education. 2005. from the original on 5 June 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
  186. ^ "I. Monitoring Human Development: Enlarging peoples's choices ... —5. Human poverty in OECD, Eastern Europe and the CIS" (PDF). Human Development Indicators. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). 2000. pp. 172–173. (PDF) from the original on 14 June 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
  187. ^ "Range of rank on the PISA 2006 science scale" (PDF). OECD. (PDF) from the original on 29 December 2009. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
  188. ^ De Meyer, Inge; Pauly, Jan; Van de Poele, Luc (2005). "Learning for Tomorrow's Problems – First Results from PISA2003" (PDF). Ministry of the Flemish Community – Education Department; University of Ghent – Department of Education, Ghent, Belgium (Online by OECD). p. 52. (PDF) from the original on 28 April 2011. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
  189. ^ De Ley, Herman (2000). . Centrum voor Islam in Europe (Center for Islam in Europe), Ghent University. Archived from the original on 9 June 2007. Retrieved 7 June 2007.
  190. ^ "Belgium—Arts and cultural education". Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in Europe, 8th edition. Council of Europe / ERICarts. 2007. from the original on 31 August 2007. Retrieved 8 May 2007.
  191. ^ . European Culture Portal. European Commission. 2007. Archived from the original on 24 December 2007. Retrieved 10 May 2007.
  192. ^ Gonthier, Adrien (2003). "Frontière linguistique, frontière politique, une presse en crise". Le Monde diplomatique (in French). from the original on 27 March 2008. Retrieved 17 June 2008. Mumford, David (2008). The World Today Series. The New York Times. Western Europe/2007. ISBN 978-1-887985-89-5.
  193. ^ "Low Countries, 1000–1400 AD". Timeline of Art History. Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2007. from the original on 15 April 2007. Retrieved 10 May 2007.
  194. ^ "Low Countries, 1400–1600 AD". Timeline of Art History. Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2007. from the original on 29 April 2007. Retrieved 10 May 2007.
  195. ^ Several examples of major architectural realizations in Belgium belong to UNESCO's World Heritage List:"Belgium". Properties inscribed on the World Heritage List. UNESCO. from the original on 28 April 2007. Retrieved 15 May 2007.
  196. ^ Hendrick, Jacques (1987). La peinture au pays de Liège (in French). Liège: Editions du Perron. p. 24. ISBN 978-2-87114-026-9.
  197. ^ Guratzsch, Herwig (1979). Die große Zeit der niederländische Malerei (in German). Freiburg im Beisgau: Verlag Herder. p. 7.
  198. ^ "Low Countries, 1600–1800 AD". Timeline of Art History. Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2007. from the original on 13 May 2007. Retrieved 10 May 2007.
  199. ^ "Art History: Flemish School: (1600–1800)—Artists: (biography & artworks)". World Wide Arts Resources. 5 February 2006. Archived from the original on 13 October 2009. Retrieved 10 May 2007.—A general presentation of the Flemish artistic movement with a list of its artists, linking to their biographies and artworks
  200. ^ "Belgian Artists: (biographies & artworks)". World Wide Arts Resources. 5 February 2006. Archived from the original on 15 May 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2007.—List of Belgian painters, linking to their biographies and artworks
  201. ^ Baudson, Michel (1996). . Flammarion (Paris), quoted at presentation of the XXIII Bienal Internacional de São Paulo. Archived from the original on 7 February 2007. Retrieved 10 May 2007.
  202. ^ Brussels, capital of Art Nouveau (page 1) 9 May 2007 at the Wayback Machine, "(page 2)". Senses Art Nouveau Shop, Brussels. 2007. from the original on 4 March 2007. Retrieved 11 May 2007. (for example)
  203. ^ "Major Town Houses of the Architect Victor Horta (Brussels)". UNESCO's World Heritage List. UNESCO. from the original on 13 May 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2007. The appearance of Art Nouveau in the closing years of the 19th century marked a decisive stage in the evolution of architecture, making possible subsequent developments, and the Town Houses of Victor Horta in Brussels bear exceptional witness to its radical new approach.
  204. ^ "Western music, the Franco-Flemish school". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. from the original on 8 December 2006. Retrieved 15 May 2007. Most significant musically was the pervasive influence of musicians from the Low Countries, whose domination of the music scene during the last half of the 15th century is reflected in the period designations the Netherlands school and the Franco-Flemish school.
  205. ^ Two comprehensive discussions of rock and pop music in Belgium since the 1950s:
    "The Timeline—A brief history of Belgian Pop Music". The Belgian Pop & Rock Archives. Flanders Music Centre, Brussels. March 2007. from the original on 12 July 2007. Retrieved 7 June 2007.
    . Vanberg & DeWulf Importing. 2006. Archived from the original on 7 June 2007. Retrieved 11 May 2007.
  206. ^ Grove, Laurence (2010). Comics in French: the European bande dessinée in context. Berghahn Books. ISBN 978-1-84545-588-0.
  207. ^ A review of the Belgian cinema till about 2000 can be found at. Film Birth. 2007. Archived from the original on 14 September 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  208. ^ "Processional Giants and Dragons in Belgium and France". UNESCO. from the original on 27 April 2007. Retrieved 15 May 2007.
  209. ^ (in French). University of Liège. Archived from the original on 20 June 2010. Retrieved 17 June 2008.
  210. ^ "Steak-frites". Epicurious. 20 August 2004. from the original on 8 August 2007. Retrieved 12 August 2007. Republished fromVan Waerebeek, Ruth; Robbins, Maria (October 1996). Everybody Eats Well in Belgium Cookbook. Workman Publishing. ISBN 978-1-56305-411-2.
  211. ^ . Global Gourmet. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 12 August 2007. Republished fromVan Waerebeek, Ruth; Robbins, Maria (October 1996). Everybody Eats Well in Belgium Cookbook. Workman Publishing. ISBN 978-1-56305-411-2.
  212. ^ . Visit Belgium. Official Site of the Belgian Tourist Office in the Americas. 2005. Archived from the original on 10 February 2007. Retrieved 12 August 2007.
  213. ^ . Resto.be TM Dreaminvest. 2007. Archived from the original on 9 October 2008. Retrieved 15 May 2007.
  214. ^ Elliott, Mark & Cole, Geert (2000). Belgium and Luxembourg. Lonely Planet. p. 53. ISBN 978-1-86450-245-9.
  215. ^ Snick, Chris (18 October 2011). . Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 5 June 2012.
  216. ^ "Nieuwe bierbijbel met 1.132 Belgische bieren voorgesteld in Brugge". Krant van West-Vlaanderen (in Dutch). 18 October 2011. from the original on 31 May 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
  217. ^ Ames, Paul (30 August 2009). "Buying the World's Best Beer". Global Post. from the original on 9 November 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
  218. ^ Guthrie, Tyler (11 August 2010). "Day trip to the best beer in the world". Chicago Tribune. from the original on 4 December 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
  219. ^ . ABC. Reuters. 12 August 2005. Archived from the original on 10 March 2009. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
  220. ^ (Press release). InBev. 24 April 2007. Archived from the original on 11 September 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2007. InBev is a publicly traded company (Euronext: INB) based in Leuven, Belgium. The company's origins date back to 1366, and today it is the leading global brewer by volume.
  221. ^ Task, Marijke; Renson, Roland & van Reusel, Bart (1999). Klaus Heinemann (ed.). Organised sport in transition: development, structures and trends of sports clubs in Belgium. Sport clubs in various European countries. Schattauer Verlag. pp. 183–229. ISBN 978-3-7945-2038-1.
  222. ^ [Official sports portal in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation]. sport-adeps.be (in French). Archived from the original on 16 November 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  223. ^ "Doe aan sport" [Do sports]. Sport.Vlaanderen (in Dutch). Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  224. ^ Wingfield, George (2008). Charles F. Gritzner (ed.). Belgium. Infobase Publishing. pp. 94–95. ISBN 978-0-7910-9670-3.
  225. ^ Hendricks, Kelly (20 June 2014). "Belgium's 10 most popular sports". The Bulletin. from the original on 22 November 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  226. ^ . FIFA. 5 November 2015. Archived from the original on 26 June 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  227. ^ Team of the Year Award 2010 18 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine on the FIFA website
  228. ^ Majendie, Matt (18 April 2005). "Great, but there are greater". BBC Sport. from the original on 24 August 2007. Retrieved 20 September 2007. [the Author's] top five [cyclists] of all time: 1 Eddy Merckx, 2 Bernard Hinault, 3 Lance Armstrong, 4 Miguel Indurain, 5 Jacques Anquetil
  229. ^ Woods, Bob (2008). Motocross History: From Local Scrambling to World Championship MX to Freestyle. Crabtree Publishing Company. p. 19. ISBN 978-0-7787-3987-6.

Online sources

January 13, 2023
belgium, this, article, about, country, other, uses, disambiguation, belgique, redirects, here, city, united, states, belgique, missouri, coordinates, officially, kingdom, country, northwestern, europe, country, bordered, netherlands, north, germany, east, lux. This article is about the country For other uses see Belgium disambiguation Belgique redirects here For the city in the United States see Belgique Missouri Coordinates 50 50 N 4 00 E 50 833 N 4 000 E 50 833 4 000 Belgium A officially the Kingdom of Belgium B is a country in Northwestern Europe The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north Germany to the east Luxembourg to the southeast France to the southwest and the North Sea to the northwest It covers an area of 30 528 km2 11 787 sq mi and has a population of more than 11 5 million 11 making it the 22nd most densely populated country in the world and the 6th most densely populated country in Europe with a density of 376 km2 970 sq mi Belgium is part of an area known as the Low Countries historically a somewhat larger region than the Benelux group of states as it also included parts of northern France The capital and largest city is Brussels other major cities are Antwerp Ghent Charleroi Liege Bruges Namur and Leuven Kingdom of BelgiumKoninkrijk Belgie Dutch Royaume de Belgique French Konigreich Belgien German Flag Coat of armsMotto Eendracht maakt macht Dutch L union fait la force French Einigkeit macht stark German English Unity makes strength Anthem La Brabanconne English The Brabantian source source track track track track track track track track track track track Location of Belgium dark green in Europe green amp dark grey in the European Union green Capitaland largest cityBrussels50 51 N 4 21 E 50 850 N 4 350 E 50 850 4 350Official languagesDutchFrenchGermanEthnic groups 2022 1 66 6 Belgians33 4 OthersReligion 2019 2 60 Christianity 54 Roman Catholic 6 Other Christian 31 No religion 7 Islam 2 OthersDemonym s BelgianGovernmentFederal parliamentaryconstitutional monarchy 3 MonarchPhilippe Prime MinisterAlexander De CrooLegislatureFederal Parliament Upper houseSenate Lower houseChamber of RepresentativesIndependence from the Netherlands Declared4 October 1830 Recognized19 April 1839Area Total30 528 4 km2 11 787 sq mi 136th Water 0 71 2015 5 Population 2022 estimate11 584 008 6 82nd Density376 km2 973 8 sq mi 22nd GDP PPP 2022 estimate Total 723 billion 7 37th Per capita 62 065 7 20th GDP nominal 2022 estimate Total 589 billion 7 26th Per capita 50 598 7 17th Gini 2021 23 9 8 lowHDI 2021 0 937 9 very high 13thCurrencyEuro EUR Time zoneUTC 1 CET Summer DST UTC 2 CEST Driving siderightCalling code 32ISO 3166 codeBEInternet TLD beThe flag s official proportions of 13 15 are rarely seen proportions of 2 3 or similar are more common The Brussels region is the de facto capital but the City of Brussels municipality is the de jure capital 10 The eu domain is also used as it is shared with other European Union member states Belgium is a sovereign state and a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system Its institutional organization is complex and is structured on both regional and linguistic grounds It is divided into three highly autonomous regions 12 the Flemish Region Flanders in the north the Walloon Region Wallonia in the south and the Brussels Capital Region 13 Brussels is the smallest and most densely populated region as well as the richest region in terms of GDP per capita Belgium is also home to two main linguistic communities the Flemish Community which constitutes about 60 percent of the population and the French Community which constitutes about 40 percent of the population A small German speaking Community numbering around one percent exists in the East Cantons The Brussels Capital Region is officially bilingual in French and Dutch 14 although French is the dominant language 15 Belgium s linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in its complex system of governance made up of six different governments Since the Middle Ages Belgium s central location near several major rivers has meant that the area has been relatively prosperous connected commercially and politically to its bigger neighbours The country as it exists today was established following the 1830 Belgian Revolution when it seceded from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands which had incorporated the Southern Netherlands which comprised most of modern day Belgium after the Congress of Vienna in 1815 The name chosen for the new state is derived from the Latin word Belgium used in Julius Caesar s Gallic Wars to describe a nearby region in the period around 55 BCE 16 Belgium has also been the battleground of European powers earning the moniker the Battlefield of Europe 17 a reputation reinforced in the 20th century by both world wars Belgium participated in the Industrial Revolution 18 19 and during the course of the 20th century possessed a number of colonies in Africa 20 Between 1885 and 1908 the Congo Free State which was privately owned by King Leopold II of Belgium was characterized by widespread atrocities and disease leading to a population decline of millions amid public outcry in Europe Belgium annexed the territory as a colony 21 The Belgian colonial empire gained independence between 1960 and 1962 22 The second half of the 20th century was marked by rising tensions between the Dutch speaking and the French speaking citizens fuelled by differences in language and culture and the unequal economic development of Flanders and Wallonia This continuing antagonism has led to several far reaching state reforms resulting in the transition from a unitary to a federal arrangement between 1970 and 1993 Despite the reforms tensions between the groups have remained if not increased there is significant separatism particularly among the Flemish controversial language laws exist such as the municipalities with language facilities 23 and the formation of a coalition government took 18 months following the June 2010 federal election a world record 24 Unemployment in Wallonia is more than double that of Flanders which boomed after the Second World War 25 Belgium is one of the six founding countries of the European Union and its capital Brussels is also the de facto capital of the European Union itself hosting the official seats of the European Commission the Council of the European Union and the European Council as well as one of two seats of the European Parliament the other being Strasbourg Belgium is also a founding member of the Eurozone NATO OECD and WTO and a part of the trilateral Benelux Union and the Schengen Area Brussels also hosts the headquarters of many major international organizations such as NATO C Belgium is a developed country with an advanced high income economy It has very high standards of living quality of life 26 health care 27 education 28 and is categorized as very high on the Human Development Index 29 It also ranks relatively high on the Global Peace Index 30 Contents 1 History 1 1 Antiquity 1 2 Middle Ages 1 3 Burgundian and Habsburg Netherlands 1 4 Spanish and Austrian Netherlands 1 5 The French revolution and the Kingdom of the Netherlands 1 6 Independent Belgium 2 Geography 2 1 Provinces 3 Politics 3 1 Political culture 3 2 Communities and regions 3 3 Locus of policy jurisdiction 3 4 Foreign relations 3 5 Armed forces 4 Economy 4 1 Science and technology 5 Demographics 5 1 Migration 5 2 Languages 5 3 Religion 5 4 Health 5 5 Education 6 Culture 6 1 Fine arts 6 2 Folklore 6 3 Cuisine 6 4 Sports 7 See also 8 Footnotes 9 References 9 1 Online sources 9 2 Bibliography 10 External links 10 1 Government 10 2 GeneralHistoryMain article History of Belgium For a chronological guide see Timeline of Belgian history Antiquity Gallia Belgica at the time of Julius Caesar s conquest of Gaul in 54 BCE Gaul is divided into three parts one of which the Belgae inhabit the Aquitani another those who in their own language are called Celts in ours Gauls the third Of all these the Belgae are the strongest Julius Caesar De Bello Gallico Book I Ch 1 According to Julius Caesar the Belgae were the inhabitants of the northernmost part of Gaul which was much bigger than modern Belgium He also specifically used the Latin word Belgium to refer to a politically dominant part of that larger region which is now in northernmost France 31 Modern Belgium corresponds to the lands of the Morini Menapii Nervii Germani Cisrhenani Aduatuci and around Arlon a part of the country of the Treveri Caesar described these regions as a less economically developed transition zone which had links to the Germanic tribes over the Rhine After Caesar s conquests Gallia Belgica came to be the Latin name of a large Roman province covering most of Northern Gaul including the Treveri Areas closer to the lower Rhine frontier including the eastern part of modern Belgium eventually became part of the frontier province of Germania Inferior which continued to interact with their neighbours outside the empire At the time when central government collapsed in the Western Roman Empire the Roman provinces of Belgica and Germania were inhabited by a mix of a Romanized population and Germanic speaking Franks who came to dominate the military and political class Middle Ages During the 5th century the area came under the rule of the Frankish Merovingian kings who established a kingdom ruling over the Romanized population in what is northern France and then conquered the other Frankish kingdoms During the 8th century this kingdom of the Franks came to be ruled by the Carolingian dynasty whose centre of power included the area which is now eastern Belgium 32 Over the centuries the kingdom was divided up in many ways but the Treaty of Verdun in 843 divided the Carolingian Empire into three kingdoms whose borders had a lasting impact on medieval political boundaries Most of modern Belgium was in the Middle Kingdom later known as Lotharingia but the coastal county of Flanders west of the Scheldt became the northernmost part of West Francia the predecessor of France In 870 in the Treaty of Meerssen modern Belgium lands all became part of the western kingdom for a period but in 880 in the Treaty of Ribemont Lotharingia returned to the lasting control of the Eastern king or Holy Roman Emperor The lordships and bishoprics along the March frontier between the two great kingdoms maintained important connections between each other For example the county of Flanders expanded over the Scheldt into the empire and during several periods was ruled by the same lords as the county of Hainaut In the 13th and 14th centuries the cloth industry and commerce boomed especially in the County of Flanders and it became one of the richest areas in Europe This prosperity played a role in conflicts between Flanders and the king of France Famously Flemish militias scored a surprise victory at the Battle of the Golden Spurs against a strong force of mounted knights in 1302 but France soon regained control of the rebellious province Burgundian and Habsburg Netherlands The Burgundian State of Charles the Bold in the 15th century In the 15th century the Duke of Burgundy in France took control of Flanders and from there they proceeded to unite much of what is now the Benelux the so called Burgundian Netherlands 33 Belgium and Flanders were the first two common names used for the Burgundian Netherlands which was the predecessor of the Austrian Netherlands the predecessor of modern Belgium 34 The union technically stretching between two kingdoms gave the area economic and political stability which led to an even greater prosperity and artistic creation Born in Belgium the House of Habsburg Emperor Charles V was heir of the Burgundians but also of the royal families of Austria Castile and Aragon With the Pragmatic Sanction of 1549 he gave the Seventeen Provinces more legitimacy as a stable entity rather than just a temporary personal union He also increased the influence of these Netherlands over the Prince Bishopric of Liege which continued to exist as a large semi independent enclave 35 Spanish and Austrian Netherlands The Eighty Years War 1568 1648 was triggered by the Spanish government s policy towards Protestantism which was becoming popular in the Low Countries The rebellious northern United Provinces Belgica Foederata in Latin the Federated Netherlands eventually separated from the Southern Netherlands Belgica Regia the Royal Netherlands The latter were ruled successively by the Spanish Spanish Netherlands and the Austrian House of Habsburgs Austrian Netherlands and comprised most of modern Belgium This was the theatre of several more protracted conflicts during much of the 17th and 18th centuries involving France including the Franco Dutch War 1672 1678 the Nine Years War 1688 1697 the War of the Spanish Succession 1701 1714 and part of the War of the Austrian Succession 1740 1748 The French revolution and the Kingdom of the Netherlands Following the campaigns of 1794 in the French Revolutionary Wars the Low Countries including territories that were never nominally under Habsburg rule such as the Prince Bishopric of Liege were annexed by the French First Republic ending Austrian rule in the region A reunification of the Low Countries as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands occurred at the dissolution of the First French Empire in 1814 after the abdication of Napoleon Independent Belgium Episode of the Belgian Revolution of 1830 Gustaf Wappers 1834 In 1830 the Belgian Revolution led to the separation of the Southern Provinces from the Netherlands and to the establishment of a Catholic and bourgeois officially French speaking and neutral independent Belgium under a provisional government and a national congress 36 37 Since the installation of Leopold I as king on 21 July 1831 now celebrated as Belgium s National Day Belgium has been a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy with a laicist constitution based on the Napoleonic code 38 Although the franchise was initially restricted universal suffrage for men was introduced after the general strike of 1893 with plural voting until 1919 and for women in 1949 The main political parties of the 19th century were the Catholic Party and the Liberal Party with the Belgian Labour Party emerging towards the end of the 19th century French was originally the single official language adopted by the nobility and the bourgeoisie It progressively lost its overall importance as Dutch became recognized as well This recognition became official in 1898 and in 1967 the parliament accepted a Dutch version of the Constitution 39 The Berlin Conference of 1885 ceded control of the Congo Free State to King Leopold II as his private possession From around 1900 there was growing international concern for the extreme and savage treatment of the Congolese population under Leopold II for whom the Congo was primarily a source of revenue from ivory and rubber production 40 Many Congolese were killed by Leopold s agents for failing to meet production quotas for ivory and rubber 41 In 1908 this outcry led the Belgian state to assume responsibility for the government of the colony henceforth called the Belgian Congo 42 A Belgian commission in 1919 estimated that Congo s population was half what it was in 1879 41 Cheering crowds greet British troops entering Brussels 4 September 1944 Germany invaded Belgium in August 1914 as part of the Schlieffen Plan to attack France and much of the Western Front fighting of World War I occurred in western parts of the country The opening months of the war were known as the Rape of Belgium due to German excesses Belgium assumed control of the German colonies of Ruanda Urundi modern day Rwanda and Burundi during the war and in 1924 the League of Nations mandated them to Belgium In the aftermath of the First World War Belgium annexed the Prussian districts of Eupen and Malmedy in 1925 thereby causing the presence of a German speaking minority German forces again invaded the country in May 1940 and 40 690 Belgians over half of them Jews were killed during the subsequent occupation and the Holocaust From September 1944 to February 1945 the Allies liberated Belgium After World War II a general strike forced King Leopold III to abdicate in 1951 in favour of his son Prince Baudouin since many Belgians felt he had collaborated with Germany during the war 43 The Belgian Congo gained independence in 1960 during the Congo Crisis 44 Ruanda Urundi followed with its independence two years later Belgium joined NATO as a founding member and formed the Benelux group of nations with the Netherlands and Luxembourg Belgium became one of the six founding members of the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951 and of the European Atomic Energy Community and European Economic Community established in 1957 The latter has now become the European Union for which Belgium hosts major administrations and institutions including the European Commission the Council of the European Union and the extraordinary and committee sessions of the European Parliament In the early 1990s Belgium saw several large corruption scandals notably surrounding Marc Dutroux Andre Cools the Dioxin Affair Agusta Scandal and the murder of Karel van Noppen GeographyMain article Geography of Belgium Relief map of Belgium Belgium shares borders with France 620 km Germany 167 km Luxembourg 148 km and the Netherlands 450 km Its total surface including water area is 30 528 km2 11 787 sq mi Before 2018 its total area was believed to be 30 528 km2 11 787 sq mi However when the country s statistics were measured in 2018 a new calculation method was used Unlike previous calculations this one included the area from the coast to the low water line revealing the country to be 160 km2 62 sq mi larger in surface area than previously thought 45 46 Its land area alone is 30 278 km2 47 needs update It lies between latitudes 49 30 and 51 30 N and longitudes 2 33 and 6 24 E 48 Belgium has three main geographical regions the coastal plain in the northwest and the central plateau both belong to the Anglo Belgian Basin and the Ardennes uplands in the southeast to the Hercynian orogenic belt The Paris Basin reaches a small fourth area at Belgium s southernmost tip Belgian Lorraine 49 The coastal plain consists mainly of sand dunes and polders Further inland lies a smooth slowly rising landscape irrigated by numerous waterways with fertile valleys and the northeastern sandy plain of the Campine Kempen The thickly forested hills and plateaus of the Ardennes are more rugged and rocky with caves and small gorges Extending westward into France this area is eastwardly connected to the Eifel in Germany by the High Fens plateau on which the Signal de Botrange forms the country s highest point at 694 m 2 277 ft 50 51 The climate is maritime temperate with significant precipitation in all seasons Koppen climate classification Cfb like most of northwest Europe 52 The average temperature is lowest in January at 3 C 37 4 F and highest in July at 18 C 64 4 F The average precipitation per month varies between 54 mm 2 1 in for February and April to 78 mm 3 1 in for July 53 Averages for the years 2000 to 2006 show daily temperature minimums of 7 C 44 6 F and maximums of 14 C 57 2 F and monthly rainfall of 74 mm 2 9 in these are about 1 C and nearly 10 millimetres above last century s normal values respectively 54 Phytogeographically Belgium is shared between the Atlantic European and Central European provinces of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom 55 According to the World Wide Fund for Nature the territory of Belgium belongs to the terrestrial ecoregions of Atlantic mixed forests and Western European broadleaf forests 56 57 Belgium had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 1 36 10 ranking it 163rd globally out of 172 countries 58 Provinces Main article Provinces of Belgium The territory of Belgium is divided into three Regions two of which the Flemish Region and Walloon Region are in turn subdivided into provinces the third Region the Brussels Capital Region is neither a province nor a part of a province Province Dutch name French name German name Capital Area 4 Population 1 January 2019 6 Density ISO 3166 2 BE 59 Flemish Region Antwerp Antwerpen Anvers Antwerpen Antwerp 2 876 km2 1 110 sq mi 1 857 986 647 km2 1 680 sq mi VAN East Flanders Oost Vlaanderen Flandre orientale Ostflandern Ghent 3 007 km2 1 161 sq mi 1 515 064 504 km2 1 310 sq mi VOV Flemish Brabant Vlaams Brabant Brabant flamand Flamisch Brabant Leuven 2 118 km2 818 sq mi 1 146 175 542 km2 1 400 sq mi VBR Limburg Limburg Limbourg Limburg Hasselt 2 427 km2 937 sq mi 874 048 361 km2 930 sq mi VLI West Flanders West Vlaanderen Flandre occidentale Westflandern Bruges 3 197 km2 1 234 sq mi 1 195 796 375 km2 970 sq mi VWVWalloon Region Hainaut Henegouwen Hainaut Hennegau Mons 3 813 km2 1 472 sq mi 1 344 241 353 km2 910 sq mi WHT Liege Luik Liege Luttich Liege 3 857 km2 1 489 sq mi 1 106 992 288 km2 750 sq mi WLG Luxembourg Luxemburg Luxembourg Luxemburg Arlon 4 459 km2 1 722 sq mi 284 638 64 km2 170 sq mi WLX Namur Namen Namur Namur Namur Namur 3 675 km2 1 419 sq mi 494 325 135 km2 350 sq mi WNA Walloon Brabant Waals Brabant Brabant wallon Wallonisch Brabant Wavre 1 097 km2 424 sq mi 403 599 368 km2 950 sq mi WBRBrussels Capital Region Brussels Capital Region Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest Region de Bruxelles Capitale Region Brussel Hauptstadt Brussels City 162 4 km2 62 7 sq mi 1 208 542 7 442 km2 19 270 sq mi BBRTotal Belgie Belgique Belgien Brussels City 30 689 km2 11 849 sq mi 11 431 406 373 km2 970 sq mi PoliticsMain articles Politics of Belgium and Belgian federal government PhilippeKing of the Belgians since 2013 Alexander De CrooPrime Minister since 2020 Chart illustrating the federal government construction of Belgium Belgium is a constitutional popular monarchy and a federal parliamentary democracy The bicameral federal parliament is composed of a Senate and a Chamber of Representatives The former is made up of 50 senators appointed by the parliaments of the communities and regions and 10 co opted senators Prior to 2014 most of the Senate s members were directly elected The Chamber s 150 representatives are elected under a proportional voting system from 11 electoral districts Belgium has compulsory voting and thus maintains one of the highest rates of voter turnout in the world 60 The King currently Philippe is the head of state though with limited prerogatives He appoints ministers including a Prime Minister that have the confidence of the Chamber of Representatives to form the federal government The Council of Ministers is composed of no more than fifteen members With the possible exception of the Prime Minister the Council of Ministers is composed of an equal number of Dutch speaking members and French speaking members 61 The judicial system is based on civil law and originates from the Napoleonic code The Court of Cassation is the court of last resort with the courts of appeal one level below 62 Political culture Belgium s political institutions are complex most political power rests on representation of the main cultural communities 63 Since about 1970 the significant national Belgian political parties have split into distinct components that mainly represent the political and linguistic interests of these communities 64 The major parties in each community though close to the political center belong to three main groups Christian Democrats Liberals and Social Democrats 65 Further notable parties came into being well after the middle of last century mainly to represent linguistic nationalist or environmental interests and recently smaller ones of some specific liberal nature 64 The Belgian Federal Parliament in Brussels one of six different governments of the country A string of Christian Democrat coalition governments from 1958 was broken in 1999 after the first dioxin crisis a major food contamination scandal 66 67 68 A rainbow coalition emerged from six parties the Flemish and the French speaking Liberals Social Democrats and Greens 69 Later a purple coalition of Liberals and Social Democrats formed after the Greens lost most of their seats in the 2003 election 70 The government led by Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt from 1999 to 2007 achieved a balanced budget some tax reforms a labor market reform scheduled nuclear phase out and instigated legislation allowing more stringent war crime and more lenient soft drug usage prosecution Restrictions on withholding euthanasia were reduced and same sex marriage legalized The government promoted active diplomacy in Africa 71 and opposed the invasion of Iraq 72 It is the only country that does not have age restrictions on euthanasia 73 Verhofstadt s coalition fared badly in the June 2007 elections For more than a year the country experienced a political crisis 74 This crisis was such that many observers speculated on a possible partition of Belgium 75 76 77 From 21 December 2007 until 20 March 2008 the temporary Verhofstadt III Government was in office This was a coalition of the Flemish and Francophone Christian Democrats the Flemish and Francophone Liberals together with the Francophone Social Democrats 78 On that day a new government led by Flemish Christian Democrat Yves Leterme the actual winner of the federal elections of June 2007 was sworn in by the king On 15 July 2008 Leterme announced the resignation of the cabinet to the king as no progress in constitutional reforms had been made 78 In December 2008 he once more offered his resignation to the king after a crisis surrounding the sale of Fortis to BNP Paribas 79 At this juncture his resignation was accepted and Christian Democratic and Flemish Herman Van Rompuy was sworn in as Prime Minister on 30 December 2008 80 After Herman Van Rompuy was designated the first permanent President of the European Council on 19 November 2009 he offered the resignation of his government to King Albert II on 25 November 2009 A few hours later the new government under Prime Minister Yves Leterme was sworn in On 22 April 2010 Leterme again offered the resignation of his cabinet to the king 81 after one of the coalition partners the OpenVLD withdrew from the government and on 26 April 2010 King Albert officially accepted the resignation 82 The Parliamentary elections in Belgium on 13 June 2010 saw the Flemish nationalist N VA become the largest party in Flanders and the Socialist Party PS the largest party in Wallonia 83 Until December 2011 Belgium was governed by Leterme s caretaker government awaiting the end of the deadlocked negotiations for formation of a new government By 30 March 2011 this set a new world record for the elapsed time without an official government previously held by war torn Iraq 84 Finally in December 2011 the Di Rupo Government led by Walloon socialist Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo was sworn in 85 The 2014 federal election coinciding with the regional elections resulted in a further electoral gain for the Flemish nationalist N VA although the incumbent coalition composed of Flemish and French speaking Social Democrats Liberals and Christian Democrats maintains a solid majority in Parliament and in all electoral constituencies On 22 July 2014 King Philippe nominated Charles Michel MR and Kris Peeters CD amp V to lead the formation of a new federal cabinet composed of the Flemish parties N VA CD amp V Open Vld and the French speaking MR which resulted in the Michel Government It was the first time N VA was part of the federal cabinet while the French speaking side was represented only by the MR which achieved a minority of the public votes in Wallonia 86 In May 2019 federal elections in the Flemish speaking northern region of Flanders far right Vlaams Belang party made major gains In the French speaking southern area of Wallonia the Socialists were strong The moderate Flemish nationalist party the N VA remained the largest party in parliament 87 In July 2019 prime minister Charles Michel was selected to hold the post of President of the European Council 88 His successor Sophie Wilmes was Belgium s first female prime minister She led the caretaker government since October 2019 89 The Flemish Liberal party politician Alexander De Croo became new prime minister in October 2020 The parties had agreed on federal government 16 months after the elections 90 Communities and regions Main article Communities regions and language areas of Belgium Communities Flemish Community Dutch language area Flemish amp French Community bilingual language area French Community French language area German speaking Community German language area Regions Flemish Region Dutch language area Brussels Capital Region bilingual area Walloon Region French and German language areas Following a usage which can be traced back to the Burgundian and Habsburg courts 91 in the 19th century it was necessary to speak French to belong to the governing upper class and those who could only speak Dutch were effectively second class citizens 92 Late that century and continuing into the 20th century Flemish movements evolved to counter this situation 93 While the people in Southern Belgium spoke French or dialects of French and most Brusselers adopted French as their first language the Flemings refused to do so and succeeded progressively in making Dutch an equal language in the education system 93 Following World War II Belgian politics became increasingly dominated by the autonomy of its two main linguistic communities 94 Intercommunal tensions rose and the constitution was amended to minimize the potential for conflict 94 Based on the four language areas defined in 1962 63 the Dutch bilingual French and German language areas consecutive revisions of the country s constitution in 1970 1980 1988 and 1993 established a unique form of a federal state with segregated political power into three levels 95 96 The federal government based in Brussels The three language communities the Flemish Community Dutch speaking the French Community French speaking the German speaking Community The three regions the Flemish Region subdivided into five provinces the Walloon Region subdivided into five provinces the Brussels Capital Region The constitutional language areas determine the official languages in their municipalities as well as the geographical limits of the empowered institutions for specific matters 97 Although this would allow for seven parliaments and governments when the Communities and Regions were created in 1980 Flemish politicians decided to merge both 98 Thus the Flemings just have one single institutional body of parliament and government is empowered for all except federal and specific municipal matters D The overlapping boundaries of the Regions and Communities have created two notable peculiarities the territory of the Brussels Capital Region which came into existence nearly a decade after the other regions is included in both the Flemish and French Communities and the territory of the German speaking Community lies wholly within the Walloon Region Conflicts about jurisdiction between the bodies are resolved by the Constitutional Court of Belgium The structure is intended as a compromise to allow different cultures to live together peacefully 18 Locus of policy jurisdiction The Federal State s authority includes justice defense federal police social security nuclear energy monetary policy and public debt and other aspects of public finances State owned companies include the Belgian Post Group and Belgian Railways The Federal Government is responsible for the obligations of Belgium and its federalized institutions towards the European Union and NATO It controls substantial parts of public health home affairs and foreign affairs 99 The budget without the debt controlled by the federal government amounts to about 50 of the national fiscal income The federal government employs around 12 of the civil servants 100 Communities exercise their authority only within linguistically determined geographical boundaries originally oriented towards the individuals of a Community s language culture including audiovisual media education and the use of the relevant language Extensions to personal matters less directly connected with language comprise health policy curative and preventive medicine and assistance to individuals protection of youth social welfare aid to families immigrant assistance services and so on 101 Regions have authority in fields that can be broadly associated with their territory These include economy employment agriculture water policy housing public works energy transport the environment town and country planning nature conservation credit and foreign trade They supervise the provinces municipalities and intercommunal utility companies 102 In several fields the different levels each have their own say on specifics With education for instance the autonomy of the Communities neither includes decisions about the compulsory aspect nor allows for setting minimum requirements for awarding qualifications which remain federal matters 99 Each level of government can be involved in scientific research and international relations associated with its powers The treaty making power of the Regions and Communities Governments is the broadest of all the Federating units of all the Federations all over the world 103 104 105 Foreign relations The Berlaymont building in Brussels seat of the European Commission Main article Foreign relations of Belgium Because of its location at the crossroads of Western Europe Belgium has historically been the route of invading armies from its larger neighbors With virtually defenseless borders Belgium has traditionally sought to avoid domination by the more powerful nations which surround it through a policy of mediation The Belgians have been strong advocates of European integration The headquarters of NATO and of several of the institutions of the European Union are located in Belgium Armed forces Main article Belgian Armed Forces The Belgian Armed Forces have about 47 000 active troops In 2019 Belgium s defense budget totaled 4 303 billion 4 921 billion representing 93 of its GDP 106 They are organized into one unified structure which consists of four main components Land Component or the Army Air Component or the Air Force Marine Component or the Navy and the Medical Component The operational commands of the four components are subordinate to the Staff Department for Operations and Training of the Ministry of Defense which is headed by the Assistant Chief of Staff Operations and Training and to the Chief of Defense 107 The effects of the Second World War made collective security a priority for Belgian foreign policy In March 1948 Belgium signed the Treaty of Brussels and then joined NATO in 1948 However the integration of the armed forces into NATO did not begin until after the Korean War 108 The Belgians along with the Luxembourg government sent a detachment of battalion strength to fight in Korea known as the Belgian United Nations Command This mission was the first in a long line of UN missions which the Belgians supported Currently the Belgian Marine Component is working closely together with the Dutch Navy under the command of the Admiral Benelux EconomyMain article Economy of Belgium A proportional representation of Belgium exports 2019 Belgium s strongly globalized economy 109 and its transport infrastructure are integrated with the rest of Europe Its location at the heart of a highly industrialized region helped make it the world s 15th largest trading nation in 2007 110 111 The economy is characterized by a highly productive work force high GNP and high exports per capita 112 Belgium s main imports are raw materials machinery and equipment chemicals raw diamonds pharmaceuticals foodstuffs transportation equipment and oil products Its main exports are machinery and equipment chemicals finished diamonds metals and metal products and foodstuffs 47 The Belgian economy is heavily service oriented and shows a dual nature a dynamic Flemish economy and a Walloon economy that lags behind 18 113 E One of the founding members of the European Union Belgium strongly supports an open economy and the extension of the powers of EU institutions to integrate member economies Since 1922 through the Belgium Luxembourg Economic Union Belgium and Luxembourg have been a single trade market with customs and currency union 114 Steelmaking along the Meuse at Ougree near Liege Belgium was the first continental European country to undergo the Industrial Revolution in the early 19th century 115 Areas in Liege Province and around Charleroi rapidly developed mining and steelmaking which flourished until the mid 20th century in the Sambre and Meuse valley and made Belgium one of the three most industrialized nations in the world from 1830 to 1910 116 117 However by the 1840s the textile industry of Flanders was in severe crisis and the region experienced famine from 1846 to 1850 118 119 After World War II Ghent and Antwerp experienced a rapid expansion of the chemical and petroleum industries The 1973 and 1979 oil crises sent the economy into a recession it was particularly prolonged in Wallonia where the steel industry had become less competitive and experienced a serious decline 120 In the 1980s and 1990s the economic center of the country continued to shift northwards and is now concentrated in the populous Flemish Diamond area 121 By the end of the 1980s Belgian macroeconomic policies had resulted in a cumulative government debt of about 120 of GDP As of 2006 update the budget was balanced and public debt was equal to 90 30 of GDP 122 In 2005 and 2006 real GDP growth rates of 1 5 and 3 0 respectively were slightly above the average for the Euro area Unemployment rates of 8 4 in 2005 and 8 2 in 2006 were close to the area average By October 2010 this had grown to 8 5 compared to an average rate of 9 6 for the European Union as a whole EU 27 123 124 From 1832 until 2002 Belgium s currency was the Belgian franc Belgium switched to the euro in 2002 with the first sets of euro coins being minted in 1999 The standard Belgian euro coins designated for circulation show the portrait of the monarch first King Albert II since 2013 King Philippe Despite an 18 decrease observed from 1970 to 1999 Belgium still had in 1999 the highest rail network density within the European Union with 113 8 km 1 000 km2 On the other hand the same period 1970 1999 has seen a huge growth 56 of the motorway network In 1999 the density of km motorways per 1000 km2 and 1000 inhabitants amounted to 55 1 and 16 5 respectively and were significantly superior to the EU s means of 13 7 and 15 9 125 Port of Zeebrugge From a biological resource perspective Belgium has a low endowment Belgium s biocapacity adds up to only 0 8 global hectares in 2016 126 just about half of the 1 6 global hectares of biocapacity available per person worldwide 127 In contrast in 2016 Belgians used on average 6 3 global hectares of biocapacity their ecological footprint of consumption This means they required about eight times as much biocapacity as Belgium contains As a result Belgium was running a biocapacity deficit of 5 5 global hectares per person in 2016 126 Belgium experiences some of the most congested traffic in Europe In 2010 commuters to the cities of Brussels and Antwerp spent respectively 65 and 64 hours a year in traffic jams 128 Like in most small European countries more than 80 of the airways traffic is handled by a single airport the Brussels Airport The ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge Bruges share more than 80 of Belgian maritime traffic Antwerp being the second European harbor with a gross weight of goods handled of 115 988 000 t in 2000 after a growth of 10 9 over the preceding five years 125 129 In 2016 the port of Antwerp handled 214 million tons after a year on year growth of 2 7 130 There is a large economic gap between Flanders and Wallonia Wallonia was historically wealthy compared to Flanders mostly due to its heavy industries but the decline of the steel industry post World War II led to the region s rapid decline whereas Flanders rose swiftly Since then Flanders has been prosperous among the wealthiest regions in Europe whereas Wallonia has been languishing As of 2007 the unemployment rate of Wallonia is over double that of Flanders The divide has played a key part in the tensions between the Flemish and Walloons in addition to the already existing language divide Pro independence movements have gained high popularity in Flanders as a consequence The separatist New Flemish Alliance N VA party for instance is the largest party in Belgium 131 132 133 Science and technology Further information Science and technology in Brussels Science and technology in Flanders and Science and technology in Wallonia Gerardus Mercator Contributions to the development of science and technology have appeared throughout the country s history The 16th century Early Modern flourishing of Western Europe included cartographer Gerardus Mercator anatomist Andreas Vesalius herbalist Rembert Dodoens 134 135 136 137 and mathematician Simon Stevin among the most influential scientists 138 Chemist Ernest Solvay 139 and engineer Zenobe Gramme Ecole industrielle de Liege 140 gave their names to the Solvay process and the Gramme dynamo respectively in the 1860s Bakelite was developed in 1907 1909 by Leo Baekeland Ernest Solvay also acted as a major philanthropist and gave his name to the Solvay Institute of Sociology the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management and the International Solvay Institutes for Physics and Chemistry which are now part of the Universite libre de Bruxelles In 1911 he started a series of conferences the Solvay Conferences on Physics and Chemistry which have had a deep impact on the evolution of quantum physics and chemistry 141 A major contribution to fundamental science was also due to a Belgian Monsignor Georges Lemaitre Catholic University of Louvain who is credited with proposing the Big Bang theory of the origin of the universe in 1927 142 Three Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine were awarded to Belgians Jules Bordet Universite libre de Bruxelles in 1919 Corneille Heymans University of Ghent in 1938 and Albert Claude Universite libre de Bruxelles together with Christian de Duve Universite catholique de Louvain in 1974 Francois Englert Universite libre de Bruxelles was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2013 Ilya Prigogine Universite libre de Bruxelles was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1977 143 Two Belgian mathematicians have been awarded the Fields Medal Pierre Deligne in 1978 and Jean Bourgain in 1994 144 145 Belgium was ranked 22nd in the Global Innovation Index in 2020 and 2021 up from 23rd in 2019 146 147 148 DemographicsMain articles Demographics of Belgium and Belgians Population density in Belgium by arrondissement Brussels the capital city and largest metropolitan area of Belgium As of 1 January 2020 the total population of Belgium according to its population register was 11 492 641 6 The population density of Belgium is 376 km2 970 sq mi as of January 2019 making it the 22nd most densely populated country in the world and the 6th most densely populated country in Europe The most densely populated province is Antwerp the least densely populated province is Luxembourg As of January 2019 the Flemish Region had a population of 6 589 069 57 6 of Belgium its most populous cities being Antwerp 523 248 Ghent 260 341 and Bruges 118 284 Wallonia had a population of 3 633 795 31 8 of Belgium with Charleroi 201 816 Liege 197 355 and Namur 110 939 its most populous cities The Brussels Capital Region has 1 208 542 inhabitants 10 6 of Belgium in the 19 municipalities three of which have over 100 000 residents 6 In 2017 the average total fertility rate TFR across Belgium was 1 64 children per woman below the replacement rate of 2 1 it remains considerably below the high of 4 87 children born per woman in 1873 149 Belgium subsequently has one of the oldest populations in the world with an average age of 41 6 years 150 Migration This section needs to be updated Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information June 2017 As of 2007 update nearly 92 of the population had Belgian citizenship 151 and other European Union member citizens account for around 6 The prevalent foreign nationals were Italian 171 918 French 125 061 Dutch 116 970 Moroccan 80 579 Portuguese 43 509 Spanish 42 765 Turkish 39 419 and German 37 621 152 153 In 2007 there were 1 38 million foreign born residents in Belgium corresponding to 12 9 of the total population Of these 685 000 6 4 were born outside the EU and 695 000 6 5 were born in another EU Member State 154 155 At the beginning of 2012 people of foreign background and their descendants were estimated to have formed around 25 of the total population i e 2 8 million new Belgians 156 Of these new Belgians 1 200 000 are of European ancestry and 1 350 000 157 are from non Western countries most of them from Morocco Turkey and the DR Congo Since the modification of the Belgian nationality law in 1984 more than 1 3 million migrants have acquired Belgian citizenship The largest group of immigrants and their descendants in Belgium are Moroccans 158 89 2 of inhabitants of Turkish origin have been naturalized as have 88 4 of people of Moroccan background 75 4 of Italians 56 2 of the French and 47 8 of Dutch people 157 Statbel released figures of the Belgian population in relation to the origin of people in Belgium According to the data as of 1 January 2021 67 3 of the Belgian population was of ethnic Belgian origin and 32 7 were of foreign origin or nationality with 20 3 of those of a foreign nationality or ethnic group originating from neighbouring countries The study also found that 74 5 of the Brussels Capital Region were of non Belgian origin of which 13 8 originated from neighbouring countries 1 Largest cities or towns in Belgium Numbers according to the NIS table 3 1 January 2018 Rank Name Region Pop Rank Name Region Pop Antwerp Ghent 1 Antwerp Flanders 523 248 11 Molenbeek Saint Jean Brussels 97 005 Charleroi Liege2 Ghent Flanders 260 341 12 Mons Wallonia 95 2993 Charleroi Wallonia 201 816 13 Ixelles Brussels 86 5134 Liege Wallonia 197 355 14 Mechelen Flanders 86 3045 City of Brussels Brussels 179 277 15 Aalst Flanders 85 7156 Schaerbeek Brussels 133 010 16 Uccle Brussels 82 2757 Anderlecht Brussels 118 382 17 La Louviere Wallonia 80 6378 Bruges Flanders 118 284 18 Hasselt Flanders 77 6519 Namur Wallonia 110 939 19 Sint Niklaas Flanders 76 75610 Leuven Flanders 101 396 20 Kortrijk Flanders 76 265 Languages Main article Languages of Belgium Estimated distribution of primary languages in BelgiumDutch 59 French 40 German 1 Bilingual signs in Brussels Belgium has three official languages Dutch French and German A number of non official minority languages are spoken as well 159 As no census exists there are no official statistical data regarding the distribution or usage of Belgium s three official languages or their dialects 160 However various criteria including the language s of parents of education or the second language status of foreign born may provide suggested figures An estimated 60 of the Belgian population are native speakers of Dutch often referred to as Flemish and 40 of the population speaks French natively French speaking Belgians are often referred to as Walloons although the French speakers in Brussels are not Walloons F The total number of native Dutch speakers is estimated to be about 6 23 million concentrated in the northern Flanders region while native French speakers number 3 32 million in Wallonia and an estimated 870 000 or 85 in the officially bilingual Brussels Capital Region G 161 The German speaking Community is made up of 73 000 people in the east of the Walloon Region around 10 000 German and 60 000 Belgian nationals are speakers of German Roughly 23 000 more German speakers live in municipalities near the official Community 162 163 164 165 Both Belgian Dutch and Belgian French have minor differences in vocabulary and semantic nuances from the varieties spoken respectively in the Netherlands and France Many Flemish people still speak dialects of Dutch in their local environment Walloon considered either as a dialect of French or a distinct Romance language 166 167 is now only understood and spoken occasionally mostly by elderly people Walloon is divided into four dialects which along with those of Picard 168 are rarely used in public life and have largely been replaced by French Religion Main article Religion in Belgium National Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Koekelberg Brussels Since the country s independence Roman Catholicism has had an important role in Belgium s politics 169 However Belgium is largely a secular country as the constitution provides for freedom of religion and the government generally respects this right in practice During the reigns of Albert I and Baudouin the Belgian royal family had a reputation of deeply rooted Catholicism 170 Roman Catholicism has traditionally been Belgium s majority religion being especially strong in Flanders However by 2009 Sunday church attendance was 5 for Belgium in total 3 in Brussels 171 and 5 4 in Flanders Church attendance in 2009 in Belgium was roughly half of the Sunday church attendance in 1998 11 for the total of Belgium in 1998 172 Despite the drop in church attendance Catholic identity nevertheless remains an important part of Belgium s culture 170 According to the Eurobarometer 2010 173 37 of Belgian citizens responded that they believe there is a God 31 answered that they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force 27 answered that they do not believe there is any sort of spirit God or life force 5 did not respond According to the Eurobarometer 2015 60 7 of the total population of Belgium adhered to Christianity with Roman Catholicism being the largest denomination with 52 9 Protestants comprised 2 1 and Orthodox Christians were the 1 6 of the total Non religious people comprised 32 0 of the population and were divided between atheists 14 9 and agnostics 17 1 A further 5 2 of the population was Muslim and 2 1 were believers in other religions 174 The same survey held in 2012 found that Christianity was the largest religion in Belgium accounting for 65 of Belgians 175 Symbolically and materially the Roman Catholic Church remains in a favorable position 170 Belgium officially recognizes three religions Christianity Catholic Protestantism Orthodox churches and Anglicanism Islam and Judaism 176 Interior of the Great Synagogue of Brussels In the early 2000s there were approximately 42 000 Jews in Belgium The Jewish Community of Antwerp numbering some 18 000 is one of the largest in Europe and one of the last places in the world where Yiddish is the primary language of a large Jewish community mirroring certain Orthodox and Hasidic communities in New York New Jersey and Israel In addition most Jewish children in Antwerp receive a Jewish education 177 There are several Jewish newspapers and more than 45 active synagogues 30 of which are in Antwerp in the country A 2006 inquiry in Flanders considered to be a more religious region than Wallonia showed that 55 considered themselves religious and that 36 believed that God created the universe 178 On the other hand Wallonia has become one of Europe s most secular least religious regions Most of the French speaking region s population does not consider religion an important part of their lives and as much as 45 of the population identifies as irreligious This is particularly the case in eastern Wallonia and areas along the French border The Great Mosque of Brussels A 2008 estimate found that approximately 6 of the Belgian population 628 751 people is Muslim Muslims constitute 23 6 of the population of Brussels 4 9 of Wallonia and 5 1 of Flanders The majority of Belgian Muslims live in the major cities such as Antwerp Brussels and Charleroi The largest group of immigrants in Belgium are Moroccans with 400 000 people The Turks are the third largest group and the second largest Muslim ethnic group numbering 220 000 158 179 Health Main article Healthcare in Belgium University Hospital of Antwerp The Belgians enjoy good health According to 2012 estimates the average life expectancy is 79 65 years 47 Since 1960 life expectancy has in line with the European average grown by two months per year Death in Belgium is mainly due to heart and vascular disorders neoplasms disorders of the respiratory system and unnatural causes of death accidents suicide Non natural causes of death and cancer are the most common causes of death for females up to age 24 and males up to age 44 180 Healthcare in Belgium is financed through both social security contributions and taxation Health insurance is compulsory Health care is delivered by a mixed public and private system of independent medical practitioners and public university and semi private hospitals Health care service are payable by the patient and reimbursed later by health insurance institutions but for ineligible categories of patients and services so called 3rd party payment systems exist 180 The Belgian health care system is supervised and financed by the federal government the Flemish and Walloon Regional governments and the German Community also has indirect oversight and responsibilities 180 For the first time in Belgian history the first child was euthanized following the 2 year mark of the removal of the euthanization age restrictions The child had been euthanized due to an incurable disease that was inflicted upon the child Although there may have been some support for the euthanization there is a possibility of controversy due to the issue revolving around the subject of assisted suicide 181 182 Excluding assisted suicide Belgium has the highest suicide rate in Western Europe and one of the highest suicide rates in the developed world exceeded only by Lithuania South Korea and Latvia 183 Education Main article Education in Belgium The Central Library of the KU Leuven University Education is compulsory from 6 to 18 years of age for Belgians 184 Among OECD countries in 2002 Belgium had the third highest proportion of 18 to 21 year olds enrolled in postsecondary education at 42 185 Though an estimated 99 of the adult population is literate concern is rising over functional illiteracy 168 186 The Programme for International Student Assessment PISA coordinated by the OECD currently ranks Belgium s education as the 19th best in the world being significantly higher than the OECD average 187 Education being organized separately by each the Flemish Community scores noticeably above the French and German speaking Communities 188 Mirroring the dual structure of the 19th century Belgian political landscape characterized by the Liberal and the Catholic parties the educational system is segregated within a secular and a religious segment The secular branch of schooling is controlled by the communities the provinces or the municipalities while religious mainly Catholic branch education is organized by religious authorities although subsidized and supervised by the communities 189 CultureMain article Culture of Belgium Despite its political and linguistic divisions the region corresponding to today s Belgium has seen the flourishing of major artistic movements that have had tremendous influence on European art and culture Nowadays to a certain extent cultural life is concentrated within each language Community and a variety of barriers have made a shared cultural sphere less pronounced 18 190 191 Since the 1970s there are no bilingual universities or colleges in the country except the Royal Military Academy and the Antwerp Maritime Academy 192 Fine arts See also List of Belgian painters Architecture of Belgium and Music of Belgium The Ghent Altarpiece The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb interior view painted 1432 by van Eyck Contributions to painting and architecture have been especially rich The Mosan art the Early Netherlandish 193 the Flemish Renaissance and Baroque painting 194 and major examples of Romanesque Gothic Renaissance and Baroque architecture 195 are milestones in the history of art While the 15th century s art in the Low Countries is dominated by the religious paintings of Jan van Eyck and Rogier van der Weyden the 16th century is characterized by a broader panel of styles such as Peter Breughel s landscape paintings and Lambert Lombard s representation of the antique 196 Though the Baroque style of Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck flourished in the early 17th century in the Southern Netherlands 197 it gradually declined thereafter 198 199 During the 19th and 20th centuries many original romantic expressionist and surrealist Belgian painters emerged including James Ensor and other artists belonging to the Les XX group Constant Permeke Paul Delvaux and Rene Magritte The avant garde CoBrA movement appeared in the 1950s while the sculptor Panamarenko remains a remarkable figure in contemporary art 200 201 Multidisciplinary artists Jan Fabre Wim Delvoye and the painter Luc Tuymans are other internationally renowned figures on the contemporary art scene Belgian contributions to architecture also continued into the 19th and 20th centuries including the work of Victor Horta and Henry van de Velde who were major initiators of the Art Nouveau style 202 203 Jacques Brel The vocal music of the Franco Flemish School developed in the southern part of the Low Countries and was an important contribution to Renaissance culture 204 In the 19th and 20th centuries there was an emergence of major violinists such as Henri Vieuxtemps Eugene Ysaye and Arthur Grumiaux while Adolphe Sax invented the saxophone in 1846 The composer Cesar Franck was born in Liege in 1822 Contemporary popular music in Belgium is also of repute Jazz musicians Django Reinhardt and Toots Thielemans and singer Jacques Brel have achieved global fame Nowadays singer Stromae has been a musical revelation in Europe and beyond having great success In rock pop music Telex Front 242 K s Choice Hooverphonic Zap Mama Soulwax and dEUS are well known In the heavy metal scene bands like Machiavel Channel Zero and Enthroned have a worldwide fan base 205 Belgium has produced several well known authors including the poets Emile Verhaeren Guido Gezelle Robert Goffin and novelists Hendrik Conscience Stijn Streuvels Georges Simenon Suzanne Lilar Hugo Claus and Amelie Nothomb The poet and playwright Maurice Maeterlinck won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1911 The Adventures of Tintin by Herge is the best known of Franco Belgian comics but many other major authors including Peyo The Smurfs Andre Franquin Gaston Lagaffe Dupa Cubitus Morris Lucky Luke Greg Achille Talon Lambil Les Tuniques Bleues Edgar P Jacobs and Willy Vandersteen brought the Belgian cartoon strip industry a worldwide fame 206 Additionally famous crime author Agatha Christie created the character Hercule Poirot a Belgian detective who has served as a protagonist in a number of her acclaimed mystery novels Belgian cinema has brought a number of mainly Flemish novels to life on screen H Other Belgian directors include Andre Delvaux Stijn Coninx Luc and Jean Pierre Dardenne well known actors include Jean Claude Van Damme Jan Decleir and Marie Gillain and successful films include Bullhead Man Bites Dog and The Alzheimer Affair 207 Belgium is also home to a number of successful fashion designers Category Belgian fashion designers Folklore Further information Folklore of Belgium The Gilles of Binche in costume wearing wax masks Folklore plays a major role in Belgium s cultural life the country has a comparatively high number of processions cavalcades parades ommegangs ducasses I kermesses and other local festivals nearly always with an originally religious or mythological background The three day Carnival of Binche near Mons with its famous Gilles men dressed in high plumed hats and bright costumes is held just before Lent the 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter Together with the Processional Giants and Dragons of Ath Brussels Dendermonde Mechelen and Mons it is recognized by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity 208 Other examples are the three day Carnival of Aalst in February or March the still very religious processions of the Holy Blood taking place in Bruges in May the Virga Jesse procession held every seven years in Hasselt the annual procession of Hanswijk in Mechelen the 15 August festivities in Liege and the Walloon festival in Namur Originated in 1832 and revived in the 1960s the Gentse Feesten a music and theatre festival organised in Ghent around Belgian National Day on 21 July have become a modern tradition Several of these festivals include sporting competitions such as cycling and many fall under the category of kermesses A major non official holiday which is however not an official public holiday is Saint Nicholas Day Dutch Sinterklaas French la Saint Nicolas a festivity for children and in Liege for students 209 It takes place each year on 6 December and is a sort of early Christmas On the evening of 5 December before going to bed children put their shoes by the hearth with water or wine and a carrot for Saint Nicholas s horse or donkey According to tradition Saint Nicholas comes at night and travels down the chimney He then takes the food and water or wine leaves presents goes back up feeds his horse or donkey and continues on his course He also knows whether children have been good or bad This holiday is especially loved by children in Belgium and the Netherlands Dutch immigrants imported the tradition into the United States where Saint Nicholas is now known as Santa Claus Cuisine Main article Belgian cuisine Moules frites or mosselen met friet is a representative dish of Belgium Belgium is famous for beer chocolate waffles and French fries The national dishes are steak and fries and mussels with fries 210 211 212 J Many highly ranked Belgian restaurants can be found in the most influential restaurant guides such as the Michelin Guide 213 One of the many beers with the high prestige is that of the Trappist monks Technically it is an ale and traditionally each abbey s beer is served in its own glass the forms heights and widths are different There are only eleven breweries six of them are Belgian that are allowed to brew Trappist beer Although Belgian gastronomy is connected to French cuisine some recipes were reputedly invented there such as French fries despite the name although their exact place of origin is uncertain Flemish Stew a beef stew with beer mustard and bay laurel speculaas or speculoos in French a sort of cinnamon and ginger flavoured shortcrust biscuit Brussels waffles and their variant Liege waffles waterzooi a broth made with chicken or fish cream and vegetables endive with bechamel sauce Brussels sprouts Belgian pralines Belgium has some of the most renowned chocolate houses charcuterie deli meats and Paling in t groen river eels in a sauce of green herbs Brands of Belgian chocolate and pralines like Cote d Or Neuhaus Leonidas and Godiva are famous as well as independent producers such as Burie and Del Rey in Antwerp and Mary s in Brussels 214 Belgium produces over 1100 varieties of beer 215 216 The Trappist beer of the Abbey of Westvleteren has repeatedly been rated the world s best beer 217 218 219 The biggest brewer in the world by volume is Anheuser Busch InBev based in Leuven 220 Sports Eddy Merckx regarded as one of the greatest cyclists of all time Main article Sport in Belgium Since the 1970s sports clubs and federations are organized separately within each language community 221 The Administration de l Education Physique et du Sport ADEPS is responsible for recognising the various French speaking sports federations and also runs three sports centres in the Brussels Capital Region 222 Its Dutch speaking counterpart is Sport Vlaanderen formerly called BLOSO 223 Association football is the most popular sport in both parts of Belgium also very popular are cycling tennis swimming judo 224 and basketball 225 The Belgium national football team has been on the top spot of the FIFA World Rankings ever since September 2018 it reached this rank for the first time in November 2015 226 Since the 1990s the team has been the world s number one for the most years in history only behind the records of Brazil and Spain 227 The team s golden generations with the world class players in the squad namely Eden Hazard Kevin De Bruyne Jean Marie Pfaff Jan Ceulemans achieved the bronze medals at World Cup 2018 and silver medals at Euro 1980 Belgium hosted the Euro 1972 and co hosted the Euro 2000 with the Netherlands Belgians hold the most Tour de France victories of any country except France They have also the most victories on the UCI Road World Championships With five victories in the Tour de France and numerous other cycling records Belgian cyclist Eddy Merckx is regarded as one of the greatest cyclists of all time 228 Philippe Gilbert is the 2012 world champion Another well known Belgian cyclist is Tom Boonen Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin both were Player of the Year in the Women s Tennis Association as they were ranked the number one female tennis player The Spa Francorchamps motor racing circuit hosts the Formula One World Championship Belgian Grand Prix The Belgian driver Jacky Ickx won eight Grands Prix and six 24 Hours of Le Mans and finished twice as runner up in the Formula One World Championship Belgium also has a strong reputation in motocross with the riders Joel Robert Roger De Coster Georges Jobe Eric Geboers and Stefan Everts among others 229 Sporting events annually held in Belgium include the Memorial Van Damme athletics competition the Belgian Grand Prix Formula One and a number of classic cycle races such as the Tour of Flanders and Liege Bastogne Liege The 1920 Summer Olympics were held in Antwerp The 1977 European Basketball Championship was held in Liege and Ostend See also Belgium portalIndex of Belgium related articles Outline of BelgiumFootnotes Dutch Belgie ˈbɛlɣije listen French Belgique bɛlʒik listen German Belgien ˈbɛlɡi en listen Dutch Koninkrijk Belgie French Royaume de Belgique German Konigreich Belgien Belgium is a member of or affiliated to many international organizations including ACCT AfDB AsDB Australia Group Benelux BIS CCC CE CERN EAPC EBRD EIB EMU ESA EU FAO G 10 IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC ICRM IDA IDB IEA IFAD IFC IFRCS IHO ILO IMF IMO IMSO Intelsat Interpol IOC IOM ISO ITU MONUSCO observers NATO NEA NSG OAS observer OECD OPCW OSCE PCA UN UNCTAD UNECE UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UNMIK UNMOGIP UNRWA UNTSO UPU WADB non regional WEU WHO WIPO WMO WTrO ZC The Constitution set out seven institutions each of which can have a parliament government and administration In fact there are only six such bodies because the Flemish Region merged into the Flemish Community This single Flemish body thus exercises powers about Community matters in the bilingual area of Brussels Capital and in the Dutch language area while about Regional matters only in Flanders The richest per capita income of Belgium s three regions is the Flemish Region followed by the Walloon Region and lastly the Brussels Capital Region The ten municipalities with the highest reported income are Laethem Saint Martin Keerbergen Lasne Oud Heverlee Hove De Pinte Meise Knokke Heist Bierbeek Ou habitent les Belges les plus riches trends be 2010 Archived from the original on 27 August 2011 Retrieved 15 July 2011 Native speakers of Dutch living in Wallonia and of French in Flanders are relatively small minorities that furthermore largely balance one another hence attributing all inhabitants of each unilingual area to the area s language can cause only insignificant inaccuracies 99 can speak the language Dutch Flanders 6 079 million inhabitants and about 15 of Brussels 1 019 million are 6 23 million or 59 3 of the 10 511 million inhabitants of Belgium 2006 German 70 400 in the German speaking Community which has language facilities for its less than 5 French speakers and an estimated 20 000 25 000 speakers of German in the Walloon Region outside the geographical boundaries of their official Community or 0 9 French in the latter area as well as mainly in the rest of Wallonia 3 321 million and 85 of the Brussels inhabitants 0 866 million thus 4 187 million or 39 8 together indeed 100 Flemish Academic Eric Corijn initiator of Charta 91 at a colloquium regarding Brussels on 2001 12 05 states that in Brussels 91 of the population speaks French at home either alone or with another language and about 20 speaks Dutch at home either alone 9 or with French 11 After ponderation the repartition can be estimated at between 85 and 90 French speaking and the remaining are Dutch speaking corresponding to the estimations based on languages chosen in Brussels by citizens for their official documents ID driving licenses weddings birth sex and so on all these statistics on language are also available at Belgian Department of Justice for weddings birth sex Department of Transport for Driving licenses Department of Interior for IDs because there are no means to know precisely the proportions since Belgium has abolished official linguistic censuses thus official documents on language choices can only be estimations For a web source on this topic see e g General online sources Janssens Rudi Notable Belgian films based on works by Flemish authors include De Witte author Ernest Claes movie by Jan Vanderheyden and Edith Kiel in 1934 remake as De Witte van Sichem directed by Robbe De Hert in 1980 De man die zijn haar kort liet knippen Johan Daisne Andre Delvaux 1965 Mira De teleurgang van de Waterhoek by Stijn Streuvels Fons Rademakers 1971 Malpertuis aka The Legend of Doom House Jean Ray pen name of Flemish author who mainly wrote in French or as John Flanders in Dutch Harry Kumel 1971 De loteling Hendrik Conscience Roland Verhavert 1974 Dood van een non Maria Rosseels Paul Collet and Pierre Drouot 1975 Pallieter Felix Timmermans Roland Verhavert 1976 De komst van Joachim Stiller Hubert Lampo Harry Kumel 1976 De Leeuw van Vlaanderen Hendrik Conscience Hugo Claus a famous author himself 1985 Daens Pieter Daens by Louis Paul Boon Stijn Coninx 1992 see also Filmarchief les DVD s de la cinematheque in Dutch Retrieved on 7 June 2007 The Dutch word ommegang is here used in the sense of an entirely or mainly non religious procession or the non religious part thereof see also its article on the Dutch language Wikipedia the Processional Giants of Brussels Dendermonde and Mechelen mentioned in this paragraph are part of each city s ommegang The French word ducasse refers also to a procession the mentioned Processional Giants of Ath and Mons are part of each city s ducasse Contrarily to what the text suggests the season starts as early as July and lasts through April References a b Diversity according to origin in Belgium Statbel fgov be 16 June 2021 Eurobarometer 90 4 Attitudes of Europeans towards Biodiversity Awareness and Perceptions of EU customs and Perceptions of Antisemitism European Commission Retrieved 9 August 2019 via GESIS Government type Belgium The World Factbook CIA Archived from the original on 7 February 2012 Retrieved 19 December 2011 a b be STAT Bestat statbel fgov be 26 November 2019 Surface water and surface water change Organisation for Economic Co operation and Development OECD Retrieved 11 October 2020 a b c d Structure of the Population Statbel Retrieved 30 June 2022 a b c d World Economic Outlook Database October 2022 IMF org International Monetary Fund October 2022 Retrieved 27 November 2022 Gini coefficient of equivalised disposable income EU SILC survey ec europa eu Eurostat Retrieved 21 June 2022 Human Development Report 2021 2022 PDF United Nations Development Programme 8 September 2022 Retrieved 8 September 2022 The Belgian Constitution PDF Brussels Belgium Belgian House of Representatives May 2014 p 63 Archived PDF from the original on 10 August 2015 Retrieved 10 September 2015 Structuur van de bevolking Statbel statbel fgov be Retrieved 3 June 2022 Pateman Robert and Elliott Mark 2006 Belgium Benchmark Books p 27 ISBN 978 0 7614 2059 0 The Belgian Constitution PDF Brussels Belgium Belgian House of Representatives May 2014 p 5 Archived from the original PDF on 10 August 2015 Retrieved 10 September 2015 Article 3 Belgium comprises three Regions the Flemish Region the Walloon Region and the Brussels Region Article 4 Belgium comprises four linguistic regions the Dutch speaking region the French speaking region the bilingual region of Brussels Capital and the German speaking region Janssens Rudi 2008 Language use in Brussels and the position of Dutch Brussels Studies Brussels Studies Online doi 10 4000 brussels 520 Retrieved 17 July 2018 Leclerc Jacques 18 January 2007 Belgique Belgie Belgien Region de Bruxelles Capitale Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest L amenagement linguistique dans le monde in French Host Tresor de la langue francaise au Quebec TLFQ Universite Laval Quebec Archived from the original on 9 June 2007 Retrieved 18 June 2007 C est une region officiellement bilingue formant au centre du pays une enclave dans la province du Brabant flamand Vlaams Brabant About Belgium Belgian Federal Public Service ministry Embassy of Belgium in the Republic of Korea Archived from the original on 2 October 2008 Retrieved 21 June 2007 the Brussels Capital Region is an enclave of 162 km2 within the Flemish region Flanders administrative region Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia Microsoft 2007 Archived from the original on 31 October 2009 Retrieved 21 June 2007 The capital of Belgium Brussels is an enclave within Flanders McMillan Eric October 1999 The FIT Invasions of Mons PDF Capital translator Newsletter of the NCATA Vol 21 No 7 p 1 National Capital Area Chapter of the American Translators Association NCATA Archived from the original PDF on 26 June 2007 Retrieved 21 June 2007 The country is divided into three autonomous regions Dutch speaking Flanders in the north mostly French speaking Brussels in the center as an enclave within Flanders and French speaking Wallonia in the south including the German speaking Cantons de l Est Van de Walle Steven Language Facilities in the Brussels Periphery KULeuven Leuvens Universitair Dienstencentrum voor Informatica en Telematica Archived from the original PDF on 31 October 2009 Retrieved 21 June 2007 Brussels is a kind of enclave within Flanders it has no direct link with Wallonia C Julius Caesar De Bello Gallico book 8 chapter 46 Hass Torsten 17 February 2003 Rezension zu Review of Cook Bernard Belgium A History in German FH Zeitung journal of the Fachhochschule ISBN 978 0 8204 5824 3 Archived from the original on 9 June 2007 Retrieved 24 May 2007 die Bezeichnung Belgiens als the cockpit of Europe James Howell 1640 die damals noch auf eine kriegerische Hahnenkampf Arena hindeutete The book reviewer Hass attributes the expression in English to James Howell in 1640 Howell s original phrase the cockpit of Christendom became modified afterwards as shown by Carmont John The Hydra No 1 New Series November 1917 Arras And Captain Satan War Poets Collection Napier University s Business School Archived from the original on 11 May 2008 Retrieved 24 May 2007 and as such coined for Belgium Wood James 1907 Nuttall Encyclopaedia of General Knowledge Cockpit of Europe Archived from the original on 9 August 2011 Retrieved 24 May 2007 Cockpit of Europe Belgium as the scene of so many battles between the Powers of Europe See also The Nuttall Encyclopaedia a b c d Fitzmaurice John 1996 New Order International models of peace and reconciliation Diversity and civil society Democratic Dialogue Northern Ireland s first think tank Belfast Northern Ireland UK Archived from the original on 13 May 2011 Retrieved 12 August 2007 Belgium country profile EUbusiness Richmond UK 27 August 2006 Archived from the original on 7 October 2009 Retrieved 12 August 2007 Karl Farah Stoneking James 1999 Chapter 27 The Age of Imperialism Section 2 The Partition of Africa PDF World History II Appomattox Regional Governor s School History Department Petersburg Virginia USA Archived from the original PDF on 25 September 2007 Retrieved 16 August 2007 Gerdziunas Benas 17 October 2017 Belgium s genocidal colonial legacy haunts the country s future The Independent Retrieved 22 June 2021 Braeckman Colette 1 June 2021 Belgium s role in Rwandan genocide Le Monde Diplomatique Retrieved 20 January 2022 Buoyant Brussels Bilingual island in Flanders UCL Archived from the original on 24 May 2016 Retrieved 5 June 2016 Belgian government sworn in ending 18 month crisis Expatica 6 December 2011 Archived from the original on 2 February 2014 Retrieved 8 December 2011 Robinson Duncan 3 November 2015 Belgium A nation divided by more than two languages Financial Times Archived from the original on 9 August 2017 Retrieved 19 July 2017 Quality of Life Index by Country 2017 Mid Year www numbeo com Archived from the original on 23 January 2018 Retrieved 28 December 2017 Health index PDF World Health Organization Archived from the original PDF on 5 August 2011 Education index Human Development Reports hdr undp org Archived from the original on 4 January 2018 Retrieved 28 December 2017 Human Development Report 2016 PDF undp org Archived from the original PDF on 27 March 2017 Global Peace Index 2017 PDF reliefweb int Archived PDF from the original on 28 December 2017 Caesar Gallic War 8 46 quattuor legiones in Belgio collocavit his confectis rebus ad legiones in Belgium se recipit hibernatque Nemetocennae In online English translations the second part is often included in the next paragraph 8 47 Wightman Edith 1985 Gallia Belgica p 12 ISBN 978 0 520 05297 0 Gonzalez Villaescusa Jacquemin 2011 Gallia Belgica An Entity with No National Claim Etudes rurales 2 2 93 111 doi 10 4000 etudesrurales 9499 Werner Matthias 1980 Der Lutticher Raum in fruhkarolingischer Zeit Untersuchungen zur Geschichte einer karolingischen Stammlandschaft Edmundson George 1922 Chapter I The Burgundian Netherlands History of Holland The University Press Cambridge Republished Authorama Archived from the original on 28 April 2011 Retrieved 15 December 2010 Van Der Essen Leon 1925 Notre nom national Revue belge de philologie et d histoire 4 1 121 131 doi 10 3406 rbph 1925 6335 Edmundson George 1922 Chapter II Habsburg Rule in the Netherlands History of Holland The University Press Cambridge Republished Authorama Archived from the original on 26 September 2007 Retrieved 9 June 2007 Dobbelaere Karel Voye Liliane 1990 From Pillar to Postmodernity The Changing Situation of Religion in Belgium Sociological Analysis 51 S1 S13 doi 10 2307 3711670 JSTOR 3711670 Gooch Brison Dowling 1963 Belgium and the February Revolution Martinus Nijhoff Publishers The Hague Netherlands p 112 Archived from the original on 28 June 2011 Retrieved 18 October 2010 National Day and feast days of Communities and Regions Belgian Federal Government 3 October 2010 Archived from the original on 24 July 2011 Retrieved 20 July 2011 Deschouwer Kris January 2004 Ethnic structure inequality and governance of the public sector in Belgium PDF United Nations Research Institute for Social Development UNRISD Archived from the original PDF on 14 June 2007 Retrieved 22 May 2007 Forbath Peter 1977 The River Congo The Discovery Exploration and Exploitation of the World s Most Dramatic Rivers Harper amp Row p 278 ISBN 978 0 06 122490 4 a b Riding Alan 21 September 2002 Belgium Confronts Its Heart of Darkness Unsavory Colonial Behavior in the Congo Will Be Tackled by a New Study The New York Times nytimes com Archived from the original on 24 December 2016 Retrieved 6 January 2017 Meredith Martin 2005 The State of Africa Jonathan Ball pp 95 96 ISBN 978 1 86842 220 3 Arango Ramon 1961 Leopold III and the Belgian Royal Question Baltimore The Johns Hopkins Press p 108 ISBN 978 0 8018 0040 5 The Congolese Civil War 1960 1964 BBC News Archived from the original on 24 May 2010 Retrieved 29 April 2010 New data on land use Statbel Archived from the original on 19 March 2019 Retrieved 17 February 2019 Belgie is 160 km groter dan gedacht Het Laatste Nieuws 10 January 2019 Archived from the original on 17 February 2019 Retrieved 17 February 2019 a b c Belgium The World Factbook 2023 ed Central Intelligence Agency 23 September 2021 Archived 2021 edition in Dutch Geografische beschrijving van Belgie Over Belgie Portaal Belgische Overheid Archived 19 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine Belgium be Retrieved 12 August 2013 Belgium The land Relief Encyclopaedia Britannica Encyclopaedia Britannica Chicago Illinois US 2007 Archived from the original on 17 December 2013 Retrieved 3 July 2007 Geography of Belgium 123independenceday com Archived from the original on 12 September 2007 Retrieved 10 August 2007 Life Nature PDF Office for Official Publications of the European Communities 2005 Archived PDF from the original on 25 September 2007 Retrieved 10 August 2007 Peel Murray C Finlayson Bryan L amp McMahon T A 2007 Updated world map of the Koppen Geiger climate classification Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 11 5 1633 1644 Bibcode 2007HESS 11 1633P doi 10 5194 hess 11 1633 2007 ISSN 1027 5606 Archived from the original on 10 February 2017 Retrieved 10 December 2011 direct Final Revised Paper Archived 29 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine Climate averages Brussels EuroWEATHER EuroMETEO Nautica Editrice Srl Rome Italy Archived from the original on 21 October 2007 Retrieved 27 May 2007 Kerncijfers 2006 Statistisch overzicht van Belgie PDF in Dutch Belgian Federal Government Service ministry of Economy Directorate general Statistics Belgium pp 9 10 Archived from the original PDF on 5 June 2007 Retrieved 8 May 2007 Takhtajan Armen 1986 Floristic Regions of the World translated by T J Crovello and A Cronquist University of California Press Berkeley Dinerstein Eric Olson David Joshi Anup Vynne Carly Burgess Neil D Wikramanayake Eric Hahn Nathan Palminteri Suzanne Hedao Prashant Noss Reed Hansen Matt Locke Harvey Ellis Erle C Jones Benjamin Barber Charles Victor Hayes Randy Kormos Cyril Martin Vance Crist Eileen Sechrest Wes Price Lori Baillie Jonathan E M Weeden Don Suckling Kieran Davis Crystal Sizer Nigel Moore Rebecca Thau David Birch Tanya Potapov Peter Turubanova Svetlana Tyukavina Alexandra de Souza Nadia Pintea Lilian Brito Jose C Llewellyn Othman A Miller Anthony G Patzelt Annette Ghazanfar Shahina A Timberlake Jonathan Kloser Heinz Shennan Farpon Yara Kindt Roeland Lilleso Jens Peter Barnekow van Breugel Paulo Graudal Lars Voge Maianna Al Shammari Khalaf F Saleem Muhammad 2017 An Ecoregion Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm BioScience 67 6 534 545 doi 10 1093 biosci bix014 ISSN 0006 3568 PMC 5451287 PMID 28608869 Atlantic mixed forests Terrestrial Ecoregions World Wildlife Fund Grantham H S Duncan A Evans T D Jones K R Beyer H L Schuster R Walston J Ray J C Robinson J G Callow M Clements T Costa H M DeGemmis A Elsen P R Ervin J Franco P Goldman E Goetz S Hansen A Hofsvang E Jantz P Jupiter S Kang A Langhammer P Laurance W F Lieberman S Linkie M Malhi Y Maxwell S Mendez M Mittermeier R Murray N J Possingham H Radachowsky J Saatchi S Samper C Silverman J Shapiro A Strassburg B Stevens T Stokes E Taylor R Tear T Tizard R Venter O Visconti P Wang S Watson J E M 2020 Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40 of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity Supplementary Material Nature Communications 11 1 5978 Bibcode 2020NatCo 11 5978G doi 10 1038 s41467 020 19493 3 ISSN 2041 1723 PMC 7723057 PMID 33293507 BE Belgium iso org Retrieved 5 April 2022 Lopez Pintor Rafael Gratschew Maria 2002 Voter Turnout Rates from a Comparative Perspective PDF IDEA Archived PDF from the original on 21 November 2011 Retrieved 22 June 2011 The Belgian Constitution Article 99 PDF Belgian House of Representatives January 2009 Archived from the original PDF on 6 July 2011 Retrieved 26 June 2011 Belgium 1831 rev 2012 Constitute Archived from the original on 23 February 2015 Retrieved 30 March 2015 Belgium a federal state Belgium be Archived from the original on 12 November 2010 Retrieved 26 November 2010 a b Background Note Belgium U S Department of States 29 April 2010 Retrieved 26 November 2010 Belgium Political parties European Election Database Norwegian Social Science Data Services 2010 Archived from the original on 27 April 2011 Retrieved 10 December 2010 Tyler Richard 8 June 1999 Dioxin contamination scandal hits Belgium Effects spread through European Union and beyond World Socialist Web Site WSWS International Committee of the Fourth International ICFI Archived from the original on 1 August 2016 Retrieved 16 July 2016 ElAmin Ahmed 31 January 2006 Belgium Netherlands meat sectors face dioxin crisis Archived 14 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine foodproductiondaily com European Commission 16 June 1999 Food Law News EU CONTAMINANTS Commission Press Release IP 99 399 Preliminary results of EU inspection to Belgium School of Food Biosciences University of Reading UK Archived from the original on 27 September 2006 Retrieved 29 May 2007 Belgium s rainbow coalition sworn in BBC News 12 July 1999 Retrieved 20 May 2007 La Chambre des representants Composition Composition of the Chamber of Representatives PDF in French The Chamber of Representatives of Belgium 9 March 2006 Archived PDF from the original on 7 November 2006 Retrieved 25 May 2007 Rwanda tiscali reference Tiscali UK Archived from the original on 24 September 2009 Retrieved 27 May 2007 The article shows an example of Belgium s recent when African policies Belgian demand halts NATO progress CNN 16 February 2003 Archived from the original on 16 January 2005 Retrieved 16 June 2007 Belgium minor first to be granted euthanasia BBC News BBC News bbc co uk 17 September 2016 Archived from the original on 6 January 2017 Retrieved 6 January 2017 Time line Belgium BBC News 5 January 2009 Archived from the original on 29 September 2009 Retrieved 16 July 2009 2007 September Belgium without a government for 100 days Bryant Elizabeth 12 October 2007 Divisions could lead to a partition in Belgium San Francisco Chronicle Archived from the original on 29 April 2011 Retrieved 28 May 2008 Hughes Dominic 15 July 2008 Analysis Where now for Belgium BBC News Archived from the original on 19 July 2008 Retrieved 16 July 2008 Banks Martin 6 September 2010 Fears over break up of Belgium The Daily Telegraph London Archived from the original on 9 September 2010 Retrieved 6 September 2010 a b Belgian PM offers his resignation BBC News 15 July 2008 Archived from the original on 20 April 2010 Retrieved 29 April 2010 CNN com Archived 1 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine Belgium Prime Minister offers resignation over banking deal Belgian king asks Van Rompuy to form government Archived 4 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine Reuters Prime Minister Leterme resigns after liberals quit government France 24 22 April 2010 Archived from the original on 26 April 2010 Retrieved 22 April 2010 King Albert II accepts resignation of Prime Minister Yves Leterme France 24 26 April 2010 Archived from the original on 29 April 2010 Retrieved 29 April 2010 Federal Elections in Belgium Chamber of Representatives Results Archived from the original on 22 September 2010 Retrieved 14 June 2010 Kovacevic Tamara 6 May 2015 Reality Check How long can nations go without governments BBC News Online Archived from the original on 13 October 2015 Retrieved 25 March 2016 Political crisis nears an end as new PM cabinet named France 24 5 December 2011 Belgium agrees to form coalition government DW 07 10 2014 DW COM No coalition in sight after fractured Belgium election DW 27 05 2019 DW COM Houzel Timothee 1 April 2021 Who is Charles Michel the next President of the European Council The New Federalist Belgium gets first female PM as Sophie Wilmes takes office The Guardian 28 October 2019 Didili Zoi 1 October 2020 Belgium agrees on federal government De Croo to become PM Kramer Johannes 1984 Zweisprachigkeit in den Benelux landern in German Buske Verlag p 69 ISBN 978 3 87118 597 7 Zur prestige Sprache wurde in den Spanischen Niederlanden ganz eindeutig das Franzosische Die Vertreter Spaniens beherrschten normalerweise das Franzosische nicht aber das Niederlandische ein beachtlicher Teil der am Hofe tatigen Adligen stammte aus Wallonien das sich ja eher auf die spanische Seite geschlagen hatte als Flandern und Brabant In dieser Situation war es selbstverstandlich dass die flamischen Adligen die im Laufe der Zeit immer mehr ebenfalls zu Hofbeamten wurden sich des Franzosischen bedienen mussten wenn sie als gleichwertig anerkannt werden wollten Transl The prestigious language in the Spanish Netherlands was clearly French Spain s representatives usually mastered French but not Dutch a notable part of the nobles at the court came from Wallonia which had taken party for the Spanish side to a higher extent than Flanders and Brabant It was therefore evident within this context that the Flemish nobility of which a progressively larger number became servants of the court had to use French if it wanted to get acknowledged as well Witte Els Craeybeckx Jan amp Meynen Alain 2009 Political History of Belgium From 1830 Onwards Brussels Academic and Scientific Publishers p 56 a b Fitzmaurice 1996 p 31 a b Belgium European Election Database Norwegian Social Science Data Services 2010 Archived from the original on 29 April 2011 Retrieved 8 December 2010 Willemyns Roland 2002 The Dutch French Language Border in Belgium PDF Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 23 1 amp 2 36 49 doi 10 1080 01434630208666453 S2CID 143809695 Archived from the original PDF on 26 June 2007 Retrieved 22 June 2007 The Belgian Constitution Article 4 PDF Belgian House of Representatives January 2009 Archived from the original PDF on 6 July 2011 Retrieved 26 June 2011 Fitzmaurice 1996 p 121 Fitzmaurice 1996 p 122 a b The Federal Government s Powers be Portal Belgian Federal Government 3 October 2010 Archived from the original on 16 December 2010 Retrieved 4 February 2011 Lagasse Charles Etienne 2003 Les nouvelles institutions politiques de la Belgique et de l Europe Namur Erasme p 289 ISBN 978 2 87127 783 5 In 2002 58 92 of the fiscal income was going to the budget of the federal government but more than one third was used to pay the interests of the public debt Without including this post the share of the federal government budget would be only 48 40 of the fiscal income There are 87 8 of the civil servants who are working for the Regions or the Communities and 12 2 for the Federal State The Communities be Portal Belgian Federal Government 3 October 2010 Archived from the original on 15 June 2011 Retrieved 26 June 2011 The Regions be Portal Belgian Federal Government 3 October 2010 Archived from the original on 15 June 2011 Retrieved 26 June 2011 Lagasse Charles Etienne 18 May 2004 Federalism in Russia Canada and Belgium experience of comparative research in French Kazan Institute of Federalism Archived from the original on 20 June 2010 Retrieved 5 October 2008 La Belgique constitue ainsi le seul exemple clair du transfert d une partie de la competence affaires etrangeres a des entites federees Transl Belgium is thus the only clear example of a transfer of a part of the Foreign Affairs competences to federated units Lagasse Charles Etienne Les nouvelles institutions de la Belgique et de l Europe in French p 603 Le federalisme belge repose sur une combinaison unique d equipollence d exclusivite et de prolongement international des competences Belgian federalism is based on a unique combination of equipollence of exclusivity and of international extension of competences Suinen Philippe October 2000 Une Premiere mondiale Le Monde diplomatique in French Archived from the original on 17 November 2000 Retrieved 5 October 2008 Dans l organisation de ces autonomies la Belgique a realise une premiere mondiale afin d eviter la remise en cause par le biais de la dimension internationale de competences exclusives transferees aux entites federees les communautes et regions se sont vu reconnaitre une capacite et des pouvoirs internationaux In organizing its autonomies Belgium realized a World s First to avoid a relevant stalemate international consequences caused transfers of exclusive competences to federal community and regional entities that are recognized to have become internationally enabled and empowered Defence Data of Belgium in 2010 European Defence Agency Archived from the original on 24 September 2012 Retrieved 9 August 2012 Defensie La Defense Archived from the original on 14 June 2011 Retrieved 15 June 2011 David Isby and Charles Kamps Jr Armies of NATO s Central Front Jane s Publishing Company 1985 p 59 Belgium ranked first in the KOF Globalization Index 2009ETH Zurich ed KOF Index of Globalization Archived from the original on 31 May 2012 Retrieved 2 February 2009 Rank Order Exports CIA The 2008 world factbook Archived from the original on 4 October 2008 Retrieved 5 October 2008 15 th Belgium 322 200 000 000 2007 est Rank Order Imports CIA The 2008 world factbook Archived from the original on 4 October 2008 Retrieved 5 October 2008 15 th Belgium 323 200 000 000 2007 est Belgian economy Belgium Belgian Federal Public Service ministry of Foreign Affairs Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Archived from the original on 15 June 2009 Retrieved 12 June 2009 Belgium is the world leader in terms of export per capita and can justifiably call itself the world s largest exporter Wallonia in decline thanks to politicians Expatica Communications BV 9 March 2005 Archived from the original on 29 September 2007 Retrieved 16 June 2007 L Union economique belgo luxembourgeoise in French Luxembourgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Archived from the original on 30 September 2011 Retrieved 15 June 2011 Industrial History Belgium European Route of Industrial Heritage Archived from the original on 31 July 2013 Retrieved 8 May 2007 Rioux Jean Pierre 1989 La revolution industrielle in French Paris Seuil p 105 ISBN 978 2 02 000651 4 Industrial History Belgium European route of industrial heritage Archived from the original on 31 July 2010 Retrieved 15 November 2010 Vanhaute Eric Paping Richard amp o Grada Cormac 2006 The European subsistence crisis of 1845 1850 a comparative perspective PDF IEHC Helsinki Archived PDF from the original on 11 October 2011 Retrieved 31 May 2011 Vanhaute Eric 2007 So worthy an example to Ireland The subsistance and industrial crisis of 1845 1850 in Flanders When the potato failed Causes and effects of the last European subsistance crisis 1845 1850 Brepols pp 123 148 ISBN 978 2 503 51985 2 Archived from the original PDF on 22 July 2011 Retrieved 31 May 2011 Background Note Belgium US Department of State Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs April 2007 Retrieved 8 May 2007 Vanhaverbeke Wim Het belang van de Vlaamse Ruit vanuit economisch perspectief The importance of the Flemish Diamond from an economical perspective in Dutch Netherlands Institute of Business Organization and Strategy Research University of Maastricht Archived from the original on 14 March 2007 Retrieved 19 May 2007 The World Factbook Rank Order Public debt CIA 17 April 2007 Archived from the original on 13 June 2007 Retrieved 8 May 2007 Key figures National Bank of Belgium Archived from the original on 30 April 2007 Retrieved 19 May 2007 EurActiv Belgium makes place for urban enterprises EurActiv Archived from the original on 30 April 2011 Retrieved 19 March 2011 a b Panorama of Transport PDF Office for Official Publications of the European Communities 2003 ISBN 978 92 894 4845 1 Archived from the original PDF on 7 August 2011 a b Country Trends Global Footprint Network Retrieved 15 November 2019 Lin David Hanscom Laurel Murthy Adeline Galli Alessandro Evans Mikel Neill Evan Mancini Maria Serena Martindill Jon Medouar Fatime Zahra Huang Shiyu Wackernagel Mathis 2018 Ecological Footprint Accounting for Countries Updates and Results of the National Footprint Accounts 2012 2018 Resources 7 3 58 doi 10 3390 resources7030058 Fidler Stephen 3 November 2010 Europe s Top Traffic Jam Capitals The Wall Street Journal Archived from the original on 19 January 2012 Retrieved 21 June 2011 Another comparative study on transportation in Belgium OECD environmental performance reviews Belgium OECD 2007 ISBN 978 92 64 03111 1 Double record for freight volume port of Antwerp Archived from the original on 23 February 2017 Retrieved 23 February 2017 The Belgian Crisis Archived from the original on 11 September 2016 Retrieved 5 June 2016 John Lichfield 2007 Belgium A nation divided Independent Archived from the original on 31 May 2016 Retrieved 5 June 2016 Cook B A 2002 Belgium A History Peter Lang p 139 ISBN 978 0 8204 5824 3 Archived from the original on 18 November 2016 Retrieved 6 January 2017 Rembert Dodoens iets over zijn leven en werk Dodoens werken Plantaardigheden Project Rembert Dodoens Rembertus Dodonaeus in Dutch Balkbrug Stichting Kruidenhoeve Plantaardigheden 20 December 2005 Archived from the original on 10 June 2007 Retrieved 17 May 2007 het Cruijdeboeck dat in 1554 verscheen Dit meesterwerk was na de bijbel in die tijd het meest vertaalde boek Het werd gedurende meer dan een eeuw steeds weer heruitgegeven en gedurende meer dan twee eeuwen was het het meest gebruikte handboek over kruiden in West Europa Het is een werk van wereldfaam en grote wetenschappelijke waarde De nieuwe gedachten die Dodoens erin neerlegde werden de bouwstenen voor de botanici en medici van latere generaties the Cruijdeboeck published in 1554 This masterpiece was after the Bible the most translated book in that time It continued to be republished for more than a century and for more than two centuries it was the mostly used referential about herbs It is a work with world fame and great scientific value The new thoughts written down by Dodoens became the building bricks for botanists and physicians of later generations O Connor J J Robertsonfirst2 E F 2004 Simon Stevin School of Mathematics and Statistics University of St Andrews Scotland Archived from the original on 9 June 2007 Retrieved 11 May 2007 Although he did not invent decimals they had been used by the Arabs and the Chinese long before Stevin s time he did introduce their use in mathematics in Europe De Broe Marc E De Weerdt Dirk L Ysebaert Dirk K Vercauteren Sven R De Greef Kathleen E De Broe Luc C 1999 Abstract American Journal of Nephrology 19 2 282 289 doi 10 1159 000013462 PMID 10213829 The importance of A Vesalius publication de humani corporis fabrica libri septem cannot be overestimated Free abstract for pay per view article byDe Broe Marc E De Weerdt Dirk L Ysebaert Dirk K Vercauteren Sven R De Greef Kathleen E De Broe Luc C 1999 The Low Countries 16th 17th century American Journal of Nephrology 19 2 282 9 doi 10 1159 000013462 PMID 10213829 Midbon Mark 24 March 2000 A Day Without Yesterday Georges Lemaitre amp the Big Bang Commonweal republished Catholic Education Resource Center CERC pp 18 19 Archived from the original on 6 July 2007 Retrieved 7 June 2007 Carson Patricia 1969 The Fair Face of Flanders Lannoo Uitgeverij p 136 ISBN 978 90 209 4385 6 Day Lance 2003 Lance Day Ian McNeil eds Biographical Dictionary of the History of Technology Routledge p 1135 ISBN 978 0 203 02829 2 Woodward Gordon 2003 Lance Day Ian McNeil eds Biographical Dictionary of the History of Technology Routledge p 523 ISBN 978 0 203 02829 2 Larsson Ulf 2001 Cultures of Creativity the Centennial Exhibition of the Nobel Prize Science History Publications p 211 ISBN 978 0 88135 288 7 Georges Lemaitre Father of the Big Bang American Museum of Natural History 2000 Archived from the original on 17 January 2013 Retrieved 9 December 2010 The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1977 Nobelprize org Archived from the original on 3 December 2010 Retrieved 9 December 2010 O Connor John J Robertson Edmund F Pierre Deligne MacTutor History of Mathematics archive University of St Andrews Retrieved 10 November 2011 O Connor John J Robertson Edmund F Jean Bourgain MacTutor History of Mathematics archive University of St Andrews Retrieved 10 November 2011 Global Innovation Index 2021 World Intellectual Property Organization United Nations Retrieved 5 March 2022 Release of the Global Innovation Index 2020 Who Will Finance Innovation World Intellectual Property Organization Retrieved 2 September 2021 Global Innovation Index 2019 World Intellectual Property Organization Retrieved 2 September 2021 Max Roser 2014 Total Fertility Rate around the world over the last two centuries Our World In Data Gapminder Foundation World Factbook EUROPE BELGIUM The World Factbook 3 February 2021 This number evolved to 89 in 2011 Belgian Federal Government Population par sexe et nationalite pour la Belgique et les regions 2001 et 2011 in French Archived from the original on 31 October 2012 Retrieved 31 August 2012 Perrin Nicolas April 2006 European Migration Network Annual Statistical Report on migration and asylum in Belgium Reference year 2003 section A 1 b Population by citizenship amp c Third country nationals 1 January 2004 PDF Study Group of Applied Demographics Gedap Belgian Federal Government Service ministry of Interior Immigration Office pp 5 9 Archived from the original PDF on 14 June 2007 Retrieved 28 May 2007 De vreemde bevolking ecodata mineco fgov be L IMMIGRATION EN BELGIQUE EFFECTIFS MOUVEMENTS ET MARCHE DU TRAVAIL Archived 31 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine Rapport 2009 Direction generale Emploi et marche du travai Belgian Federal Government Structure de la population selon le pays de naissance in French Archived from the original on 25 August 2012 Retrieved 31 August 2012 BuG 155 Bericht uit het Gewisse 01 januari 2012 Archived 8 September 2012 at archive today npdata be 1 January 2012 a b BuG 159 Bericht uit het Gewisse 7 mei 2012 Archived 26 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine npdata be 7 May 2012 a b Voor het eerst meer Marokkaanse dan Italiaanse migranten Archived 18 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine hbvl be 21 May 2007 Lewis M Paul ed 2009 Languages of Belgium Ethnologue Languages of the World sixteenth ed Dallas Texas U S A SIL International pp 1 248 ISBN 978 1 55671 216 6 Archived from the original on 29 April 2011 Retrieved 27 February 2011 de Witte Bruno 1996 Rainey Anson F ed Surviving in Babel Language rights and European integration Canaanite in the Amarna Tablets Vol 1 Brill p 122 ISBN 978 90 04 10521 8 Belgium Market background British Council Archived from the original on 22 November 2007 Retrieved 5 May 2007 The capital Brussels 80 85 percent French speaking Strictly the capital is the municipality City of Brussels though the Brussels Capital Region might be intended because of its name and also its other municipalities housing institutions typical for a capital The German speaking Community The German speaking Community Archived from the original on 30 May 2007 Retrieved 5 May 2007 The original version in German language Archived 29 May 2007 at the Wayback Machine already mentions 73 000 instead of 71 500 inhabitants Citizens from other countries in the German speaking Community The German speaking Community Archived from the original on 28 June 2007 Retrieved 5 May 2007 German Belgium Overview of the language Mercator Minority Language Media in the European Union supported by the European Commission and the University of Wales Archived from the original on 11 May 2011 Retrieved 7 May 2007 Leclerc Jacques 19 April 2006 Belgique Belgie Belgien La Communaute germanophone de Belgique L amenagement linguistique dans le monde in French Host Tresor de la langue francaise au Quebec TLFQ Universite Laval Quebec Archived from the original on 3 May 2007 Retrieved 7 May 2007 According to Le Petit Larousse Walloon is a dialect of the langue d oil According to the Meyers grosses Taschenlexikon Jules Feller 1912 Notes de philologie wallonne Liege Vaillant Carmanne a b Among Belgium native German speakers many are familiar with the local dialect varieties of their region that include dialects that spill over into neighboring Luxembourg and Germany Gordon Raymond G Jr ed 2005 Languages of Belgium Ethnologue Languages of the World Fifteenth ed Dallas Texas U S A SIL International Online version Sixteenth edition Archived 3 December 2005 at the Wayback Machine See for example Belgium entry of the Catholic Encyclopedia a b c Loopbuyck P amp Torfs R 2009 The world and its people Belgium Luxembourg and the Netherlands Vol 4 Marshall Cavendish p 499 ISBN 978 0 7614 7890 4 Churchgoers in Brussels threatened with extinction Brusselnieuws be in Dutch 30 November 2010 Archived from the original on 11 January 2012 Retrieved 4 September 2011 Kerken lopen zeer geleidelijk helemaal leeg Dutch news article describing church attendance in Flanders Archived 27 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine Standaard be 25 November 2010 Retrieved 26 September 2011 Eurobarometer Biotechnology report 2010 Archived 30 April 2011 at the Wayback Machine p 381 Eurobarometer 437 Discrimination in the EU in 2015 European Commission Archived from the original on 15 October 2017 Retrieved 15 October 2017 via GESIS Discrimination in the EU in 2012 PDF Special Eurobarometer 383 European Union European Commission p 233 2012 archived from the original PDF on 2 December 2012 retrieved 14 August 2013 State and Church in BELGIUM euresisnet eu 31 October 2007 Archived from the original on 17 July 2010 Ghiuzeli Haim F The Jewish Community of Antwerp Belgium Archived 29 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine Beit Hatfutsot the Museum of the Jewish People Inquiry by Vepec Vereniging voor Promotie en Communicatie Organization for Promotion and Communication published in Knack magazine 22 November 2006 p 14 The Dutch language term gelovig is in the text translated as religious More precisely it is a very common word for believing in particular in any kind of God in a monotheistic sense or in some afterlife or both Moslims in Belgie per gewest provincie en gemeente Npdata be 18 September 2015 Archived from the original on 4 March 2016 Retrieved 9 March 2016 a b c Corens Dirk 2007 Belgium health system review PDF Health Systems in Transition 9 2 Archived PDF from the original on 23 May 2011 Retrieved 23 May 2011 Belgium euthanasia First child dies CNN com edition cnn com 17 September 2016 Archived from the original on 10 February 2017 Retrieved 6 January 2017 Santa Clara University Assisted Suicide A Right or a Wrong Resources Bioethics Focus Areas Markkula Center for Applied Ethics Santa Clara University scu edu Archived from the original on 10 February 2017 Retrieved 6 January 2017 GHO By category Suicide rate estimates age standardized Estimates by country WHO Retrieved 17 March 2020 Hofman Roelande H Hofman W H A Gray J M Daly P 2004 Institutional context of education systems in Europe a cross country comparison on quality and equity Kluwer Academic Publishers pp 97 105 ISBN 978 1 4020 2744 4 Archived from the original on 12 April 2016 Retrieved 11 October 2015 Extracts p 97 Archived 12 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine p 105 Archived 12 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine Table 388 Percentage of population enrolled in secondary and postsecondary institutions by age group and country Chapter 6 International Comparisons of Education data 2002 Digest of Education Statistics Tables and Figures National Center for Education Statistics Institute of Education Sciences IES US Department of Education 2005 Archived from the original on 5 June 2007 Retrieved 6 June 2007 I Monitoring Human Development Enlarging peoples s choices 5 Human poverty in OECD Eastern Europe and the CIS PDF Human Development Indicators United Nations Development Programme UNDP 2000 pp 172 173 Archived PDF from the original on 14 June 2007 Retrieved 6 June 2007 Range of rank on the PISA 2006 science scale PDF OECD Archived PDF from the original on 29 December 2009 Retrieved 27 February 2011 De Meyer Inge Pauly Jan Van de Poele Luc 2005 Learning for Tomorrow s Problems First Results from PISA2003 PDF Ministry of the Flemish Community Education Department University of Ghent Department of Education Ghent Belgium Online by OECD p 52 Archived PDF from the original on 28 April 2011 Retrieved 27 February 2011 De Ley Herman 2000 Humanists and Muslims in Belgian Secular Society Draft version Centrum voor Islam in Europe Center for Islam in Europe Ghent University Archived from the original on 9 June 2007 Retrieved 7 June 2007 Belgium Arts and cultural education Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in Europe 8th edition Council of Europe ERICarts 2007 Archived from the original on 31 August 2007 Retrieved 8 May 2007 Belgique European Culture Portal European Commission 2007 Archived from the original on 24 December 2007 Retrieved 10 May 2007 Gonthier Adrien 2003 Frontiere linguistique frontiere politique une presse en crise Le Monde diplomatique in French Archived from the original on 27 March 2008 Retrieved 17 June 2008 Mumford David 2008 The World Today Series The New York Times Western Europe 2007 ISBN 978 1 887985 89 5 Low Countries 1000 1400 AD Timeline of Art History Metropolitan Museum of Art 2007 Archived from the original on 15 April 2007 Retrieved 10 May 2007 Low Countries 1400 1600 AD Timeline of Art History Metropolitan Museum of Art 2007 Archived from the original on 29 April 2007 Retrieved 10 May 2007 Several examples of major architectural realizations in Belgium belong to UNESCO s World Heritage List Belgium Properties inscribed on the World Heritage List UNESCO Archived from the original on 28 April 2007 Retrieved 15 May 2007 Hendrick Jacques 1987 La peinture au pays de Liege in French Liege Editions du Perron p 24 ISBN 978 2 87114 026 9 Guratzsch Herwig 1979 Die grosse Zeit der niederlandische Malerei in German Freiburg im Beisgau Verlag Herder p 7 Low Countries 1600 1800 AD Timeline of Art History Metropolitan Museum of Art 2007 Archived from the original on 13 May 2007 Retrieved 10 May 2007 Art History Flemish School 1600 1800 Artists biography amp artworks World Wide Arts Resources 5 February 2006 Archived from the original on 13 October 2009 Retrieved 10 May 2007 A general presentation of the Flemish artistic movement with a list of its artists linking to their biographies and artworks Belgian Artists biographies amp artworks World Wide Arts Resources 5 February 2006 Archived from the original on 15 May 2016 Retrieved 10 May 2007 List of Belgian painters linking to their biographies and artworks Baudson Michel 1996 Panamarenko Flammarion Paris quoted at presentation of the XXIII Bienal Internacional de Sao Paulo Archived from the original on 7 February 2007 Retrieved 10 May 2007 Brussels capital of Art Nouveau page 1 Archived 9 May 2007 at the Wayback Machine page 2 Senses Art Nouveau Shop Brussels 2007 Archived from the original on 4 March 2007 Retrieved 11 May 2007 for example Major Town Houses of the Architect Victor Horta Brussels UNESCO s World Heritage List UNESCO Archived from the original on 13 May 2013 Retrieved 16 May 2007 The appearance of Art Nouveau in the closing years of the 19th century marked a decisive stage in the evolution of architecture making possible subsequent developments and the Town Houses of Victor Horta in Brussels bear exceptional witness to its radical new approach Western music the Franco Flemish school Encyclopaedia Britannica 2007 Archived from the original on 8 December 2006 Retrieved 15 May 2007 Most significant musically was the pervasive influence of musicians from the Low Countries whose domination of the music scene during the last half of the 15th century is reflected in the period designations the Netherlands school and the Franco Flemish school Two comprehensive discussions of rock and pop music in Belgium since the 1950s The Timeline A brief history of Belgian Pop Music The Belgian Pop amp Rock Archives Flanders Music Centre Brussels March 2007 Archived from the original on 12 July 2007 Retrieved 7 June 2007 Belgian Culture Rock Vanberg amp DeWulf Importing 2006 Archived from the original on 7 June 2007 Retrieved 11 May 2007 Grove Laurence 2010 Comics in French the European bande dessinee in context Berghahn Books ISBN 978 1 84545 588 0 A review of the Belgian cinema till about 2000 can be found at History of Cinema in Belgium Film Birth 2007 Archived from the original on 14 September 2011 Retrieved 26 June 2011 Processional Giants and Dragons in Belgium and France UNESCO Archived from the original on 27 April 2007 Retrieved 15 May 2007 Folklore estudiantin liegeois in French University of Liege Archived from the original on 20 June 2010 Retrieved 17 June 2008 Steak frites Epicurious 20 August 2004 Archived from the original on 8 August 2007 Retrieved 12 August 2007 Republished fromVan Waerebeek Ruth Robbins Maria October 1996 Everybody Eats Well in Belgium Cookbook Workman Publishing ISBN 978 1 56305 411 2 Belgium Global Gourmet Archived from the original on 28 September 2007 Retrieved 12 August 2007 Republished fromVan Waerebeek Ruth Robbins Maria October 1996 Everybody Eats Well in Belgium Cookbook Workman Publishing ISBN 978 1 56305 411 2 Mussels Visit Belgium Official Site of the Belgian Tourist Office in the Americas 2005 Archived from the original on 10 February 2007 Retrieved 12 August 2007 The Michelin stars 2007 in Belgium Resto be TM Dreaminvest 2007 Archived from the original on 9 October 2008 Retrieved 15 May 2007 Elliott Mark amp Cole Geert 2000 Belgium and Luxembourg Lonely Planet p 53 ISBN 978 1 86450 245 9 Snick Chris 18 October 2011 Nieuwe bierbijbel bundelt alle 1 132 Belgische bieren Het Nieuwsblad in Dutch Archived from the original on 5 June 2012 Nieuwe bierbijbel met 1 132 Belgische bieren voorgesteld in Brugge Krant van West Vlaanderen in Dutch 18 October 2011 Archived from the original on 31 May 2012 Retrieved 17 February 2012 Ames Paul 30 August 2009 Buying the World s Best Beer Global Post Archived from the original on 9 November 2010 Retrieved 19 November 2010 Guthrie Tyler 11 August 2010 Day trip to the best beer in the world Chicago Tribune Archived from the original on 4 December 2010 Retrieved 19 November 2010 Monks run short of world s best beer ABC Reuters 12 August 2005 Archived from the original on 10 March 2009 Retrieved 19 November 2010 InBev dividend 2006 0 72 euro per share infobox About InBev Press release InBev 24 April 2007 Archived from the original on 11 September 2007 Retrieved 31 May 2007 InBev is a publicly traded company Euronext INB based in Leuven Belgium The company s origins date back to 1366 and today it is the leading global brewer by volume Task Marijke Renson Roland amp van Reusel Bart 1999 Klaus Heinemann ed Organised sport in transition development structures and trends of sports clubs in Belgium Sport clubs in various European countries Schattauer Verlag pp 183 229 ISBN 978 3 7945 2038 1 Portail officiel du sport en federation Wallonie Bruxelles Official sports portal in the Wallonia Brussels Federation sport adeps be in French Archived from the original on 16 November 2017 Retrieved 11 November 2017 Doe aan sport Do sports Sport Vlaanderen in Dutch Retrieved 11 November 2017 Wingfield George 2008 Charles F Gritzner ed Belgium Infobase Publishing pp 94 95 ISBN 978 0 7910 9670 3 Hendricks Kelly 20 June 2014 Belgium s 10 most popular sports The Bulletin Archived from the original on 22 November 2014 Retrieved 26 October 2014 Belgium go top Chile and Austria soar FIFA 5 November 2015 Archived from the original on 26 June 2016 Retrieved 30 March 2016 Team of the Year Award 2010 Archived 18 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine on the FIFA website Majendie Matt 18 April 2005 Great but there are greater BBC Sport Archived from the original on 24 August 2007 Retrieved 20 September 2007 the Author s top five cyclists of all time 1 Eddy Merckx 2 Bernard Hinault 3 Lance Armstrong 4 Miguel Indurain 5 Jacques Anquetil Woods Bob 2008 Motocross History From Local Scrambling to World Championship MX to Freestyle Crabtree Publishing Company p 19 ISBN 978 0 7787 3987 6 Online sources Belgium Encyclopaedia Britannica Encyclopaedia Britannica Chicago Illinois USA Retrieved 7 June 2007 Boordtabel in Dutch Centre for Information Documentation and Research on Brussels BRIO 2007 Archived from the original on 29 May 2007 Retrieved 2 June 2007 mentioning other original sources Boulger Demetrius Charles Edmundson George Gosse Edmund William 1911 Belgium In Chisholm Hugh ed Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 3 11th ed Cambridge University Press pp 668 681 Belgium The World Factbook Central Intelligence Agency Retrieved on 7 June 2007 The Constitution Federal Parliament Belgium 21 January 1997 Archived from the original on 7 June 2007 Retrieved 7 June 2007 Country Portal Europe Belgium Belgian Federal Government Service ministry of Economy Directorate general Statistics Belgium Archived from the original on 1 July 2007 Retrieved 7 June 2007 Fischer Kathrin 21 July 1999 Die Stellung und Rolle der deutschsprachigen Minderheit in Ostbelgien innerhalb des belgischen Nationalstaats Kleiner Gelandekurs in die EUREGIO Maas Rhein in German Geographical Institute of the University of Gottingen Department Culture and Social Geography Gottingen Germany Archived from the original on 20 July 2007 Retrieved 13 June 2007 History of Belgium World History at KMLA Korean Minjok Leadership Academy KMLA 30 May 2007 Archived from the original on 6 July 2007 Retrieved 2 June 2007 Janssens Rudi 1 June 2001 Brusselse Thema s in Brussel Taalverhoudingen taalverschuivingen en taalindentiteit in een meertalige stad summ, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.