Belgium
Coordinates: 50°50′N 4°00′E / 50.833°N 4.000°E
Kingdom of Belgium | |
|---|---|
| Motto: Eendracht maakt macht ( | |
| Religion (2019[2] ) |
|
| Demonym(s) | |
| Government | Federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy[3] |
• Monarch | Philippe |
| Alexander De Croo | |
| Legislature | Federal Parliament |
| Senate | |
| 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 |
| Currency | Euro (€) (EUR) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Driving side | right |
| Calling code | +32 |
| ISO 3166 code | BE |
| Internet TLD | .be |
| |
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.
Belgium is a
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[26] and is categorized as "very high" on the Human Development Index.[27]
History
Antiquity
in 54 BCEGaul 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
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. However, areas closer to the lower Rhine frontier, including the eastern part of modern Belgium, subsequently 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.[29] 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
in the 15th centuryIn 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.[30] "Burgundy" 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.[31] 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 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.[32]
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 southern part continued to be 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
Independent Belgium
In 1830, the
The main political parties of the 19th century were the
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.[37] Many Congolese were killed by Leopold's agents for failing to meet production quotas for ivory and rubber.[38] In 1908, this outcry led the Belgian state to assume responsibility for the government of the colony, henceforth called the Belgian Congo.[39] A Belgian commission in 1919 estimated that Congo's population was half what it was in 1879.[38]
Belgium became one of the six founding members of the
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
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.[42][43] Its land area alone is 30,278 km2.[44][needs update] It lies between latitudes 49°30' and 51°30' N, and longitudes 2°33' and 6°24' E.[45]
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.[46]
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).[47][48]
Provinces
The territory of Belgium is divided into three Regions, two of which, the
| Province | Dutch name | French name | German name | Capital | Area[4] | Population (1 January 2019)[6] |
Density | ISO 3166-2:BE [56] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
Belgium is a
The
Political culture
Belgium's political institutions are complex; most political power rests on representation of the main cultural communities.[60] Since about 1970, the significant national
of the countryA string of Christian Democrat coalition governments from 1958
The government led by Prime Minister
Verhofstadt's coalition fared badly in the
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.[75] In December 2008, he once more offered his resignation to the king after a
After Herman Van Rompuy was designated the first permanent
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.[80] 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.[81] Finally, in December 2011 the Di Rupo Government led by Walloon socialist Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo was sworn in.[82]
The
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.[84] In July 2019 prime minister Charles Michel was selected to hold the post of President of the European Council.[85] His successor Sophie Wilmès was Belgium's first female prime minister. She led the caretaker government since October 2019.[86] 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.[87]
Communities and regions
Following a usage which can be traced back to the Burgundian and Habsburg courts,
While the people in Southern Belgium spoke French or dialects of French, and
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:[92][93]
- 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.[94] Although this would allow for seven parliaments and governments when the Communities and Regions were created in 1980, Flemish politicians decided to merge both.[95] 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
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
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,
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.[99]
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.[96] 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.[100][101][102]
Foreign relations
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
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.
The effects of the
Economy
Belgium's strongly globalized economy
The Belgian economy is heavily service-oriented and shows a dual nature: a dynamic Flemish economy and a Walloon economy that lags behind.
Belgium was the first continental European country to undergo the Industrial Revolution, in the early 19th century.[112] 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.[113][114] However, by the 1840s the textile industry of Flanders was in severe crisis, and the region experienced famine from 1846 to 1850.[115][116]
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.[117] 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.[118]
By the end of the 1980s, Belgian
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.[122]
From a biological resource perspective, Belgium has a low endowment: Belgium's biocapacity adds up to only 0.8 global hectares in 2016,[123] just about half of the 1.6 global hectares of biocapacity available per person worldwide.[124] 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.[123]
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.[125] 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.[122][126] In 2016, the port of Antwerp handled 214 million tons after a year-on-year growth of 2.7%.[127]
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.[128][129][130]
Science and technology
Contributions to the development of science and technology have appeared throughout the country's history. The 16th century
Chemist
Three
Demographics
As of 1 January 2020, the total population of Belgium according to its population register was 11,492,641.
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.[144] Belgium subsequently has one of the oldest populations in the world, with an average age of 41.6 years.[145]
Migration
 | This section needs to be updated. (June 2017) |
As of 2007[update], nearly 92% of the population had Belgian citizenship,[146] 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).[147][148] 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.[149][150]
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.
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 Belgium's National Register,[154] (1 January 2023) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Name | Region
|
Pop. | Rank | Name | Region
|
Pop. | ||
| 1 | Antwerp | Flanders | 536,079 | 11 | Molenbeek-Saint-Jean | Brussels |
97,610 | ||
| 2 | Ghent | Flanders | 267,709 | 12 | Mons | Wallonia | 96,055 | ||
| 3 | Charleroi | Wallonia | 203,245 | 13 | Aalst | Flanders | 89,915 | ||
| 4 | Liège | Wallonia | 194,877 | 14 | Mechelen | Flanders | 88,463 | ||
| 5 | City of Brussels | Brussels |
192,950 | 15 | Ixelles | Brussels |
88,081 | ||
| 6 | Schaerbeek | Brussels |
130,422 | 16 | Uccle | Brussels |
85,706 | ||
| 7 | Anderlecht | Brussels |
124,353 | 17 | La Louvière | Wallonia | 81,293 | ||
| 8 | Bruges | Flanders | 119,445 | 18 | Sint-Niklaas | Flanders | 81,066 | ||
| 9 | Namur | Wallonia | 113,174 | 19 | Hasselt | Flanders | 80,299 | ||
| 10 | Leuven | Flanders | 102,851 | 20 | Kortrijk | Flanders | 78,841 | ||
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