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Facts and Figures
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Geography
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Location
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Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between France and the Netherlands
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Area
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total: 30,528 sq km
land: 30,278 sq km water: 250 sq km |
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Area - comparative
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about the size of Maryland
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Land boundaries
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total: 1,385 km
border countries: France 620 km, Germany 167 km, Luxembourg 148 km, Netherlands 450 km |
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Coastline
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66.5 km
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Climate
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temperate; mild winters, cool summers; rainy, humid, cloudy
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Terrain
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flat coastal plains in northwest, central rolling hills, rugged mountains of Ardennes Forest in southeast
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Elevation extremes
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lowest point: North Sea 0 m
highest point: Signal de Botrange 694 m |
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Natural resources
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coal, natural gas, construction materials, silica sand, carbonates
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Land use
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arable land: 23.28%
permanent crops: 0.4% other: 76.32% note: includes Luxembourg (2001) |
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Geography - note
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crossroads of Western Europe; majority of West European capitals within 1,000 km of Brussels, the seat of both the European Union and NATO
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Population
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10,364,388 (July 2005 est.)
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Age structure
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0-14 years: 16.9% (male 892,995/female 855,177)
15-64 years: 65.7% (male 3,435,282/female 3,373,917) 65 years and over: 17.4% (male 745,178/female 1,061,839) (2005 est.) |
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Birth rate
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10.48 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
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Death rate
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10.22 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
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Net migration rate
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1.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
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Sex ratio
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at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
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Total fertility rate
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1.64 children born/woman (2005 est.)
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Nationality
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noun: Belgian(s)
adjective: Belgian |
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Ethnic groups
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Fleming 58%, Walloon 31%, mixed or other 11%
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Religions
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Roman Catholic 75%, Protestant or other 25%
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Languages
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Dutch (official) 60%, French (official) 40%, German (official) less than 1%, legally bilingual (Dutch and French)
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Country name
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conventional long form: Kingdom of Belgium
conventional short form: Belgium local long form: Koninkrijk Belgie/Royaume de Belgique local short form: Belgie/Belgique |
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Government type
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federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarch
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Capital
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Brussels
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Administrative divisions
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10 provinces (French: provinces, singular - province; Dutch: provinces, singular - provincie) and 3 regions* (French: regions; Dutch: gewesten); Antwerpen, Brabant Walloon, Brussels* (Bruxelles), Flanders*, Hainaut, Liege, Limburg, Luxembourg, Namur, Oost-Vlaanderen, Vlaams-Brabant, Wallonia*, West-Vlaanderen
note: as a result of the 1993 constitutional revision that furthered devolution into a federal state, there are now three levels of government (federal, regional, and linguistic community) with a complex division of responsibilities |
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Independence:
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4 October 1830 (a provisional government declares independence from the Netherlands); 21 July 1831 (King Leopold I ascends to the throne)
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National holiday
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21 July (1831) ascension to the Throne of King Leopold I
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Constitution
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7 February 1831, last revised 14 July 1993; parliament approved a constitutional package creating a federal state
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Legal system
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civil law system influenced by English constitutional theory; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
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Suffrage
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18 years of age; universal and compulsory
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Diplomatic representation in the US
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chief of mission: Ambassador Franciskus VAN DAELE
chancery: 3330 Garfield Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 333-6900 FAX: [1] (202) 333-3079 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Los Angeles, and New York |
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Diplomatic representation from the US
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chief of mission: Ambassador Sam Fox
embassy: Regentlaan 27 Boulevard du Regent, B-1000 Brussels
mailing address: PSC 82, Box 002, APO AE 09710 telephone: [32] (2) 508-2111 FAX: [32] (2) 511-2725 |
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Flag description
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three equal vertical bands of black (hoist side), yellow, and red; the design was based on the flag of France
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Economy - overview
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This modern private enterprise economy has capitalized on its central geographic location, highly developed transport network, and diversified industrial and commercial base. Industry is concentrated mainly in the populous Flemish area in the north. With few natural resources, Belgium must import substantial quantities of raw materials and export a large volume of manufactures, making its economy unusually dependent on the state of world markets. Roughly three-quarters of its trade is with other EU countries. Public debt is nearly 100% of GDP. On the positive side, the government has succeeded in balancing its budget, and income distribution is relatively equal. Belgium began circulating the euro currency in January 2002. Economic growth in 2001-03 dropped sharply because of the global economic slowdown, with moderate recovery in 2004.
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GDP
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purchasing power parity - $316.2 billion (2004 est.)
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GDP - real growth rate
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2.6% (2004 est.)
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GDP - per capita
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purchasing power parity - $30,600 (2004 est.)
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GDP - composition by sector
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agriculture: 1.3%
industry: 25.7% services: 73% (2004 est.) |
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Investment (gross fixed)
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19.1% of GDP (2004 est.)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices)
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1.9% (2004 est.)
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Labor force
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4.75 million (2004 est.)
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Labor force - by occupation
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agriculture 1.3%, industry 24.5%, services 74.2% (2003 est.)
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Budget
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revenues: $173.7 billion
expenditures: $174.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.56 billion (2004 est.) |
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Public debt
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96.2% of GDP (2004 est.)
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Agriculture - products
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sugar beets, fresh vegetables, fruits, grain, tobacco; beef, veal, pork, milk
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Industries
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engineering and metal products, motor vehicle assembly, transportation equipment, scientific instruments, processed food and beverages, chemicals, basic metals, textiles, glass, petroleum
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Industrial production growth rate
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3.5% (2004 est.)
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Current account balance
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$11.4 billion (2004 est.)
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Exports
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$255.7 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
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Exports - commodities
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machinery and equipment, chemicals, diamonds, metals and metal products, foodstuffs
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Exports - partners
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Germany 19.9%, France 17.2%, Netherlands 11.8%, UK 8.6%, US 6.5%, Italy 5.2% (2004)
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Imports
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$235 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
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Imports - commodities
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machinery and equipment, chemicals, diamonds, pharmaceuticals, foodstuffs, transportation equipment, oil products
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Imports - partners
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Germany 18.4%, Netherlands 17%, France 12.5%, UK 6.8%, Ireland 6.3%, US 5.5% (2004)
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Currency
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euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries |
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Fiscal year
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calendar year
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Railways
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total: 3,518 km
standard gauge: 3,518 km 1.435-m gauge (2,631 km electrified) (2003) |
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Highways:
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total: 149,028 km
paved: 116,540 km (including 1,729 km of expressways) unpaved: 32,488 km (2002) |
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Waterways:
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2,043 km (1,528 km in regular commercial use) (2003)
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Pipelines:
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gas 1,485 km; oil 158 km; refined products 535 km (2004)
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Ports and harbors:
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Antwerp (one of the world's busiest ports), Brugge, Gent, Hasselt, Liege, Mons, Namur, Oostende, Zeebrugge |
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Merchant marine:
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total: 53 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,146,301 GRT/1,588,184 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 15, cargo 2, chemical tanker 2, container 8, liquefied gas 17, petroleum tanker 9 foreign-owned: 12 (Denmark 4, France 4, Greece 4) registered in other countries: 101 (2005) |
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Airports:
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43 (2004 est.)
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Airports - with paved runways:
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total: 25
over 3,047 m: 6 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 7 (2004 est.) |
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Airports - with unpaved runways:
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total: 18
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 16 (2004 est.) |
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Heliports:
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1 (2004 est.)
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