Belgium

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Coordinates: 50°50′N 4°00′E

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the country. For other uses,
see Belgium (disambiguation). "Belgia" redirects here.
For the predecessor as an Ancient Roman province,
see Gallia Belgica. For the passenger ship, see SS
Belgia. "Belgique" and "Bélgica" redirect here. For other
uses, see Belgique (disambiguation) and Belgica
(disambiguation).

Kingdom of Belgium
Koninkrijk België (Dutch)
Royaume de Belgique (French)
 Königreich Belgien (German)

Flag

Coat of arms
Motto: Eendracht maakt
macht (Dutch)
L'union fait la force (French)
Einigkeit macht stark (German)
(English: "Unity makes strength")
Anthem:
La Brabançonne
Dutch version:
Duration: 1 minute and 4 seconds.1:04
French version:
Duration: 1 minute and 5 seconds.1:05
 Show globe

Show map of Europe Show

all
Location of Belgium (dark green)
– in Europe (light green & dark grey)
– in the European Union (light green)
Capital Brussels
and largest 50°51′N 4°21′E
city
Official lan Dutch
guages French
German
Ethnic gro 64.8% Belgians
ups 35.2% other
(2024)[1]
Religion 49% Christianity
(2021[2]) o 44% Catholi
cism
o 5%
other Christian

40% no religion
7% Islam
3% other
Demonym( Belgian
 s)
Governme Federal parliamentary c
nt onstitutional
monarchy[3]
• Monarch Philippe
• Prime Alexander De Croo
Minister
Legislature Federal Parliament
• Upper house Senate
• Lower Chamber of
house Representatives
Independence
from the Holy Roman
Empire and Netherlands
• Brabant 24 October 1789
Revolution
• United 11 January 1790
Belgian
States
• Belgian 25 August 1830
Revolution
• Declared 4 October 1830
• Recognized 19 April 1839
• Federal state 1970
Area
• Total 30,689[4] km2 (11,849 sq
mi) (136th)
• Water (%) 0.64 (2022) [5][6]
Population
• 2024 census 11,763,650 [7]
• Density 383/km2 (992.0/sq mi)
(22nd)
GDP (PPP) 2024 estimate
• Total $803.166
billion[8] (37th)
• Per capita $68,079[8] (20th)
GDP (nomi 2024 estimate
nal)
• Total $655.192
billion[8] (23rd)
• Per capita $55,536[8] (16th)
Gini (2022) 24.9[9]
low inequality
HDI (2022) 0.942[10]
very high (12th)
Currency Euro (€) (EUR)
Time zone UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (D UTC+2 (CEST)
ST)
Drives on right
Calling +32
code
ISO 3166 BE
code
Internet .be and .eu
TLD
a. The flag's official proportions of
 13:15 are rarely seen; proportions of
2:3 or similar are more common.

b. The Brussels region is the de

facto capital, but the City of
Brussels municipality is the de
jure capital.[11]

c. The .eu domain is also used, as it is

shared with other European Union
member states.

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 south,
and the North Sea to the west. It covers an area of
30,689 km2 (11,849 sq mi)[4] and has a population of
more than 11.7 million,[7] making it the 22nd most densely
populated country in the world and the 6th most densely
populated country in Europe, with a density of
383/km2 (990/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
metropolitan region is Brussels;[C] other major cities
are Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi, Liège, Bruges, Namur,
and Leuven.
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:[13] the Flemish
Region (Flanders) in the north, the Walloon
Region (Wallonia) in the south, and the Brussels-Capital
Region.[14] 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, making up around one percent of the
population, exists in the East Cantons. The Brussels-
Capital Region is officially bilingual in French and Dutch,
[15]
although French is the majority language and lingua
franca.[16] 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 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.[17] Belgium
has also been the battleground of European powers,
earning the moniker "the Battlefield of Europe",[18] a
reputation reinforced in the 20th century by both world
wars.
Belgium participated in the Industrial Revolution,[19][20] and
during the course of the 20th century, possessed a
number of colonies, notably the Belgian
Congo and Ruanda-Urundi.[21][D] These colonies gained
independence between 1960 and 1962.[23] The second
half of the 20th century was marked by rising tensions
between the Dutch-speakers and French-speakers,
fueled 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
have persisted: there is particularly significant separatist
sentiment among the Flemish, language laws such as
the municipalities with language facilities have been the
source of much controversy,[24] and the government
formation period following the 2010 federal election set
the world record at 589 days.[25] Unemployment in
Wallonia is more than double that of Flanders, which
boomed after the Second World War.[26][27]
Belgium is a developed country, with an advanced high-
income economy. The country is one of the six founding
members of the European Union, and its capital,
Brussels, is 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.[E]
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
According to Julius Caesar, the Belgae were the
inhabitants of the northernmost part of Gaul. They lived
in a region stretching from Paris to the Rhine, which is
much bigger than modern Belgium. However, he also
specifically used the Latin word "Belgium" to refer to a
politically dominant part of that region, which is now in
northernmost France.[28] In contrast, modern Belgium,
together with neighbouring parts of the Netherlands and
Germany, corresponds to the lands of the most northerly
Belgae – the Morini, Menapii, Nervii, Germani
Cisrhenani, and Aduatuci. Caesar found these peoples
particularly warlike and economically undeveloped, and
described them as kinsmen of the Germanic tribes east
of the Rhine. The area around Arlon in southern Belgium
was a part of the country of the powerful Treveri, to
whom some of them paid tribute.
After Caesar's conquests, Gallia Belgica first came to be
the Latin name of a large Roman province covering most
of Northern Gaul, including the Belgae and 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 initially established
a kingdom ruling over the Romanized population in what
is now northern France, and then conquered the other
Frankish kingdoms. During the 8th century, the empire 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, it 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 came under the lasting control of the eastern
kingdom, which became the Holy Roman Empire. 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.[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).
French Revolution and United 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 Map of Belgium,

1832, before the final settlement of borders in 1839
In 1830, the Belgian Revolution led to the re-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.
[33][34]
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.
[35]
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 official language used
by the nobility and the bourgeoisie, especially after the
rejection of the Dutch monarchy. French progressively
lost its dominance as Dutch began to recover its status.
This recognition became official in 1898, and in 1967,
the parliament accepted a Dutch version of
the Constitution.[36]
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]
 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 Bu
rundi) 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
thought he had collaborated with Germany during the
war.[40] The Belgian Congo gained independence in 1960
during the Congo Crisis;[41] 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.[42]
Geography
Main article: Geography of Belgium
 Relief map of Belgium
Belgium shares borders
with France (620 km), Germany (162/167 km), Luxembo
urg (148 km), and the Netherlands (450 km). Its total
surface, including water area, is
30,689 km2 (11,849 sq mi).[4] 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.[43][44] Its land area alone is 30,494 square
kilometers.[5] 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]
The climate is maritime temperate with significant
precipitation in all seasons (Köppen climate
classification: Cfb), like most of northwest Europe.[49] 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.
[50]
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 millimeters above
last century's normal values, respectively.[51]
Phytogeographically, Belgium is shared between the
Atlantic European and Central European provinces of
the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom.
 According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, the
[52]

territory of Belgium belongs to the terrestrial

ecoregions of Atlantic mixed forests and Western
European broadleaf forests.[53][54] Belgium had a
2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of
1.36/10, ranking it 163rd globally out of 172 countries.[55]
Provinces

Antwerp
East
Flanders

Flemish
Brabant

Hainaut
Liège
 Limburg

Luxembourg

Namur

Walloon Brabant

West
Flanders
Flanders
Wallonia
Brussels
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.
 I
S
Po O
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in na na ]
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e e ary :
20 B
24)
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[56
]

Flemish Region

A Antw Ant 2,876 k 670/km2

Anve Antw 1,926 VA
ntwe erpe wer m2 (1,11 (1,700/
rs erpen ,522 N
rp n p 0 sq mi) sq mi)

E Oost- Flan
3,007 k 520/km2
ast Vlaa dre Ostfla Ghe 1,572 VO
m2 (1,16 (1,300/
Flan nder orien ndern nt ,002 V
1 sq mi) sq mi)
ders en tale

Fl Vlaa Brab Flämi Leu 2,118 k 1,196 570/km2 VB

emis ms- ant sch- ven m2 (818 ,773 (1,500/ R
h Brab flam Brab sq mi) sq mi)
 I
S
Po O
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D Fr lat 1
Ge C io
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rm a n
ov ch ch Area[4 Densi 6
an p (1
in na na ]
Ja ty -
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me al
e e ary :
20 B
24)
[7] E
[56
]

Flemish Region

Brab
ant and ant
ant

Li 2,427 k 370/km2
Limb Limb Limb Has 900,0 VL
mbur m2 (937 (960/sq
urg ourg urg selt 98 I
g sq mi) mi)

West Flan
W
- dre Westf 3,197 k 380/km2 V
est Bru 1,226
Vlaa occid lande m2 (1,23 (980/sq W
Flan ges ,375
nder ental rn 4 sq mi) mi) V
ders
en e
 I
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D Fr lat 1
Ge C io
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rm a n
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an p (1
in na na ]
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me al
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20 B
24)
[7] E
[56
]

Flemish Region

Walloon Region

Hene 3,813 k 360/km2

Ha Hain Henn Mo 1,360 W
gouw m2 (1,47 (930/sq
inaut aut egau ns ,074 HT
en 2 sq mi) mi)

3,857 k 290/km2
Li Lièg Lüttic Lièg 2 1,119 WL
Luik m (1,48 (750/sq
ège e h e ,038 G
9 sq mi) mi)

L Luxe Luxe Luxe Arlo 4,459 k 295,1 66/km2 ( WL

uxe mbur mbo mbur n m2 (1,72 46 170/sq X
mbo g urg g 2 sq mi) mi)
 I
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D Fr lat 1
Ge C io
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ov ch ch Area[4 Densi 6
an p (1
in na na ]
Ja ty -
na it
ce m m nu 2
me al
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20 B
24)
[7] E
[56
]

Flemish Region

urg

Namu 3,675 k 140/km2

N Nam Nam Na 503,8 W
r (Na m2 (1,41 (360/sq
amur en ur mur 95 NA
mür) 9 sq mi) mi)

W
Waal Brab Wallo
alloo 1,097 k 380/km2
s- ant nisch- Wa 414,1 WB
n m2 (424 (980/sq
Brab wall Brab vre 30 R
Brab sq mi) mi)
ant on ant
ant

Brussels Capital Region

 I
S
Po O
pu 3
D Fr lat 1
Ge C io
Pr ut en 6
rm a n
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an p (1
in na na ]
Ja ty -
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[7] E
[56
]

Flemish Region

Br Bruss Régi
Regio
ussel els on
n Bru 7,700/
s Hoof de 162 km2
Brüss ssel 1,249 km2 (20, BB
Capit dsted Brux (63 sq m
el- s ,597 000/sq R
al elijk elles- i)
Haup City mi)
Regi Gewe Capi
tstadt
on st tale

Tota Belgi Belgi Belgi Bru 30,689 k 11,76 383/km2

l ë que en ssel m2 (11,8 3,650 (990/sq
s 49 sq mi
 I
S
Po O
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D Fr lat 1
Ge C io
Pr ut en 6
rm a n
ov ch ch Area[4 Densi 6
an p (1
in na na ]
Ja ty -
na it
ce m m nu 2
me al
e e ary :
20 B
24)
[7] E
[56
]

Flemish Region

City ) mi)
Politics and government
Main articles: Politics of Belgium and Belgian federal
government
 Philippe
King of the Belgians
since 21 July 2013
Alexander De Croo
Prime Minister of Belgium
since 1 October 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.[57]
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.[58] 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.[59]
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 Belgian political parties have split into distinct
components that mainly represent the political and
linguistic interests of these communities.[61] The major
parties in each community, though close to the political
center, belong to three main groups: Christian
Democrats, Liberals, and Social Democrats.[62] 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.[61]

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.[63][64][65] A "rainbow
coalition" emerged from six parties: the Flemish and the
French-speaking Liberals, Social Democrats and
Greens.[66] Later, a "purple coalition" of Liberals and
Social Democrats formed after the Greens lost most of
their seats in the 2003 election.[67]
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 euthanasia were
reduced and same-sex marriage was introduced. The
government promoted active diplomacy in
Africa[68] and opposed the invasion of Iraq.[69] It is the only
country that does not have age restrictions on
euthanasia.[70]
Verhofstadt's coalition fared badly in the June 2007
elections. For more than a year, the country experienced
a political crisis.[71] This crisis was such that many
observers speculated on a possible partition of Belgium.
[72][73][74]
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.[75]
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 offered the resignation of the cabinet
to the king, as no progress in constitutional reforms had
been made.[75] In December 2008, Leterme once more
offered his resignation after a crisis surrounding the sale
of Fortis to BNP Paribas.[76] 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.[77]
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[78] after one of the coalition partners,
the OpenVLD, withdrew from the government, and on 26
April 2010 King Albert officially accepted the resignation.
[79]

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 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.[83]
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
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,[88] 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.[89] Late that
century, and continuing into the 20th century, Flemish
movements evolved to counter this situation.[90]
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.[90] Following
World War II, Belgian politics became increasingly
dominated by the autonomy of its two main linguistic
communities.[91] Intercommunal tensions rose and the
constitution was amended to minimize the potential for
conflict.[91]
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]
1.The federal government, based in Brussels.
2.The three language communities:
 the Flemish Community (Dutch-speaking);

 the French Community (French-speaking);

 the German-speaking Community.

 3.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.[F]
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.[19]
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.[96] 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.[97]
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.).[98]
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

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

F-16 Fighting Falcon of the Belgian

Air Component
The Belgian Armed Forces had 23,200 active personnel
in 2023, including 8,500 in the Land Component, 1,400
in the Naval Component, 4,900 in the Air Component,
1,450 in the Medical Component, and 6,950 in joint
service, in addition to 5,900 reserve personnel.[103] In
2019, Belgium's defense budget totaled €4.303 billion
($4.921 billion) representing .93% of its GDP.[104] 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.[105] The Belgian military consists
of volunteers (conscription was abolished in 1995), and
citizens of other EU states, Iceland, Norway,
Switzerland, or Lichtenstein are also able to join.
Belgium has troops deployed in several African countries
as part of UN or EU missions, in Iraq for the war against
the Islamic State, and in eastern Europe for the NATO
presence there.[103][106]
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.[107] 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.
According to the 2024 Global Peace Index,Belgium is
the 16th most peaceful country in the world.[108]
Economy
Main article: Economy of Belgium
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.[113]
The Belgian economy is heavily service-oriented and
shows a dual nature: a dynamic Flemish economy and a
Walloon economy that lags behind.[19][114][G] 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.[115]

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.[116] 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.[117][118] However, by the 1840s the textile
industry of Flanders was in severe crisis, and the region
experienced famine from 1846 to 1850.[119][120]
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.[121] 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.[122]
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.
[123]
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).[124][125] 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.[126]

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,[127] just about half of the 1.6
global hectares of biocapacity available per person
worldwide.[128] 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.[127]
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.[129] 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.[126][130] In 2016, the port of
Antwerp handled 214 million tons after a year-on-year
growth of 2.7%.[131]
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.[132][133][134]
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[135][136][137]
[138]
and mathematician Simon Stevin among the most
influential scientists.[139]
Chemist Ernest Solvay[140] and engineer Zenobe
Gramme (École industrielle de Liège)[141] 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.[142] 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.[143]
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.[144] Two Belgian
mathematicians have been awarded the Fields
Medal: Pierre Deligne in 1978 and Jean Bourgain in
1994.[145][146] Belgium was ranked 23rd in the Global
Innovation Index in 2023.[147]
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 2024, the total population of Belgium
according to its population register was 11,763,650.
[7]
The population density of Belgium is
383/km2 (990/sq mi) as of January 2024, 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 2024, the Flemish Region (Flanders) had a
population of 6,821,770 (58.0% of Belgium), its most
populous cities
being Antwerp (545,000), Ghent (270,000),
and Bruges (120,000). The Walloon Region (Wallonia)
had a population of 3,692,283 (31.4% of Belgium), its
most populous cities
being Charleroi (204,000), Liège (196,000),
and Namur (114,000). The Brussels-Capital
Region (Brussels) had a population of 1,249,597 (10.6%
of Belgium), existing of 19 municipalities, its most
populous cities being the city of
Brussels (197,000), Schaerbeek (130,000),
and Anderlecht (127,000).[7]
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.
[148]
Belgium subsequently has one of the oldest
populations in the world, with an average age of 41.6
years.[149]
Migration
As of 2007, nearly 92% of the population had Belgian
citizenship,[150] 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).[151][152] 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.[153][154]
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.[155] Of these new Belgians, 1,200,000 are of
European ancestry and 1,350,000[156] 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 Italian Belgians and Moroccan Belgians.[157] 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.[156]
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.[158]

Largest cities or t
Numbers according to the Belgium's N
 Rank Name Region Pop. Rank
1 Antwerp Flanders 536,079 11 Mol
2 Ghent Flanders 267,709 12 Mon
3 Charleroi Wallonia 203,245 13 Aals
4 Liège Wallonia 194,877 14 Mec
Antwerp 5 City of Brussels Brussels 192,950 15 Ixel
6 Schaerbeek/Schaarbeek Brussels 130,422 16 Ucc
7 Anderlecht Brussels 124,353 17 La L
8 Bruges Flanders 119,445 18 Sint
Ghent 9 Namur Wallonia 113,174 19 Has
10 Leuven Flanders 102,851 20 Kor
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.[160] As no census exists, there are no
official statistical data regarding the distribution or usage
of Belgium's three official languages or their dialects.
[161]
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.[H]
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.[I]
[162]
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.[163][164][165][166]
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,[167][168] is now only understood and spoken
occasionally, mostly by elderly people. Walloon is
divided into four dialects, which along with those
of Picard,[169] are rarely used in public life and have
largely been replaced by French.
Religion
 National Basilica of the Sacred
Heart in Koekelberg, Brussels
Main article: Religion in Belgium
The Constitution of Belgium provides for freedom of
religion, and the government respects this right in
practice.[170] Belgium officially recognizes three religions:
Christianity (Catholic, Protestantism, Orthodox churches
and Anglicanism), Islam and Judaism.[171] During the
reigns of Albert I and Baudouin, the Belgian royal
family had a reputation of deeply rooted Catholicism.[170]
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,[172] 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).[173] Despite the drop in church
attendance, Catholic identity nevertheless remains an
important part of Belgium's culture.[170]
According to the Eurobarometer 2010,[174] 37% of Belgian
citizens believe in God, 31% in some sort of spirit or life-
force. 27% do not believe in 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 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.
[175]
The same survey held in 2012 found that Christianity
was the largest religion in Belgium, accounting for 65%
of Belgians.[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.
[179][180]

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.
[113]
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.[181]
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.[181] 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.[181]
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.[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.[169]
[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 is organized separately by each
community. The Flemish Community scores noticeably
above the French and German-speaking Communities.
[188]

Mirroring the structure of the 19th-century Belgian

political landscape, characterized by the Liberal and
the Catholic parties, the educational system is
segregated into secular and religious schools. 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, which are also 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.[19][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]
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, 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.[J] 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,[K] 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 organized 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' 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] 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 Carbonade (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.
 The Administration de l'Éducation Physique et du
[221]

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 among the best on
the FIFA World Rankings ever since November 2015,
when it reached the top spot for the first time.[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 also have 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 and Remco Evenepoel were the 2012 and 2022
world champions, respectively. Other well-known Belgian
cyclists are Tom Boonen and Wout van Aert.
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.