|
Kingdom of Belgium |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|||||
|
Anthem: "La Brabançonne"
|
|||||
|
Location of Belgium (dark green)
– in Europe (green & dark grey) |
|||||
| Capital |
Brussels 50°51′N 4°21′E / 50.850°N 4.350°E |
||||
| Largest city | Antwerp | ||||
| Official languages |
Dutch French German |
||||
| Ethnic groups | see Demographics | ||||
| Demonym | Belgian | ||||
| Government |
Federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
||||
|
• Monarch
|
Philippe | ||||
| Charles Michel | |||||
| Legislature | Federal Parliament | ||||
| Senate | |||||
| Chamber of Representatives | |||||
| Independence from the Netherlands | |||||
|
• Declared
|
4 October 1830 | ||||
| 19 April 1839 | |||||
| 1 January 1958 | |||||
| Area | |||||
|
• Total
|
30,528 km2 (11,787 sq mi) (140th) | ||||
|
• Water (%)
|
6.4 | ||||
| Population | |||||
|
• 1 January 2016 census
|
11,250,585 (75th) | ||||
|
• Density
|
363.6/km2 (941.7/sq mi) (23rd) | ||||
| GDP (PPP) | 2016 estimate | ||||
|
• Total
|
$508.598 billion (38th) | ||||
|
• Per capita
|
$44,881 (20th) | ||||
| GDP (nominal) | 2016 estimate | ||||
|
• Total
|
$470.179 billion (23rd) | ||||
|
• Per capita
|
$41,491 (17th) | ||||
| Gini (2011) | 26.3 low |
||||
| HDI (2014) |
very high · 21st |
||||
| Currency | Euro (€) (EUR) | ||||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||||
|
• Summer (DST)
|
CEST (UTC+2) | ||||
| Drives on the | right | ||||
| Calling code | +32 | ||||
| ISO 3166 code | BE | ||||
| Internet TLD | .be | ||||
|
|||||
Coordinates: 50°50′N 4°00′E / 50.833°N 4.000°E
– in Europe (green & dark grey)
– in the European Union (green)
Belgium (
i/ˈbɛldʒəm/; Dutch: België [ˈbɛlɣijə]; French: Belgique [bɛlʒik]; German: Belgien [ˈbɛlɡiən̩]), officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a sovereign state in Western Europe bordered by France, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, and the North Sea. It is a small, densely populated country which covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres (11,787 sq mi) and has a population of about 11 million people. Straddling the cultural boundary between Germanic and Latin Europe, Belgium is home to two main linguistic groups: the Dutch-speaking, mostly Flemish community, which constitutes about 59% of the population, and the French-speaking, mostly Walloon population, which comprises 41% of all Belgians. Additionally, there is a small group of German-speakers who live in the East Cantons located around the High Fens area, and bordering Germany.