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| Basic Facts |
| Official name |
Kingdom of Belgium |
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| Capital |
Brussels |
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| Area |
30,528 sq km |
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11,787 sq mi |
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| Belgium: Flag and Anthem |
 Expand |
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| People |
| Population |
10,392,226 (2007 estimate) |
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| Population growth |
| Population growth rate |
0.12 percent (2007 estimate) |
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| Projected population in 2025 |
10,453,261 (2007 estimate) |
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| Projected population in 2050 |
9,882,599 (2007 estimate) |
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| Population density |
343 persons per sq km (2007 estimate) |
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889 persons per sq mi (2007 estimate) |
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| Urban/rural distribution |
| Share urban |
97 percent (2005 estimate) |
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| Share rural |
3 percent (2005 estimate) |
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| Largest cities, with population |
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| Brussels |
1,024,492 (2006 estimate) |
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| Antwerp |
464,038 (2006 estimate) |
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| Ghent |
233,925 (2006 estimate) |
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| Charleroi |
201,456 (2006 estimate) |
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| Liège |
187,432 (2006 estimate) |
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| Ethnic groups |
| Flemish |
55 percent |
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| Walloon |
33 percent |
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| Mixed or other |
12 percent |
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| Languages |
| Dutch (official) |
56 percent |
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| French (official) |
32 percent |
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| German (official) |
1 percent |
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| Legally bilingual (divided along ethnic lines) |
11 percent |
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| Religious affiliations |
| Roman Catholic |
81 percent |
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| Protestant |
1 percent |
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| Muslims |
4 percent |
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| Nonreligious |
6 percent |
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| Other |
8 percent |
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| Health and Education |
| Life expectancy |
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| Total |
78.9 years (2007 estimate) |
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| Female |
82.2 years (2007 estimate) |
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| Male |
75.8 years (2007 estimate) |
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| Infant mortality rate |
5 deaths per 1,000 live births (2007 estimate) |
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| Population per physician |
239 people (2004) |
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| Population per hospital bed |
145 people (2002) |
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| Literacy rate |
| Total |
99 percent (1995) |
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| Female |
Not available |
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| Male |
Not available |
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| Education expenditure as a share of gross national product (GNP) |
6.2 percent (2002-2003) |
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| Number of years of compulsory schooling |
13 years (2002-2003) |
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| Number of students per teacher, primary school |
12 students per teacher (2002-2003) |
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| Government |
| Form of government |
Constitutional monarchy |
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| Head of state |
King |
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| Head of government |
Prime minister |
| Legislature |
Bicameral legislature |
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Chamber of Representatives: 150 deputies |
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Senate: 71 senators |
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| Voting qualifications |
Universal and compulsory at age 18 |
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| Constitution |
7 February 1831; revised 14 July 1993, June 2001 |
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| Highest court |
Supreme Court of Justice |
| Armed forces |
Army, Navy, Air Force |
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| Total number of military personnel |
36,900 (2004) |
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| Military expenditures as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) |
1.3 percent (2003) |
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| First-level political divisions |
Ten provinces in three federal regions |
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| Economy |
| Gross domestic product (GDP, in U.S.$) |
$370.8 billion (2005) |
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| GDP per capita (U.S.$) |
$35,388.60 (2005) |
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| GDP by economic sector |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing |
1 percent (2005) |
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| Industry |
24 percent (2005) |
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| Services |
74.9 percent (2005) |
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| Employment |
| Number of workers |
4,498,422 (2005) |
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| Workforce share of economic sector |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing |
2 percent (2003) |
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| Industry |
25 percent (2003) |
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| Services |
73 percent (2003) |
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| Unemployment rate |
7.4 percent (2004) |
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| National budget (U.S.$) |
| Total revenue |
$156,821 million (2005) |
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| Total expenditure |
$156,294 million (2005) |
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| Monetary unit* |
| 1 euro (€), consisting of 100 cents |
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| *The Belgian franc (BF) became linked to the EU single currency, the euro (€), on 1 January 1999 at a fixed rate of 40.3399 to 1 euro (€). Euro coins and bills replaced the Belgian franc as the national currency on January 1, 2002. |
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| Agriculture |
| Sugar beets, potatoes, wheat, barley, pork, beef, dairy products |
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| Manufacturing |
| Metal products, motor vehicle assembly, food processing, chemicals, metals, textiles |
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| Major exports |
| Automobiles, food and food products, iron and steel, diamonds, textiles, plastics, petroleum products, nonferrous metals |
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| Major imports |
| Food products, machinery, rough diamonds, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, clothing and accessories, textiles |
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| Major trade partners for exports |
| Germany, France, Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States |
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| Major trade partners for imports |
| Germany, Netherlands, France, United Kingdom, Ireland |
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| Energy, Communications, and Transportation |
| Electricity production |
| Electricity from thermal sources |
40.44 percent (2003 estimate) |
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| Electricity from hydroelectric sources |
0.30 percent (2003 estimate) |
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| Electricity from nuclear sources |
57.14 percent (2003 estimate) |
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| Electricity from geothermal, solar, and wind sources |
2.11 percent (2003 estimate) |
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| Number of radios per 1,000 people |
797 (1997) |
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| Number of telephones per 1,000 people |
456 (2004) |
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| Number of televisions per 1,000 people |
537 (2000 estimate) |
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| Number of Internet hosts per 10,000 people |
203 (2003) |
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| Daily newspaper circulation per 1,000 people |
160 (1996) |
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| Number of motor vehicles per 1,000 people |
527 (2003) |
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| Paved road as a share of total roads |
78 percent (2002) |
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| Sources |
| Basic Facts and People sections |
| Area data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Population, population growth rate, and population projections are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International Data Base (IDB) (www.census.gov). Urban and rural population data are from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), FAOSTAT database (www.fao.org). Largest cities population data and political divisions data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Ethnic divisions and religion data are largely from the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook and from various country censuses and reports. Language data are largely from the Ethnologue, Languages of the World, Summer Institute of Linguistics International (www.sil.org). |
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| Health and Education section |
| Life expectancy and infant mortality data are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International database (IDB) (www.census.gov). Population per physician and population per hospital bed data are from the World Health Organization (WHO) (www.who.int). Education data are from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org). |
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| Government section |
| Government, independence, legislature, constitution, highest court, and voting qualifications data are largely from various government Web sites, the latest Europa World Yearbook, and the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook. The armed forces data is from Military Balance. |
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| Economy section |
| Gross domestic product (GDP), GDP per capita, GDP by economic sectors, employment, and national budget data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org). Monetary unit, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, exports, imports, and major trade partner information is from the statistical bureaus of individual countries, latest Europa World Yearbook, and various United Nations and International Monetary Fund (IMF) publications. |
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| Energy, Communication, and Transportation section |
| Electricity information is from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) database (www.eia.doe.gov). Radio, telephone, television, and newspaper information is from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org). Internet hosts, motor vehicles, and road data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org). |
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| Note |
| Figures may not total 100 percent due to rounding. |
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