Within this broad region, Caesar referred to a specific area as “Belgium,” which was politically dominant and located in what is now northern France. He described the Belgae as the bravest of the Gauls, and attributed this to their distance from the Roman Province, minimal contact with merchants importing luxury goods, and their continual warfare with the neighboring Germanic tribes across the Rhine. In the 19th century it was one of the earliest participants of the Industrial Revolution, and the first country in continental Europe to become industrialised. Centuries of being contested and controlled by various European powers earned Belgium the moniker “the Battlefield of Europe”, a reputation reinforced in the 20th century by both world wars. Brussels also hosts the headquarters of many major international organizations, such as NATO.f Belgium’s linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in its complex system of governance, made up of six different governments.

Belgium is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy with a complex federal system structured on regional and linguistic grounds. The capital and largest metropolitan region is Brussels;d other major cities are Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi, Liège, Bruges, Namur, and Leuven. Belgium is famous for beer, chocolate, waffles and french fries. In the 19th and 20th centuries, there were major violinists, such as Henri Vieuxtemps, Eugène Ysaÿe and Arthur Grumiaux.

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• 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 bicameral federal parliament is composed of a Senate and a Chamber of Representatives.
• Following Caesar’s conquests, Gallia Belgica became the Latin name for a large Roman province encompassing most of Northern Gaul, including the lands of the Belgae and Treveri.
• Belgium was the first continental European country to undergo the Industrial Revolution, in the early 19th century.

After World War II, the people made king Leopold III leave his throne in 1951. The country was again invaded by Germany in 1940 and under German control until 1944. During the war Belgium took over Ruanda-Urundi (modern-day Rwanda and Burundi). This was part of World War I. The opening months of the war were very bad in Belgium.

Languages

However, the incumbent coalition (composed of Flemish and French-speaking Social Democrats, Liberals, and Christian Democrats) maintained a solid majority in Parliament and all electoral constituencies. He appoints ministers, including a Prime Minister, that have the confidence of the Chamber of Representatives to form the federal government. Since the 1970s, sports clubs are organised separately by each language community. Many other major authors, including Peyo, André Franquin, Edgar P. Jacobs and Willy Vandersteen brought the Belgian cartoon strip industry a worldwide fame. Flanders and Wallonia both also have their own regional governments, and there is a notable independence movement in Flanders. The Administration de l’Éducation Physique et du Sport (ADEPS) is responsible for recognising the various French-speaking sports federations and also runs three sports centres in the Brussels-Capital Region.

Government

• The population is about 60% Dutch-speaking, 39% French-speaking, and 1% German-speaking (the so-called Deutschbelgier).
• According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, the territory of Belgium belongs to the terrestrial ecoregions of Atlantic mixed forests and Western European broadleaf forests.
• 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.
• Belgium,b officially the Kingdom of Belgium,c is a country in Northwestern Europe.

As of 1 January 2024, the total population of Belgium according to its population register was 11,763,650. Belgium was ranked 24th in the Global Innovation Index in 2024, and its ranking advanced to 21st in the index of 2025 Ilya Prigogine (Université libre de Bruxelles) was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1977. François Englert (Université libre de Bruxelles) was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2013.

Currently, the Belgian Marine Component is working closely together with the Dutch Navy under the command of the Admiral Benelux. The Belgians, along with the Luxembourg government, sent a detachment of battalion strength to fight in Korea known as the Belgian United Nations Command. 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. 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. 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. These include economy, employment, agriculture, water policy, housing, public works, energy, transport, the environment, town and country planning, nature conservation, credit and foreign trade.

Belgium Demographics

The Federal Government is responsible for the obligations of Belgium and its federalized institutions towards the European Union and NATO. Thus the Flemings just have one single institutional body of parliament and government is empowered for all except federal and specific municipal matters.n 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. The 2014 federal election (coinciding with the regional elections) resulted in a further electoral gain for the Flemish nationalist N-VA. By 30 March 2011, this set a new world record for the elapsed time without an official government, previously held by war-torn Iraq.

Belgium Travel Information

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. The Eighty Years’ War (1568–1648) was triggered by the Spanish government’s policy towards Protestantism, which was becoming popular in the Low Countries. 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.

Foreign relations

The union, technically stretching between two kingdoms, gave the area economic and political stability which led to an even greater prosperity and artistic creation. This prosperity played a role in conflicts between Flanders and the king of France. The lordships and bishoprics along the “March” (frontier) between the two great kingdoms maintained important connections between each other. 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. 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. Following Caesar’s conquests, Gallia Belgica became the Latin name for a large Roman province encompassing most of Northern Gaul, including the lands of the Belgae and Treveri.

As no census exists, there are no official statistical data regarding the distribution or usage of Belgium’s three official languages or their dialects. 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. Statbel released figures of the Belgian population in relation to the origin of people in Belgium. 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. In 2007, there were 1.38 million foreign-born residents in Belgium, corresponding to 12.9% of the total population. As of 2007update, nearly 92% of the population had Belgian citizenship, and other European Union member citizens account for around 6%.

Victor Horta and Henry van de Velde were major starters of the Art Nouveau style. Several examples of major architectural places in Belgium belong to UNESCO’s World Heritage List. In February 2014, Belgium became the first country in the world to legalize euthanasia without any age limits. Ilya Prigogine was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1977. A major addition to science was also due to a Belgian, Georges Lemaître. Adding to science and technology has happened throughout the country’s history.

People and Society

French-speaking Belgians are often referred to as Walloons, although the French speakers in Brussels are not Walloons.p However, various criteria, including the language(s) of parents, of education, or the second-language status of foreign born, may provide suggested figures. Since then, Flanders has been prosperous, among the wealthiest regions in Europe, whereas Wallonia has been languishing. In the 1980s and 1990s, the economic center of the country continued to shift northwards and is now vegas casino apk concentrated in the populous Flemish Diamond area. 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. The budget—without the debt—controlled by the federal government amounts to about 50% of the national fiscal income.

Its capital, Brussels, is the home of many organizations including the European Union and NATO. What type of government does Belgium have? What is the population of Belgium? 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. 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. 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.

Belgium Government

Since the 1970s, sports clubs and federations are organized separately within each language community. Folklore plays a major role in Belgium’s cultural life; the country has a comparatively high number of processions, cavalcades, parades, ommegangs, ducasses,s kermesses, and other local festivals, nearly always with an originally religious or mythological background. 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. 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. The Flemish Community scores noticeably above the French and German-speaking Communities. 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.

Belgium covers an area of 30,689 km2 (11,849 sq mi) and has a population of more than 11.8 million; its population density of 383/km2 (990/sq mi) ranks 22nd in the world and sixth in Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it 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. Belgium,b officially the Kingdom of Belgium,c is a country in Northwestern Europe. Any partnerships or business relationships we may have with any transportation service providers do not influence the ranking of these services. When you enter a destination in Google Maps, we show you how to get there by different travel modes, like driving, cycling, or walking. You can get directions for driving, public transit, walking, ride sharing, cycling, flight, or motorcycle on Google Maps.

Subsequently, Roman Belgica was divided into two parts, and the regions closer to the lower Rhine frontier, such as the eastern part of modern Belgium, were incorporated into the frontier province of Germania Inferior. Additionally, the area around Arlon in southern Belgium was part of the territory of the powerful Treveri tribe, whose lands extended into present-day Luxembourg and adjacent regions of France and Germany. This has resulted in several far-reaching state reforms, including the transition from a unitary to federal structure between 1970 and 1993.

Belgium is a constitutional, popular monarchy and a federal parliamentary democracy. 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. However, when the country’s statistics were measured in 2018, a new calculation method was used. 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. 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.