Official Name: Kingdom of Belgium
Capital: Brussels
System of Government: Constitutional Monarch Belgium is located in North West Europe. It is bound by the Netherlands to the north, France to the south, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast and the North Sea to the northwest. The country's topography is that of a great fertile low lying plain which constitutes the north and west. South of central Belgium the terrain consists of rolling undulating hills and valleys which rise gradually to the east. Further south and to the east the hills give way to the mountainous Ardennes forests. The principal river in the southern Wallonia region is the Meuse with its tributaries the Semois, Sambre and Ourthe while the Scheldt with its tributaries is the principal river for the northern Flanders region. Major Cities (pop. est.); Brussels 142,000, Antwerp 477,000, Ghent 231,000, Charleroi 210,000, Liege 203,000 (1991). Land Use; forested 21%, pastures 21%, agricultural-cultivated 24%, other 34% (1994). PeopleOriginally the people of Belgium were of Celtic origin, although most were wiped out during the Christian era. Belgium is now comprised of Celtic, Roman, German, French, Dutch, Spanish and Austrian descendants. Today Belgium is divided linguistically with two main groups (1.) the Dutch speakers called Flemings and (2.) the French speakers called Walloons. Other ethnic minorities include immigrants from Italy, Morocco, Turkey, Spain, Algeria, Portugal and Zaire.
Holidays, culture, etc.
Religions: Mostly Christians with 90% of the population Roman Catholic. The principal religious minority are Sunni Muslims which account for 1.1% of the population. Other minorities include Jews, Protestants and Orthodox Christians which are found in scattered communities.
Languages: The official languages are Flemish (Dutch), French and German. With approximately 56% of the population speaking Dutch while 32% speak French and 1% speak German. Various dialects are spoken by the Flemish and Walloons, although it is less common in public or formal situations and is more common in rural areas and informal situations.
