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. A string of Christian Democrat coalition governments from 1958 was broken in 1999 after the first dioxin crisis, a major food contamination scandal. 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.The judicial system is based on civil law and originates from the Napoleonic Code. The former is made up of 50 senators appointed by the parliaments of the communities and regions and 10 co-opted senators.
Migration
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 vegas casino apk in Physics in 2013.
- Many other major authors, including Peyo, André Franquin, Edgar P. Jacobs and Willy Vandersteen brought the Belgian cartoon strip industry a worldwide fame.
- 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.
- A slow shift of power during the 8th century led the kingdom of the Franks to change into the Carolingian Empire.
- There are several Jewish newspapers and more than 45 active synagogues (30 of which are in Antwerp) in the country.
- The Constitution of Belgium provides for freedom of religion, and the government respects this right in practice.
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. 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). 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 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.
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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.
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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.
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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. 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. 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.
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.
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 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.
The Constitution of Belgium provides for freedom of religion, and the government respects this right in practice. Walloon, considered either as a dialect of French or a distinct Romance language, is now only understood and spoken occasionally, mostly by elderly people. 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.
There are several Jewish newspapers and more than 45 active synagogues (30 of which are in Antwerp) in the country. Non-religious people comprised 41% of the population and were divided between atheists (15%) and agnostics or non-believers (26%). According to the Eurobarometer 2021, 49% of the total population of Belgium adhered to Christianity, with Catholicism being the largest denomination with 44%. The share of Christians was 34%, with Catholicism being the largest denomination at 31% of the population. The European Social Survey in 2023 found that people who did not belong to a religion comprised 59% of the population. Catholicism has traditionally been Belgium’s majority religion; being especially strong in Flanders.
- By the end of the 1980s, Belgian macroeconomic policies had resulted in a cumulative government debt of about 120% of GDP.
- 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.
- The population is about 60% Dutch-speaking, 39% French-speaking, and 1% German-speaking (the so-called Deutschbelgier).
- 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.
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By the end of the 1980s, Belgian macroeconomic policies had resulted in a cumulative government debt of about 120% of GDP. However, by the 1840s the textile industry of Flanders was in severe crisis, and the region experienced famine from 1846 to 1850. 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. Belgium was the first continental European country to undergo the Industrial Revolution, in the early 19th century. Its location at the heart of a highly industrialized region helped make it the world’s 15th largest trading nation in 2007. According to the 2024 Global Peace Index, Belgium is the 16th most peaceful country in the world.
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. Though an estimated 99% of the adult population is literate, concern is rising over functional illiteracy. Muslims constituted 24.1% of the population of Brussels, 8% of Wallonia and 7.6% of Flanders. Sociologist Jan Hertogen estimated that in 2022 approximately 9.6% of the Belgian population was Muslim.
Provinces
The Treaty of Verdun in 843 divided the region into Middle and West Francia. A slow shift of power during the 8th century led the kingdom of the Franks to change into the Carolingian Empire. The Germanic Frankish tribes during the 5th century brought the area under the rule of the Merovingian kings.
Middle Ages
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. Contributions to the development of science and technology have appeared throughout the country’s history. The divide has played a key part in the tensions between the Flemish and Walloons in addition to the already-existing language divide. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Foreign relations
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.
Between mid-2010 and late 2011, after no clear result in the election, Belgium had no official government, until Elio Di Rupo became Prime Minister. King Albert II left the throne on July 21, 2013 and the current king is Philippe. ¹ The city of Brussels does not lie in Flanders Region and therefore cannot be the largest city of this region. Signal de Botrange is the country’s highest point at 694 metres (2,277 ft). Its total area is 34,143 square kilometers (including sea area).
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.