| Basic Facts |
| Official name |
Kingdom of Belgium |
| |
| Capital |
Brussels |
| |
| Area |
30,528 sq km |
| |
11,787 sq mi |
| |
| |
| |
| People |
| Population |
10,274,595 (2002
estimate) |
| |
| Population growth |
| Population growth rate |
0.15 percent (2002
estimate) |
| |
| |
| Projected population in 2025 |
10,264,899 (2000
estimate) |
| |
| |
| Projected population in 2050 |
9,338,284 (2000
estimate) |
| |
| |
| |
| Population density |
337 persons per sq
km (2002 estimate) |
| |
872 persons per sq
mi (2002 estimate) |
| |
| |
| |
| Urban/rural
distribution |
| Share urban |
97 percent (2000
estimate) |
| |
| |
| Share rural |
3 percent (2000
estimate) |
| |
| |
| |
| Largest cities, with
population |
| Brussels |
959,318 (2000
estimate) |
| |
| |
| Antwerp |
446,525 (2000
estimate) |
| |
| |
| Ghent |
224,180 (2000
estimate) |
| |
| |
| Charleroi |
200,827 (2000
estimate) |
| |
| |
| Liège |
185,639 (2000
estimate) |
| |
| |
| |
| Ethnic groups |
| Flemish |
55 percent |
| |
| |
| Walloon |
33 percent |
| |
| |
| Mixed or other |
12 percent |
| |
| |
| |
| Languages |
| Dutch (official) |
56 percent |
| |
| |
| French (official) |
32 percent |
| |
| |
| German (official) |
1 percent |
| |
| |
| Legally bilingual (divided
along ethnic lines) |
11 percent |
| |
| |
| |
| Religious
affiliations |
| Roman Catholic |
81 percent |
| |
| |
| Protestant |
1 percent |
| |
| |
| Muslims |
4 percent |
| |
| |
| Nonreligious |
6 percent |
| |
| |
| Other |
8 percent |
| |
| |
| |
| Health and Education |
| Life expectancy |
| Total |
78.1 years (2002
estimate) |
| |
| |
| Female |
81.6 years (2002
estimate) |
| |
| |
| Male |
74.8 years (2002
estimate) |
| |
| |
| |
| Infant mortality rate |
5 deaths per 1,000
live births (2002 estimate) |
| |
| Population per physician |
263 people (1999) |
| |
| Population per hospital bed |
137 people (1997) |
| |
| Literacy rate |
| Total |
99 percent (1995) |
| |
| |
| Female |
Not available |
| |
| |
| Male |
Not available |
| |
| |
| |
| Education expenditure as a share
of gross national product (GNP) |
3.1 percent (1996) |
| |
| Number of years of compulsory
schooling |
12 years (1998) |
| |
| Number of students per teacher,
primary school |
12 students per
teacher (1997) |
| |
| Government |
| Form of government |
Constitutional
monarchy |
| |
| Head of state |
King |
| |
| Head of government |
Prime minister |
| |
| Legislature |
Bicameral
legislature |
| |
Chamber of
Representatives: 150 deputies |
| |
| |
| |
Senate: 71
senators |
| |
| |
| |
| Voting qualifications |
Universal and
compulsory at age 18 |
| |
| Constitution |
| 7 February 1831; last revised 14
July 1993. Parliament approved a constitutional package creating a
federal state. |
| |
| |
| Highest court |
Supreme Court of
Justice |
| |
| Armed forces |
Army, Navy, Air
Force |
| Total number of military
personnel |
39,420 (2001) |
| |
| |
| Military expenditures as a
share of gross domestic product (GDP) |
1.4 percent (2000) |
| |
| |
| |
| First-level political divisions |
Ten provinces in
three federal regions |
| |
| Economy |
| Gross domestic product (GDP, in
U.S.$) |
$226.6 billion
(2000) |
| |
| GDP per capita (U.S.$) |
$22,110 (2000) |
| |
| GDP by economic
sector |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing |
1.5 percent (2000) |
| |
| |
| Industry |
27 percent (2000) |
| |
| |
| Services |
71.5 percent
(2000) |
| |
| |
| |
| Employment |
| Number of workers |
4,267,908 (2000) |
| |
| |
| Workforce share of
economic sector |
| Agriculture, forestry,
fishing |
2 percent (1998) |
| |
| |
| Industry |
27 percent (1998) |
| |
| |
| Services |
71 percent (1998) |
| |
| |
| |
| Unemployment rate |
7 percent (2000) |
| |
| |
| |
| National budget
(U.S.$) |
| Total revenue |
$109,486 million
(1998) |
| |
| |
| Total expenditure |
$114,393 million
(1998) |
| |
| |
| |
| Monetary unit* |
| 1 Belgian franc (BF), consisting
of 100 centimes |
| |
| *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. |
| |
| |
| Agriculture |
| Sugar beets, potatoes, wheat,
barley, pork, beef, dairy products |
| |
| |
| Manufacturing |
| Metal products, motor vehicle
assembly, food processing, chemicals, metals, textiles |
| |
| |
| Major exports |
| Automobiles, food and food
products, iron and steel, diamonds, textiles, plastics, petroleum
products, nonferrous metals |
| |
| |
| Major imports |
| Food products, machinery, rough
diamonds, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, clothing and
accessories, textiles |
| |
| |
| Major trade partners
for exports |
| European Union (EU) countries,
United States, India |
| |
| |
| Major trade partners
for imports |
| EU countries, United States,
Japan |
| |
| |
| Energy, Communications, and
Transportation |
| Electricity
production |
| Electricity from thermal
sources |
40.01 percent
(1999 estimate) |
| |
| |
| Electricity from hydroelectric
sources |
0.42 percent (1999
estimate) |
| |
| |
| Electricity from nuclear
sources |
58.33 percent
(1999 estimate) |
| |
| |
| Electricity from geothermal,
solar, and wind sources |
1.23 percent (1999
estimate) |
| |
| |
| |
| Number of radios per 1,000 people |
797 (1997) |
| |
| Number of telephones per 1,000
people |
498 (2000) |
| |
| Number of televisions per 1,000
people |
466 (1997
estimate) |
| |
| Number of Internet hosts per
10,000 people |
352 (2000) |
| |
| Daily newspaper circulation per
1,000 people |
160 (1996) |
| |
| Number of motor vehicles per
1,000 people |
497 (1999) |
| |
| Paved road as a share of total
roads |
78 percent (2000) |
| |
| 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). |
| |
| |
| 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). |
| |
| |
| 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. |
| |
| |
| 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 latest Europa World
Yearbook and various International Monetary Fund (IMF)
publications. |
| |
| |
| 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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General Knowledge :: Belgium Facts and Figures