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FACTS
ABOUT BELGIUM
Geography Belgium
Location: Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between France and the
Netherlands
Area: total: 30,528 sq km
land: 30,278 sq km
water: 250 sq km about the size of Maryland
Land boundaries: total: 1,385 km
border countries: France 620 km, Germany 167 km, Luxembourg 148 km, Netherlands
450 km
Coastline: 66.5 km
Climate: temperate; mild winters, cool summers; rainy, humid, cloudy
Elevation extremes: lowest point: North Sea 0 m
highest point: Signal de Botrange 694 m
Natural resources: construction materials, silica sand, carbonates
Geography - note: crossroads of Western Europe; majority of West European
capitals within 1,000 km of Brussels, the seat of both the European Union
and NATO
Population: 10,392,226 (July 2007 est.)
Ethnic groups: Fleming 58%, Walloon 31%, mixed or other 11%
Religions: Roman Catholic 75%, other (includes Protestant) 25%
Languages: Dutch (official) 60%, French (official) 40%, German (official)
less than 1%, legally bilingual (Dutch and French)
Government type: federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional
monarchy
Capital: name: Brussels
Independence: 4 October 1830 (a provisional government declared
independence from the Netherlands); 21 July 1831 (King LEOPOLD I ascended
to the throne)
National holiday: 21 July (1831) ascension to the Throne of King
Leopold I
Flag description: three equal vertical bands of black (hoist side),
yellow, and red; the design was based on the flag of France
From: CIA factbook, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/be.html
Belgium has given the world Audrey Hepburn, René Magritte, Tintin,
the saxophone and deep-fried potato slices that somehow are called French.
It is the region where Napoleon surrendered in Waterloo, and where Hitler
spent his last days in. It was the region that the Julius Caesar called “the
bravest of all Celts.”
Belgium was a part of the Netherlands (see Netherlands) until it became
independent in 1830. Since then it has six kings, and was occupied by the
Germans during WWII. Belgium was one of the founding countries of the NATO
and the EU. It participated in the introduction of the euro in 1999.
Belgium has the second largest harbor in the world, after Rotterdam, the
Netherlands. And it is the European trade center for diamonds.
It is famous for their chocolate, beer and waffles. There is a 680 different
kind of beers!
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