Belgium

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{{Infobox Country or territory|native_name = Koninkrijk België Royaume de Belgique Königreich Belgien|conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Belgium|common_name = Belgium|image_flag = Flag of Belgium.svg|image_coat = Belgium coat of arms large.png|symbol_type = Coat of arms|national_motto = Eendracht maakt macht(Dutch language)L'union fait la force"(French language)Einigkeit macht stark(German language)"Strength through Unity"|image_map = Location Belgium EU Europe.png|map_caption = |national_anthem = The Brabançonne|official_languages = Dutch language, French language, German language|demonym = Belgian|capital = Brussels|government_type = [Federal constitutional monarchy and bicameral parliamentary democracy|leader_title2 = [List of Prime Ministers of Belgium|leader_name1 = Albert II of Belgium|leader_name2 = [Guy Verhofstadt-->|area_rank = 139th|area_magnitude = 1 E10|percent_water = 6.4|population_estimate = 10,511,382{{cite web |title=Structuur van de bevolking — België / Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest / Vlaams Gewest / Waals Gewest / De 25 bevolkingsrijkste gemeenten (2000–2006) |date=© 1998/2007 |language=[Dutch language |publisher=Belgian Federal Government Service (ministry) of Economy — Directorate-general Statistics Belgium |url=http://statbel.fgov.be/figures/d21_nl.asp#2 |format=asp |accessdate=2007-05-23 --> |population_estimate_year = 2006|population_estimate_rank = 76th |population_census = 10,296,350|population_census_year = 2001|population_density_km2 = 344.32|population_density_rank = 2006) (29th |population_density_sq_mi = 892 ]|GDP_PPP_rank = 30th|GDP_PPP_per_capita = $31,400|GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 13th|Gini = 33|Gini_year = 2000|Gini_rank = 33rd|Gini_category = medium|HDI_year = 2004|HDI = 0.945|HDI_rank = 13th|HDI_category = high|sovereignty_type = Belgian Revolution|sovereighty_note = from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands|established_event1 = Declared|established_date1 = 4 October 1830|established_date2 = [19 April 1839 [1957 ([Euro sign)1|currency_code = EUR|time_zone = Central European Time|utc_offset = +1|time_zone_DST = Central European Summer Time|utc_offset_DST = +2|cctld = .be²].|footnote2 = The .eu domain is also used, as it is shared with other European Union member states.-->

The Kingdom of Belgium is a country in Western Europe bordered by Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, and France, with a short coastline on the North Sea. It is one of the founding members of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO.Footnote: Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many international organizations, including ACCT, AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, Benelux, Bank for International Settlements, Convention on Cybercrime, Council of Europe, CERN, Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, EBRD, European Investment Bank, Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union, ESA, EU, FAO, Group of Ten (economic), IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, International Criminal Court, International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, International Development Association, Inter-American Development Bank, International Energy Agency, IFAD, International Finance Corporation, IFRCS, IHO, International Labour Organization, IMF, International Maritime Organization, IMSO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, International Organization for Migration, International Organization for Standardization, ITU, MONUC (observers), NATO, Nuclear Energy Agency, Nuclear Suppliers Group, Organization of American States (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Permanent Court of Arbitration, UN, UNCTAD, UNECE, UNESCO, UNHCR, United Nations Industrial Development Organization, UNMIK, UNMOGIP, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, West African Development Bank (non-regional), WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, Zangger Committee. Belgium covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres (11,787 square miles) and has a population of about 10.5 million.

Straddling the cultural boundary between Germanic Europe and Latin Europe, Belgium's two largest regions are Dutch language-speaking Flemish Region in the north, with 58% of the population, and the French language-speaking southern region of Walloon Region, inhabited by 32%. The Brussels-Capital Region is an officially bilingual List of enclaves and exclaves#Subnational enclaves which are not exclaves within the Flemish region and near the Walloon Region, and has 10% of the population.{{cite web]|date=2007-01-18, [Quebec - Leuvens Universitair Dienstencentrum voor Informatica en Telematica|url=http://perswww.kuleuven.be/~u0025631/pdf/RANDBRUS.pdf|format=pdf|accessdate=2007-06-21--> A small [German-speaking Community of Belgium exists in eastern Wallonia.{{cite web|title=The German-speaking Community|publisher=The German-speaking Community|url=http://www.dglive.be/EN/Desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-1263/2264_read-27181/|accessdate=2007-05-05--> The (original) version in German language (already) mentions 73,000 instead of 71,500 inhabitants. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political and cultural conflicts are reflected in the history of Belgium and a complex Communities and regions of Belgium.{{cite web|title=Language dispute divides Belgium|author=Morris, Chris|publisher=BBC News|date=2005-05-13|publisher=Vereniging voor Brusselse Geschiedenis (Society for History of Brussels)|url=http://www.paulderidder.be/history.htm|accessdate=2007-05-01-->{{cite web|title=Langues majoritaires, langues minoritaires, dialectes et NTIC|date=[2001-09-25|author=Petermann, Simon, Professor at the University of Liège, Wallonia, Belgium — at colloquium IXe Sommet de la francophonie — Intitiatives 2001 — Ethique et nouvelles technologies, session 6 Cultures et langues, la place des minorités, [Bayreuth, a [Roman province in the northernmost part of Gaul that was inhabited by the Belgae, a mix of Celts and Germanic peoples peoples.{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire|author=Bunson, Matthew|year=1994|pages=p. 169|edition=Hardcover 352pp|publisher=Facts on File, New York|isbn=0 8160 2135 X 512pp, ISBN 0-8160-3182-7; Revised edition (2002), Hardcover 636pp, ISBN 0-8160-4562-3-->Footnote: The Celtic and/or Germanic influences on and origin(s) of the Belgae remains disputed. Further reading e.g.{{cite web|title=Ethnic and Cultural Identity|work=Barbarians on the Greek Periphery? — Origins of Celtic Art|year=1997 |month=May|author=Witt, Constanze Maria|publisher=Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities, University of Virginia, which used to cover a somewhat larger area than the current [Benelux group of states. From the end of the Middle Ages until the seventeenth century, it was a prosperous centre of commerce and culture. From the sixteenth century until the Belgian revolution in 1830, many battles between European powers were fought in the area of Belgium, causing it to be dubbed "the battlefield of Europe"{{cite web]|quote=die Bezeichnung Belgiens als „the cockpit of Europe” (James Howell, 1640), die damals noch auf eine kriegerische Hahnenkampf-Arena hindeutete|language=German language|author=Haß, Torsten, Head of the :de:Fachhochschule Kehl Library, Kehl, Germany])|url=http://www.fh-kehl.de/zeitung/rezensionen/2003/cook,belgium.htm|accessdate=2007-05-24--> – The book reviewer, Haß, attributes the expression in English to James Howell in 1640. Howell's original phrase "the cockpit of Christendom" became modified afterwards, as shown by: {{cite web]) – a reputation strengthened by both World Wars. Upon its independence, Belgium eagerly participated in the Industrial Revolution,{{cite web], teached at the Université Libre de Bruxelles|publisher= EUbusiness, Richmond, UK|url=http://www.eubusiness.com/Belgium/belgium-country-profile/|accessdate=2007-08-12--> generating wealth and also a demand for raw materials; the latter was a factor during [Belgian colonial empire.{{cite web|title=Chapter 27. The Age of Imperialism (Section 2. The Partition of Africa)|work=World History II|author=Karl, Farah (text); Stoneking, James (course)|year=1999|publisher=Appomatox Regional Governor's School (History Department), Petersburg, VA, USA|url=http://www.args.k12.va.us/academics/history/Stoneking/chapters/world2/world27.pdf|format=pdf|accessdate=2007-08-16-->

History (orange, brown and yellow areas) and the Bishopric of Liège (green)The area of present-day Belgium has seen significant demographic, political and cultural upheavals over the course of two millenia. In the first century BC, the Roman Republic, after defeating the local tribes, created the province of Gallia Belgica. A Migration Period by Germanic Franks tribes during the fifth century, brought the area under the rule of the Merovingian kingdom, which evolved into the Carolingian Empire in the eighth century. During the Middle Ages small feudal states emerged, many of which rejoined as the Burgundian Netherlands in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor completed the union of the Seventeen Provinces in the 1540s, and unofficially also controlled the Prince-Bishopric of Liège.{{cite web] (1568–1648) divided the area into the northern Republic of the Seven United Provinces of the Netherlands ('federate' Belgica Foederata in Latin) and the Southern Netherlands ('royal' Belgica Regia). The latter were ruled successively by the Habsburg Spain and the History of Austria#Charles VI and Maria Theresa (1711-1780) Habsburgs and comprised most of modern Belgium. Until independence the area was sought after by numerous French conquerors and was the theatre of most Franco-Spanish War (1653) and Franco-Austrian War during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.Footnote: Further reading: Early Modern France#France in the 17th and 18th centuries Following the French Revolutionary Wars: Campaigns of 1794, the Low Countries – including territories that were never nominally under Habsburg rule, such as the Prince-Bishopric of Liège – were annexed by the French First Republic, ending Spanish-Austrian rule in the region. The reunification of the Low Countries as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands occurred at the dissolution of the First French Empire in 1815.

The 1830 Belgian Revolution led to the establishment of an independent, Roman Catholic Church, and neutral Belgium under a Provisional Government of Belgium and a national Congress of Belgium. Since the installation of Leopold I of Belgium as king in 1831, Belgium has been a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy. Initially an oligarchy ruled mainly by the Catholic Party (Belgium) and the Liberal Party (Belgium), the country had evolved towards universal suffrage by World War II with the rise of the Belgische Werkliedenpartij and trade unions playing a strong role. French, once the single official language and adopted by the nobility and the bourgeoisie, had by then lost its overall importance as Dutch had become recognized as well. However, it was not until 1967 that an official Dutch version of the Belgian Constitution was accepted.{{cite web|title=Ethnic structure, inequality and governance of the public sector in Belgium|author= Kris Deschouwer|publisher=United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD)|month=January|year=2004|url=http://www.unrisd.org/UNRISD/website/document.nsf/ab82a6805797760f80256b4f005da1ab/ec506a59176be044c1256e9e003077c3/$FILE/Deschou.pdf|format=pdf|accessdate=2007-05-22-->

,in the Ancient Art Museum, Brussels.The Berlin Conference of 1885 gave the Congo Free State to Léopold II of Belgium as his private possession. In 1908, it was ceded to Belgium as a colony, henceforth called the Belgian Congo. Belgian control of the Congolese population, particularly under Leopold II, was savage, and the country was plundered of resources such as ivory and rubber.{{cite book]|author=Meredith, Mark|publisher= Free Press|isbn=0-7432-3221-6-->

Germany invaded Belgium in 1914, as part of the Schlieffen Plan, and much of the Western Front (World War I) fighting of World War I occurred in western parts of the country. Belgium took over the German colonies of Ruanda-Urundi (modern day Rwanda and Burundi) during the war, and they were mandated to Belgium in 1924 by the League of Nations, of which it was a founding member. The Treaty of Versailles had subjected several German border towns, most notably Eupen and Malmedy, to a plebiscite, which led to their annexation by Belgium in 1925, thereby causing the presence of a small German community. Belgium was again invaded by Germany in 1940 during the Blitzkrieg offensive, and occupied until its liberation by Allies troops in the winter of 1944–45. The Belgian Congo gained independence in 1960 during the Congo Crisis; Ruanda-Urundi followed two years later.

After World War II, Belgium joined NATO, headquartered at Brussels, and formed the Benelux group of nations with the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Belgium became one of the six founding members of the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951, and of the 1957 established European Atomic Energy Community and European Economic Community. The latter is now 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.

Government and politics Belgium is a constitutional monarchy, popular monarchy and a parliamentary system.

In the nineteenth century, the Francophile political and economic elite treated the Flemish-speaking population as second class citizens. At the end of the nineteenth century, and during much of the twentieth century, the Flemish movement evolved to counter this situation. A very sensitive issue is that fractions of this movement were not unsympathetic to the German occupation during World War II. Following World War II, Belgian politics became increasingly dominated by the autonomy of its two main language communities. Intercommunal tensions rose and even the Partition of Belgium became scrutinized. Through constitutional reforms in the 1970s and 1980s,regionalism of the unitary state led to a three-tiered federation: federalism, regional, and community governments were created, a compromise designed to minimize linguistic, cultural, social and economic tensions..

, Prime Minister of mainly Liberal - Social Democrat governments for two full termsThe federal bicameralism parliament is composed of a Belgian Senate and a Belgian Chamber of People's Representatives. The former is made up of 40 directly elected politicians and 21 representatives appointed by the Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, 10 Belgian Senate#Coopted Senators and as Belgian Senate#Senators by Right who in practice do not cast their vote, currently Philippe, Duke of Brabant, Princess Astrid of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este and Prince Laurent of Belgium, children of the King. The Chamber's 150 representatives are elected under a proportional voting system from 11 Arrondissements of Belgium. Belgium is one of the few countries that has compulsory voting, and thus holds one of the highest rates of voter turnout in the world.{{cite web]|url=http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/cache/papers/cs/25027/http:zSzzSzwww2.trincoll.eduzSz~mfranklizSzParticipation.pdf/franklin01dynamics.pdf|format=pdf|accessdate=2007-05-29-->

The Monarchy of Belgium (currently Albert II of Belgium) is the head of state, though with limited Royal Prerogative. He appoints ministers, including a Prime Minister, that have the confidence of the Chamber of Representatives to form the federal government. The numbers of Dutch- and French-speaking ministers are equal as prescribed by the Constitution.{{cite web] ; and Title III, Chapter III King and Federal Government, Section I The King ; and Section II The Federal Government, Article 99 Composition of Government, [Switzerland|url=http://www.servat.unibe.ch/law/icl/be00000_.html|accessdate=2007-05-20--> Or both:
*{{cite web|title=Title III On Power, Chapter II On the Senate, Art. 72|work=The Constitution of Belgium|publisher=The Federal Parliament of Belgium|date=[1997-01-21|url=http://www.fed-parl.be/gwuk0006.htm#E11E6|accessdate=2007-05-20--> The judicial system is based on [Civil law (legal system) and originates from the Napoleonic code. The Court of Cassation (Belgium) is the court of last resort, with the Court of Appeals one level below.

Belgium's political institutions are complex; most political power is organized around the need to represent the main cultural communities. Since around 1970, the significant national Belgian political party have split into distinct components that mainly represent the political and linguistic interests of these communities. The major parties in each community, though close to the centrism, belong to three main groups: the right-wing politics Liberals, the Social conservatism Christian democracy, and the Social democracy forming the left-wing politics. Further notable parties came to be well after the middle of last century, mainly around List of political parties in Belgium#Linguistic parties, nationalism, or worldwide green parties themes, and recently smaller ones of Liberalism in Belgium#Timeline nature.

A string of Christian Democrat coalition governments from 1958 was broken in Belgian general election, 1999 after the first dioxin crisis, a major food contamination scandal which led to the establishment of the Belgian Food Agency.{{cite web]|url=http://www.wsws.org/articles/1999/jun1999/belg-j08.shtml|accessdate=2007-05-25--> – Follow-up on occasion of 2nd dioxin crisis: α{{cite press release|title=Food Law News - EU : CONTAMINANTS - Commission Press Release (IP/99/399) Preliminary results of EU-inspection to Belgium|date=1999-06-16|publisher=School of Food Biosciences, University of Reading, UK|url=http://www.foodlaw.rdg.ac.uk/news/eu-99-40.htm|accessdate=2007-05-29--> A 'rainbow [coalition' emerged from six parties: the Flemish and the French-speaking Liberals, Social Democrats, Greens.{{cite news]|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/392004.stm|accessdate=2007-05-20--> Later, a 'purple coalition' of Liberals and Social Democrats formed after the Greens lost most of their seats in the Belgian general election, 2003.{{cite web|title=La Chambre des représentants — Composition (Composition of the Chamber of Representatives)|date=2006-03-09|url=http://www.lachambre.be/kvvcr/pdf_sections/pri/fiche/10F.pdf|format=pdf|accessdate=2007-05-25--> The government led by Prime Minister [Guy Verhofstadt from 1999 to 2007 achieved a balanced budget, scheduled Nuclear energy policy#Europe, and instigated legislation allowing more stringent War Crimes Law (Belgium) and more lenient soft drugs prosecution. Restrictions on withholding euthanasia#Belgium were reduced and same-sex marriage in Belgium legalized. The government promoted active diplomacy in Africa{{cite web|title=Rwanda|work=tiscali.reference|publisher=Tiscali UK|url=http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/hutchinson/m0019846.html|accessdate=2007-05-27--> The article shows an example of Belgium's recent African policies. and opposed a military intervention during the Iraq disarmament crisis.{{cite news]|url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/02/16/sprj.irq.nato.belgium.ap/|accessdate=2007-06-16--> Verhofstadt's coalition fared badly in the Belgian general election, 2007.

In its 2007 Worldwide Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranked Belgium (along with Finland and Sweden) 5th out of 169 countries.

Communities and regions {| class="wikitable" align="right" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:5px;margin-left:15px;text-align:center;font-size:87%;line-height:1em;background-color:transparent;"|Flemish Community(Dutch language-speaking)|French Community of Belgium(French language-speaking)|German-speaking Community of Belgium|-|Flemish Region|[Brussels-Capital Region|}Based on the four language areas defined in 1962-63, consecutive revisions of Constitution of Belgium in 1970, 1980, 1988 and 1993 established a unique federal state with segregated political power into three levels:

The Belgian federal government, based in Brussels.

The three language communities:

the Flemish Community (Dutch-speaking);
the French Community of Belgium;
the German-speaking Community of Belgium.

The three regions:

the Flemish Region, subdivided into five provinces of Belgium;
the Walloon Region, subdivided into five provinces;
the Brussels-Capital Region.

The constitutional language areas determine the official languages in their municipalities, as well as the geographical limits of the for specific matters empowered institutions:{|class="wikitable" style="line-height:1em;border:0px none;"|- style="text-align:center;height:1.25em;"!rowspan="3" style="border-left:0px none;border-top:0px none;background-color:#ffffff;"|
!!rowspan="2" colspan="3" style="padding-bottom:2px;border-bottom:0px none;border-left:2px;border-right:2px;"|Public services rendered in the language of
individuals expressing themselves…!!colspan="3" style="border-bottom:0px none;vertical-align:top;"|the Communities!!colspan="3" style="border-left:2px;border-bottom:0px none;border-right:2px;vertical-align:top;"|the Regions (and their provinces)!!rowspan="3" style="border-bottom:none 0px;vertical-align:top;"|the
Federal
State||rowspan="7" style="width:0px;padding:0px;border:0px none;border-left:2px solid;"|
|- style="text-align:center;height:1.25em;"!rowspan="2" style="border-top:0px none;"|Flemish
Footnote: The Constitution set out seven institutions each of which can have a parliament, government and administration. In fact there are only six such bodies because the Flemish Region merged into the Flemish Community. This single Flemish body thus exercises powers about Community matters in the bilingual area of Brussels-Capital and in the Dutch language area, and about Regional matters only in the latter.!!rowspan="2" style="border-top:0px none;vertical-align:top;"| French !!rowspan="2" style="border-top:0px none;"|German-
speaking!!rowspan="2" style="border-left:2px;border-top:0px none;"|Flemish
!!rowspan="2" style="border-top:0px none;vertical-align:top;"|Walloon!!rowspan="2" style="border-right:2px;border-top:0px none;"|Brussels-
Capital|- style="text-align:center;vertical-align:top;height:1.25em;"!style="border-top:0px none;border-left:2px;"|…in Dutch||style="border-top:0px none;"|…in French||style="border-top:0px none;border-right:2px;"|…in German|- style="text-align:center;"|style="text-align:left;font-weight:700;background-color:#f2f2f2;"|Dutch language area||style="border-left:2px;"|||style="font-size:76%;line-height:1.1em;padding-top:1px;padding-bottom:1px;white-space:nowrap;"|in 12 municipalities
(limited to 'facilities')||style="border-right:2px;"|-||||-||style="border-right:2px;"|-||||-||style="border-right:2px;"|-|||- style="text-align:center;"|style="text-align:left;font-weight:700;background-color:#f2f2f2;"|French language area||style="border-left:2px;font-size:76%;line-height:1.1em;padding-top:1px;padding-bottom:1px;white-space:nowrap;"|in 4 municipalities
(limited to 'facilities')||||style="border-right:2px;font-size:76%;line-height:1.1em;padding-top:1px;padding-bottom:1px;white-space:nowrap;"|in 2 municipalities
(limited to 'facilities')||-||||style="border-right:2px;"|-||-||||style="border-right:2px;"|-|||- style="text-align:center;"|style="text-align:left;font-weight:700;background-color:#f2f2f2;"|Bilingual area Brussels-Capital||style="border-left:2px;"|||||style="border-right:2px;"|-||||||style="border-right:2px;"|-||-||-||style="border-right:2px;"||||- style="text-align:center;"|style="text-align:left;font-weight:700;background-color:#f2f2f2;"|German language area||style="border-left:2px;"|-||style="font-size:76%;line-height:1.1em;padding-top:1px;padding-bottom:1px;white-space:nowrap;"|in all 9 municipalities
(limited to 'facilities')||style="border-right:2px;"|||-||-||style="border-right:2px;"|||-||||style="border-right:2px;"|-|||- style="line-height:.9em;background-color:#ffffff;"|style="border-left:none 0px;border-right:none 0px;border-bottom:none 0px;"| ||colspan="10" style="font-size:87%;line-height:1.23em;border-left:none 0px;border-right:none 0px;border-bottom:none 0px;white-space:nowrap;"|By Law, inhabitants of 27Footnote: Apart from the municipalities with language facilities for individuals, the French language area has three more municipalities in which the second language in education legally has to be either Dutch or German, whereas in its municipalities without special status this would also allow for English. {{cite web|title=Langues à l'école: imposées ou au choix, un peu ou beaucoup|language=French language|author=Lebrun, Sophie|publisher=La Libre Belgique's web site]|url=http://www.lalibre.be/article.phtml?id=10&subid=90&art_id=97822|accessdate=2007-08-17--> municipalities can ask limited services to be rendered in a neighbour language, forming 'Municipalities with language facilities' for them.
'Facilities' exist only in specific municipalities near the borders of the Flemish with the Walloon and with the Brussels-Capital Regions,
and in Wallonia also in 2 municipalities bordering its German language area as well as for French-speakers throughout the latter area.|}Although this would allow for seven parliaments and governments, when the Communities and Regions were created in 1980, Flemish politicians decided to merge both; thus in the Flemish Region a single institutional body of parliament and government is empowered for all except federal and specific municipal matters.

The overlapping boundaries of the Regions and Communities have created two notable peculiarities: the territory of the Brussels-Capital Region (which came into existence nearly a decade after the other regions) is included in both the Flemish and French Communities, and the territory of the German-speaking Community lies wholly within the Walloon Region.

Conflicts between the bodies are resolved by the Constitutional Court of Belgium. The structure is intended as a compromise to allow different cultures to live together peacefully.

Political authority The Federal State retains a considerable "common heritage". This includes justice, defense, federal police, social security, nuclear energy, monetary policy and public debt, and other aspects of public finances. State-owned companies include the Post Office and Rail transport in Belgium. The Federal Government is responsible for the obligations of Belgium and its federalized institutions towards the European Union and NATO. It controls substantial parts of public health, home affairs and foreign affairs.{{cite web|title=The Federal Government's Powers|work=.be Portal|publisher=Belgian Federal Government|url=http://www.belgium.be/eportal/application?origin=navigationBanner.jsp&event=bea.portal.framework.internal.refresh&pageid=indexPage&navId=6188|accessdate=2007-05-23-->

Communities exercise their authority only within linguistically determined geographical boundaries, originally oriented towards the individuals of a Community's language: culture (including audiovisual media), education, and the use of the relevant language. Extensions to personal matters less directly connected with language comprise health policy (curative and preventive medicine) and assistance to individuals (protection of youth, social welfare, aid to families, immigrant assistance services, etc.).{{cite web|title=The Communities|work=.be Portal|publisher=Belgian Federal Government|url=http://www.belgium.be/eportal/application?origin=navigationBanner.jsp&event=bea.portal.framework.internal.refresh&pageid=indexPage&navId=2686|accessdate=2007-05-23-->

Regions have authority in fields that can be broadly associated with their territory. These include economy, employment, agriculture, water policy, housing, public works, energy, transport, the environment, town and country planning, nature conservation, credit, and foreign trade. They supervise the provinces, municipalities, and intercommunal utility companies.{{cite web|title=The Regions|work=.be Portal|publisher=Belgian Federal Government|url=http://www.belgium.be/eportal/application?origin=navigationBanner.jsp&event=bea.portal.framework.internal.refresh&pageid=indexPage&navId=2690|accessdate=2007-05-23-->

In several fields, the different levels each have their own say on specifics. 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. Each level of government can be involved in scientific research and international relations associated with its powers.

Geography, climate, and environment Belgium shares borders with France (620 km), Germany (167 km), Luxembourg (148 km) and the Netherlands (450 km). Its total area, including surface water area, is 33,990 square kilometres; land area alone is 30,528 km². Belgium has three main geographical regions: the coastal plain in the north-west and the central plateau both belong to the Anglo-Belgian Basin; the Ardennes uplands in the south-east are part of the Variscan orogeny. The Paris Basin (geology) reaches a small fourth area at Belgium's southernmost tip, Gaume.{{cite web|title=Belgium — The land — Relief|work=Encyclopædia Britannica online|year=© 2007|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Chicago, IL, USA|url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9109741/Belgium#24981.toc|url2=https://edit.britannica.com/getEditableToc?tocId=24981|accessdate=2007-07-03-->

The coastal plain consists mainly of sand dunes and polders. Further inland lies a smooth, slowly rising landscape irrigated by numerous waterways, with fertile valleys and the northeastern sandy plain of the Campine (Kempen). The thickly forested hills and plateaus of the Ardennes are more rugged and rocky with caves and small gorges, and offer much of Belgium's wildlife but little agricultural capability. Extending westernly 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 metres (2,277 foot (unit of length).{{cite web|title=Geography of Belgium|year=|publisher=123independenceday.com|url=http://www.123independenceday.com/belgium/geography.html|accessdate=2007-08-10-->{{cite web|title=Life – Nature|year=2005|publisher=Office for Official Publications of the European Communities|url=http://kp.org.pl/n2k/pdf/15.pdf|format=pdf 3.8 MB|accessdate=2007-08-10-->

The climate is Oceanic climate, with significant precipitation in all seasons (Köppen climate classification: Cfb). The average temperature is lowest in January at 3 °Celsius (37 °Fahrenheit), and highest in July at 18 °C (64 °F). The average precipitation per month varies between 54 millimetres (2.1 inch) in February or April, to 78 millimetres (3.1 in) in July.{{cite web|title=Climate averages — Brussels|publisher=EuroWEATHER/EuroMETEO, Nautica Editrice Srl, Rome, Italy|url=http://www.euroweather.net/english/climate/city_EBBR/id_GT/meteo_brussels%20belgium|accessdate=2007-05-27--> Averages for the years 2000 to 2006 show daily temperature minimums of 7 °C (45 °F) and maximums of 14 °C (57 °F), and monthly rainfall of 74 millimetres (2.9 inch); these are about 1 degree Celsius and nearly 10 millimetres above last century's normal values, respectively.{{cite web|title=Kerncijfers 2006 — Statistisch overzicht van België|pages=pp. 9–10|language=Dutch language|publisher=Belgian Federal Government Service (ministry) of Economy — Directorate-general Statistics Belgium|url=http://statbel.fgov.be/pub/d0/p007y2006_nl.pdf|format=pdf 1.8 MB|accessdate=2007-05-08-->

Because of its high population density, location in the centre of Western Europe, and inadequate political effort, Belgium faces serious Environment of Belgium. A 2003 report suggested Belgian rivers to have the lowest water quality of the 122 countries studied.{{cite web|title=Sewage-laden Belgian water worst in world|last=Pearce |first=Fred|publisher=[New Scientist|url=http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn3458|accessdate=2006-05-09-->

Economy Belgium's economy and its transportation in Belgium are integrated with the rest of Europe. Its location at the heart of a highly industrialized region helps make it one of the world's ten largest trading nations. The economy is characterized by a highly productive work force, high GNP, and high exports per capita. Belgium's main imports are food products, machinery, rough diamonds, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, clothing and accessories, and textiles. Its main exports are automobiles, food and food products, iron and steel, finished diamonds, textiles, plastics, petroleum products, and nonferrous metals. The Belgian economy is heavily service-oriented and shows a dual nature: a dynamic Flanders economy, with Brussels as its main multilingual and multi-ethnic centre, and a Wallonia economy that lags behind.{{cite web|title=Wallonia in 'decline' thanks to politicians|publisher=Expatica Communications BV|date=2005-03-9|url=http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=48&story_id=17824|accessdate=2007-06-16--> One of the founding members of the European Union, Belgium strongly supports an open economy and the extension of the powers of EU institutions to integrate member economies. In 1999, Belgium adopted the euro, the single European currency, which fully replaced the Belgian franc in 2002. Since 1922, Belgium and Luxembourg have been a single trade market within a customs union and currency union: the Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union.

at Ougrée, near Liège (city)Belgium was the first continental European country to undergo the Industrial Revolution, in the early 1800s.{{cite web] and Charleroi rapidly developed mining and steelmaking, which flourished until the mid-20th century. However, by the 1840s the textile industry of Flanders was in severe crisis and the region experienced famine from 1846–50.

After World War II, Ghent and Antwerp experienced a rapid expansion of the chemical and petroleum industries. The 1973 oil crisis and 1979 oil crisis sent the economy into a recession; it was particularly prolonged in Wallonia, where the steel industry had become less competitive and experienced serious decline.{{cite web|title=Background Note: Belgium|publisher=US Department of State, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs|year=2007 |month=Apri

Country Profile: Belgium
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