Belgium

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This article is about the country in Western Europe. For other uses, see Belgium
(disambiguation).
"Belgique" redirects here. For the city in the United States, see Belgique, Missouri.
Coordinates:  50°50′N 4°00′E

Kingdom of Belgium

 Koninkrijk België  (Dutch)
 Royaume de Belgique  (French)
 Königreich Belgien  (German)

Flag

Coat of arms

Motto: "Eendracht maakt macht" (Dutch)

"L'union fait la force" (French)
"Einigkeit macht stark" (German)
"Unity makes strength"

Anthem: 
"La Brabançonne"
(English: "The Brabantian")

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 Location of Belgium (dark green)
– in Europe (green & dark grey)
– in the European Union (green)

Capital Brussels
and largest city 50°51′N 4°21′E

Official language Dutch
s French
German

Religion  62.8% Christianity
(2018 )[1]
29.3% No religion
6.8% Islam
1.1% Other

Demonym(s) Belgian

Government Federal parliamentary
constitutional monarchy[2]

• Monarch Philippe
• Prime Minister Alexander De Croo

Legislature Federal Parliament

• Upper house Senate

• Lower house Chamber of Representatives

Independence 
(from the Netherlands)
• Declared 4 October 1830
• Recognised 19 April 1839

Area
• Total 30,689[3] km2 (11,849 sq mi) (136th)
• Water (%) 0.71 (as of 2015)[4]

Population
• 2020 estimate 11,492,641  [5]
 (81st)
 • Density 376/km2 (973.8/sq mi) (22nd)

GDP (PPP) 2018 estimate
• Total $550 billion[6] (38th)
• Per capita $48,224[6] (20th)

GDP (nominal) 2018 estimate
• Total $533 billion[6] (23rd)
• Per capita $46,724[6] (17th)

Gini (2018)  25.6[7]
low

HDI (2019)  0.919[8]
very high · 17th

Currency Euro (€) (EUR)

Time zone UTC+1 (CET)

• Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST)
Note: Although Belgium is located in Western
European Time/UTC (Z) zone, since 25 February
1940, upon WW2 German occupation, Central
European Time/UTC+01:00 was enforced as
standard time,[9] with a +0:42:30 offset (and
+1:42:30 during DST) from
Brussels LMT (UTC+0:17:30).

Driving side right

Calling code +32

ISO 3166 code BE

Internet TLD .be

a. The flag's official proportions of 13:15 are rarely seen;

proportions of 2:3 or similar are more common.

b. The Brussels region is the de facto capital, but the City of

Brussels municipality is the de jure capital.[10]

c. The .eu domain is also used, as it is shared with other

European Union member states.

Belgium,[A] officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Western Europe. It is

bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the
southeast, France to the southwest, and the North Sea to the northwest. It covers an
area of 30,689 km2 (11,849 sq mi) and has a population of more than 11.5 million,
making it the 22nd most densely populated country in the world and the 6th most
densely populated country in Europe, with a density of 376 per square kilometre
(970/sq mi). The capital and largest city is Brussels; other major cities
are Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi, Liège, Bruges, Namur, and Leuven.
Legally, Belgium is a sovereign state and a federal constitutional monarchy with
a parliamentary system. Its institutional organization is complex and is structured on
both regional and linguistic grounds. It is divided into three
highly autonomous regions:[11] Flanders in the north, Wallonia in the south, and
the Brussels-Capital Region. Brussels is the smallest and most densely populated
region, as well as the richest region in terms of GDP per capita.
Belgium is home to two main linguistic groups or communities: the Dutch-
speaking Flemish Community, which constitutes about 60 percent of the population,
and the French-speaking Community, which constitutes about 40 percent of the
population. A small German-speaking Community, numbering around one percent,
exists in the East Cantons. The Brussels-Capital Region is officially bilingual (French
and Dutch), although French is the dominant language. [12] Belgium's linguistic
diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in its political history and complex
system of governance, made up of six different governments.
Historically, Belgium is part of an area known as the Low Countries, a somewhat
larger region than the current Benelux group of states that also included parts of
northern France and western Germany. Its modern name is deriv