State structure
- Political system: Federal parliamentary democracy
- Head of State: H.M. King Philippe
- Head of Government: Bart De Wever - Prime Minister
- National Motto: Unity makes strength
- National Anthem: The Brabançonne
- Flag: Three vertical bands of black, yellow and red
- National Day: 21 July
- Regions: Flemish Region, Walloon Region and Brussels-Capital Region
- Communities: Flemish Community, French Community and German-speaking Community
- Provinces: 10 - Walloon Brabant, Flemish Brabant, Namur, West Flanders, East Flanders, Liège, Limbourg, Hainaut, Antwerp, Luxembourg
- Municipalities: 565 Belgian municipalities
Geography
- Capital: Brussels
- Surface area: 30,690 Km²
- Maritime territory: 3,454 km² of the North Sea
- Population density: 386,7 inhabitants/km²
- Major cities: Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi, Liège, Brussels
- Rivers: Meuse, Escaut, Yser
- High point: 694m - Signal de Botrange
- Adjacent countries: France, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg
- Time zone: GMT + 1 hours and GMT + 2 hours in summer
Population
- Population: 11,867,634 inhabitants (2026)
- Geographic distribution: 58.1% of inhabitants in Flanders, 31.3% in Wallonia and 10.6% in the Brussels-Capital Region (2026)
- Breakdown by age bracket: 19.4% aged between 0 and 17 years, 59.9% between 18 and 64, 20.7% aged 65 and over (2026)
- Life expectancy: 84,4 for women and 80,5 for men (2025)
- Foreign population: 1,635,132 foreign nationals, which is 13.8 % of the total residential population (2026)
- Official languages: Dutch, French, German
Economy
- Currency: Euro
- GDP: € 642 billion (in 2025)
- Breakdown of GDP: 80.3% services, 13.7% industry, 5.0% construction and 0.7% agriculture, forestry and fishing (2025).
- Employment (people aged 20 to 64 years): 72,8% (2025)
- Average monthly salary: €4,076 gross (2022)
- Unemployment: 6,2% of the active population (2025)
(Figures Sources: www.statbel.fgov.be) GDP and Unemployment https://stat.nbb.be/?lang=uk
