State structure

  • Political system: Federal parliamentary democracy
  • Head of State: H.M. King Philippe
  • Head of Government: Charles Michel – 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: 589 Belgian municipalities

  

Geography

  • Capital: Brussels
  • Surface area: 30,528 Km²
  • Maritime territory: 3,462 km² of the North Sea
  • Population density: 365 inhabitants/Km²
  • Land use: 26% arable land, 23% forests, 17% pastures, 14% open space, 8% residential land, 7% used for transport
  • 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: 11,150,516 inhabitants
  • Geographic distribution: 57.5 % of inhabitants in Flanders, 32.1 % in Wallonia and 10.4 % in the Brussels-Capital Region
  • Breakdown by age bracket: 20.3% aged between 0 and 17 years, 61.8% between 18 and 64, 17.9% aged 65 and over
  • Life expectancy: 82.9 for women and 77.9 for men
  • Foreign population: 1,214,605 foreign nationals, which is 10.9 % of the total residential population
  • Official languages: Dutch, French, German
  • Education level: 10.3% university, 17.8% higher education, 34.9% upper-secondary, 19.5% lower secondary, 17.5% primary

  

Economy

  • Currency: Euro
  • GDP: $524.8 billion (in 2013)
  • Breakdown of GDP: 69% services, 15% industry, 10% various, 5% construction, 1% agriculture/fishing
  • Workforce structure: 43% services, 24% commerce, 21% industry, 12% construction
  • Average price of building plots: €110.9/m²
  • Employment (people aged 20 to 64 years): 67.2%
  • Average monthly salary: €3,258 gross
  • Unemployment: 8.5 % of the active population

  

(Figures at 1st January 2014 – Sources: www.statbel.fgov.be)

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Belgium.be: a gateway to the official web

The Belgium.be portal gives simple, fast and user-friendly access to all the online information and services proposed by public authorities in Belgium.

In actual fact, the Belgian web numbers over 1,200 official sites! Many institutions are present on the web, at all levels of power. These sites propose a multitude of practical information, transactional services, publications to be downloaded, contact points, videos, etc. It is not always easy for people to find rapidly what they need, even with the most efficient search engines. Knowing who is competent for which subject in our country is not easy either...

The Belgium.be portal provides help to all users in search of information. It proposes, among other things: thematic pages written in a simple language, a search engine for the official sites, catalogues of publications, addresses, electronic services…

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The Belgium.be portal is an initiative by the Federal authorities. It has been developed and is maintained by the FPS Chancellery of the Prime Minister and the FPS Fedict, in close cooperation with all the Federal Public Services, together with the Regional and Community public services.