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: 3,4542 km² of the North Sea
Population density: 377 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: 11,376,070 inhabitants
Geographic distribution: 57.6% of inhabitants in Flanders, 31.9% in Wallonia and 10.5% in the Brussels-Capital Region
Breakdown by age bracket: 20.2% aged between 0 and 17 years, 61.0% between 18 and 64, 18.7% aged 65 and over
Life expectancy: 83.7 for women and 79 for men
Foreign population: 1,357,556 foreign nationals, which is 11.9 % of the total residential population
Official languages: Dutch, French, German

Economy

Currency: Euro
GDP: € 437.2 billion (in 2017)
Breakdown of GDP: 68.8% services, 15% industry, 10.8% various, 4.8% construction, 0.6% agriculture/fishing
Workforce structure: 46% services, 23% commerce, 20% industry, 11% construction
Average price of building plots: €102.6/m²
Employment (people aged 20 to 64 years): 68.5%
Average monthly salary: €3,445 gross
Unemployment: 7.1 % of the active population

(Figures at 1^st January 2018 - Sources: www.statbel.fgov.be)

Information about Belgium

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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...

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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.