Belgium
3343
225999309
2008-07-16T11:29:03Z
JurgenG
1594045
sorry, too early for that!
{{otheruses}}{{featured article}}
{{Infobox Country
| native_name = ''Koninkrijk België'' {{spaces|2}}{{resize|75%|([[Dutch language|Dutch]])}}<br/>''Royaume de Belgique'' {{spaces|2}}{{resize|75%|([[French language|French]])}}<br/>''Königreich Belgien'' {{spaces|2}}{{resize|75%|([[German language|German]])}}
| conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Belgium
| common_name = Belgium
| image_flag = Flag of Belgium.svg
| image_coat = Belgium cofa.PNG
| symbol_type = Coat of arms
| national_motto = ''Eendracht maakt macht''{{spaces|2}}<small>([[Dutch language|Dutch]])</small><br/>''L'union fait la force''{{spaces|2}}<small>([[French language|French]])</small><br/>''Einigkeit macht stark''{{spaces|2}}<small>([[German language|German]])<br/>"Strength through Unity" (lit. "Unity creates Strength", "Unity makes one strong")</small>
|image_map = Location Belgium EU Europe.png
|map_caption = {{map_caption|location_color=dark green|region=[[Europe]]|region_color=dark grey|subregion=the [[European Union]]|subregion_color=light green|legend=Location Belgium EU Europe.png}}
| national_anthem = [[The Brabançonne|The "Brabançonne"]]
| official_languages = [[Dutch language|Dutch]], [[French language|French]], [[German language|German]]
| demonym = Belgian
| capital = [[Brussels]]
| latd = 50
| latm = 54
| latNS = N
| longd = 4
| longm = 32
| longEW = E
| largest_settlement_type = metropolitan area
| largest_settlement = [[Brussels Capital Region]]
| government_type = [[Parliamentary system|Parliamentary democracy]] and [[Constitutional monarchy]]
| leader_title1 = [[Belgian monarchy|King]]
| leader_title2 = [[List of Prime Ministers of Belgium|Prime Minister]]
| leader_name1 = [[Albert II of Belgium|Albert II]]
| leader_name2 = [[Yves Leterme]]
| area_km2 = 30,528
| area_sq_mi = 11,787<!--Do not remove per [[WP:MOSNUM]]-->
| area_rank = 139th
| area_magnitude = 1 E10
| percent_water = 6.4
| population_estimate = <span style="white-space:nowrap;">10,584,534<ref name=statbel1>
{{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|Dutch]]
| 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
}}</ref><br/></span>
| population_estimate_year = 2007
| population_estimate_rank = 76th<small> [2005]</small>
| population_census = 10,296,350
| population_census_year = 2001
| population_density_km2 = 344.32<!--Infobox template cannot properly show: ref name=statbel2-->
| population_density_rank = <small>2006</small>) (29th <small>[2005]</small>
| population_density_sq_mi = 892 <!--Do not remove [[WP:MOSNUM]]-->
| GDP_PPP_year = 2004
| GDP_PPP = $316.2 [[1 E9|billion]]
| 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 = <span style="color:#dede00">medium</span>
| HDI_year = 2005
| HDI = {{increase}} 0.946
| HDI_rank = 17th
| HDI_category = <span style="color:#009900">high</span>
| sovereignty_type = [[Belgian Revolution|Independence]]
| sovereighty_note = from the [[United Kingdom of the Netherlands|Netherlands]]
| established_event1 = Declared
| established_date1 = [[4 October]] [[1830]]
| established_event2 = [[Treaty of London, 1839|Recognized]]
| established_date2 = [[19 April]] [[1839]]
| accessionEUdate = [[25 March]] [[1957]]
| EUseats = 24
| currency = [[Euro]] ([[Euro sign|€]])<sup>1</sup>
| currency_code = EU
| time_zone = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| utc_offset = +1
| time_zone_DST = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
| utc_offset_DST = +2
| cctld = [[.be]]²
| calling_code = 32
| footnote1 = Before 1999: [[Belgian franc]].
| 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|northwest Europe]]. It is a founding member of the [[European Union]] and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major [[international organization]]s, including [[NATO]].<ref>Footnote: Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many international organizations, including [[ACCT]], [[AfDB]], [[AsDB]], [[Australia Group]], [[Benelux]], [[Bank for International Settlements|BIS]], [[Convention on Cybercrime|CCC]], [[Council of Europe|CE]], [[CERN]], [[Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council|EAPC]], [[EBRD]], [[European Investment Bank|EIB]], [[Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union|EMU]], [[ESA]], [[EU]], [[FAO]], [[Group of Ten (economic)|G-10]], [[IAEA]], [[IBRD]], [[ICAO]], [[International Criminal Court|ICC]], [[International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement|ICRM]], [[International Development Association|IDA]], [[Inter-American Development Bank|IDB]], [[International Energy Agency|IEA]], [[IFAD]], [[International Finance Corporation|IFC]], [[IFRCS]], [[IHO]], [[International Labour Organization|ILO]], [[IMF]], [[International Maritime Organization|IMO]], [[IMSO]], [[Intelsat]], [[Interpol]], [[IOC]], [[International Organization for Migration|IOM]], [[International Organization for Standardization|ISO]], [[ITU]], [[MONUC]] (observers), [[NATO]], [[Nuclear Energy Agency|NEA]], [[Nuclear Suppliers Group|NSG]], [[Organization of American States|OAS]] (observer), [[OECD]], [[OPCW]], [[OSCE]], [[Permanent Court of Arbitration|PCA]], [[UN]], [[UNCTAD]], [[UNECE]], [[UNESCO]], [[UNHCR]], [[United Nations Industrial Development Organization|UNIDO]], [[UNMIK]], [[UNMOGIP]], [[UNRWA]], [[UNTSO]], [[UPU]], [[West African Development Bank|WADB]] (non-regional), [[WEU]], [[WHO]], [[WIPO]], [[WMO]], [[WTrO]], [[Zangger Committee|ZC]].</ref> Belgium covers an area of 30,528 [[square kilometer|km²]] (11,787 square miles) and has a population of about 10.5 million.
Straddling the cultural boundary between [[Germanic Europe|Germanic]] and [[Latin Europe]], Belgium's two largest regions are the [[Dutch language|Dutch]]-speaking region of [[Flemish Region|Flanders]] in the north, with 58% of the population, and the [[French language|French]]-speaking southern region of [[Walloon Region|Wallonia]], inhabited by 32%. The [[Brussels-Capital Region]], although officially bilingual, is a mostly French-speaking [[List of enclaves and exclaves#Subnational enclaves which are not exclaves|enclave]] within the [[Flemish Region]] and near the [[Walloon Region]], and has 10% of the population.<ref name=jacquesleclerc1>
{{cite web
|title=Belgique • België • Belgien — Région de Bruxelles-Capitale • Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest
|quote=C'est une région officiellement bilingue formant au centre du pays une enclave dans la province du Brabant flamand (Vlaams Brabant)
|work=L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde
|language=[[French language|French]]
|date=[[2007-01-18]]
|author=Leclerc, Jacques <!--NO LINK: this is not the wellknown general-->, membre associé du TLFQ
|publisher=Host: Trésor de la langue française au Québec (TLFQ), [[Université Laval]], [[Quebec]]
|url=http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/EtatsNsouverains/bruxelles-capitale.htm
|accessdate=2007-06-18}}<br />*
{{cite web
|title=About Belgium
|quote=the Brussels-Capital Region is an enclave of 162 km² within the Flemish region.
|publisher=Belgian Federal Public Service (ministry) / Embassy of Belgium in the Republic of Korea
|url=http://www.belgium.or.kr/page60.html
|accessdate=2007-06-21}}<br />*
{{cite web
|title=Flanders (administrative region)
|quote=The capital of Belgium, Brussels, is an enclave within Flanders.
|work=Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia
|year=2007
|publisher=Microsoft
|url=http://uk.encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/RefArtTextonly.aspx?refid=781531490
|accessdate=2007-06-21}}<br />*
{{cite web
|title=The FIT Invasions of Mons
|quote=The country is divided into three increasingly autonomous regions: Dutch-speaking Flanders in the north; mostly French-speaking Brussels in the center as an enclave within Flanders, and French-speaking Wallonia in the south (plus the German-speaking ''Cantons de l'Est'').
|year=1999 |month=October
|author=McMillan, Eric
|work=Capital translator, Newsletter of the <span style="font-size:92%;">NCATA</span>, Vol. 21, No. 7, p. 1
|publisher=National Capital Area Chapter of the American Translators Association (<span style="font-size:87%;">NCATA</span>)
|url=http://www.ncata.org/doc/Oct99.pdf
|format=pdf
|accessdate=2007-06-21}}<br />*
{{cite web
|title=Language Facilities in the Brussels Periphery
|quote=Brussels is a kind of enclave within Flanders — it has no direct link with Wallonia.
|author=[http://perswww.kuleuven.be/~u0025631/ Van de Walle, Steven], lecturer at University of Birmingham Institute of Local Government Studies, School of Public Policy
|publisher=[[Katholieke Universiteit Leuven|KULeuven]] — Leuvens Universitair Dienstencentrum voor Informatica en Telematica
|url=http://perswww.kuleuven.be/~u0025631/pdf/RANDBRUS.pdf
|format=pdf
|accessdate=2007-06-21}}</ref> A small [[German-speaking Community of Belgium|German-speaking Community]] exists in eastern Wallonia.<ref name=germanspeakingcommunity1>
{{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) [http://www.dglive.be/DesktopDefault.aspx/tabid-84/186_read-448/ version in German language] (already) mentions 73,000 instead of 71,500 inhabitants.</ref> Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political and cultural conflicts are reflected in the [[history of Belgium|political history]] and a complex [[Communities and regions of Belgium|system of government]].<ref name=bbcnews1>
{{cite web
|title=Language dispute divides Belgium
|author=Morris, Chris<!--NO LINK unless it goes to a British TV journalist-->
|publisher=BBC News
|date=[[2005-05-13]]
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4545433.stm
|accessdate=2007-05-08}}</ref><ref name=paulderidder>
{{cite web
|title=Langues majoritaires, langues minoritaires, dialectes et NTIC
|date=[[2001-09-25]]
|language=[[French language|French]]
|author=Petermann, Simon, Professor at the University of Liège, Wallonia, Belgium — at colloquium ''IX<sup>e</sup> Sommet de la francophonie — Intitiatives 2001 — Ethique et nouvelles technologies, session 6 Cultures et langues, la place des minorités'', [[Bayreuth]]
|url=http://www.initiatives.refer.org/Initiatives-2001/_notes/sess604.htm
|accessdate=2007-05-04}}</ref>
The name 'Belgium' is derived from ''[[Gallia Belgica]]'', a [[Roman province]] in the northernmost part of [[Gaul]] that was inhabited by the ''[[Belgae]]'', a mix of [[Celts|Celtic]] and [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]]<!--keep link on 1 word, else needs elsewhere linking again--> peoples.<ref>
{{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 [Paperback 512pp, ISBN 0-8160-3182-7; Revised edition (2002), Hardcover 636pp, ISBN 0-8160-4562-3]}}<!--reference 2007-08-15 borrowed from WP article 'Gallia Belgica', version 2007-05-12 id=128931276, at "Agrippa made the divisions on what he perceived to be distinctions in language, race and community — Gallia Belgica was meant to be a mix of Celtic and Germanic peoples."; not doublechecked--></ref><ref>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]]
|url=http://www3.iath.virginia.edu/Barbarians/Essays/ethnic_main.html
|accessdate=2007-06-06}}</ref> Historically, Belgium, [[the Netherlands]] and [[Luxembourg]] were known as the [[Low Countries]], which used to cover a somewhat larger area than the current [[Benelux]] group of states. From the end of the [[Middle Ages]] until the 17th century, it was a prosperous centre of commerce and culture. From the 16th 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"<ref name=diplomatbe1>
{{cite web
|title=Belgian economy
|work=Belgium
|publisher=Belgian Federal Public Service (ministry) of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation
|url=http://www.diplomatie.be/en/belgium/belgiumdetail.asp?TEXTID=49019
|accessdate=2007-05-21}}</ref> and "the cockpit of Europe"<ref>
{{cite web
|title=Rezention zu (Review of) Cook, Bernard: Belgium. A History ISBN 0-8204-5824-4
|date=[[2003-02-17]]
|quote=die Bezeichnung Belgiens als „the cockpit of Europe” (James Howell, 1640), die damals noch auf eine kriegerische Hahnenkampf-Arena hindeutete
|language=[[German language|German]]
|author=Haß, Torsten, Head of the [[:de:Fachhochschule Kehl|Fachhochschule (University of Applied Sciences) of Kehl]] Library, [[Kehl]], Germany
|publisher=FH-Zeitung (journal of the [[Fachhochschule]])
|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:<br/>
{{cite web
|title=The Hydra No.1 New Series (November 1917) — Arras And Captain Satan
|author=Carmont, John
|work=War Poets Collection
|publisher=Napier University’s Business School
|url=http://www.napier.ac.uk/warpoets/Hydraissues/Hyn01/hyn01a03.html
|accessdate=2007-05-24}} — and as such coined for Belgium:<br/>
{{cite web
|title=Nuttall Encyclopaedia of General Knowledge — Cockpit of Europe
|quote=Cockpit of Europe, Belgium, as the scene of so many battles between the Powers of Europe.
|author=Wood, James
|year=1907
|url=http://www.fromoldbooks.org/Wood-NuttallEncyclopaedia/c/cockpitofeurope.html
|accessdate=2007-05-24}} (See also [[The Nuttall Encyclopaedia]])</ref> — a reputation strengthened by both World Wars. Upon its independence, Belgium eagerly participated in the [[Industrial Revolution]],<ref name="Fitzmaurice">
{{cite web
|title=New Order? International models of peace and reconciliation — Diversity and civil society
|author=[http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/dd/report9/report9h.htm Fitzmaurice, John], at the [[Secretariat-General of the European Commission]], taught at the [[Université Libre de Bruxelles]]
|year=1996
|publisher=Democratic Dialogue ''Northern Ireland's first think tank'', Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
|url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/dd/report9/report9d.htm
|accessdate=2007-08-12}}</ref><ref name="EUbusiness">
{{cite web
|title=Belgium country profile
|date=[[2006-08-27]]
|publisher=[http://www.eubusiness.com/aboutus EUbusiness], Richmond, UK
|url=http://www.eubusiness.com/Belgium/belgium-country-profile/
|accessdate=2007-08-12}}</ref> generating wealth and also a demand for raw materials; the latter was a factor during [[Belgian colonial empire|the era of its African colonies]].<ref>
{{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}}</ref>
==History==
{{main|History of Belgium}}
[[Image:Map-1477 Low Countries.png|thumb|left|200px|The [[Seventeen Provinces]] (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 millennia. In the first century, the [[Roman Republic|Romans]], after defeating the local tribes<!--not necessarily 'indigenous' as several sources (incl. De Bello Gallico) indicate influences from across the Rhine; the for Belgium relevant group of tribes is mentioned in the lead-->, created the province of Gallia Belgica. A [[Migration Period|gradual immigration]] by Germanic [[Franks|Frankish]] tribes during the 5th century, brought the area under the rule of the [[Merovingian]] kingdom. A gradual shift of power during the 8th century evolved into the [[Carolingian Empire]] and culminated with the coronation of [[Charlemagne]] as ruler of [[The Holy Roman Empire]]. During the Middle Ages small [[fiefdom|feudal states]] emerged, many of which rejoined as the [[Burgundian Netherlands]] in the 14th and 15th centuries. [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Charles V]] completed the union of the [[Seventeen Provinces]] in the 1540s, and unofficially also controlled the [[Prince-Bishopric of Liège]].<ref>
{{cite web
|title=Chapter II: Habsburg Rule in the Netherlands
|work=History of Holland
|author=Edmundson, George
|publisher=The University Press, Cambridge. Republished: Authorama
|year=1922
|url=http://www.authorama.com/history-of-holland-4.html
|accessdate=2007-06-09}}</ref>
The [[Eighty Years' War]] (1568–1648) divided the area into the northern [[Republic of the Seven United Provinces of the Netherlands|United Provinces]] ('federate' ''Belgica Foederata'' in [[Latin]]) and the [[Southern Netherlands]] ('royal' ''Belgica Regia''). The latter were ruled successively by the [[Habsburg Spain|Spanish]] and the [[History of Austria#Charles VI and Maria Theresa (1711-1780)|Austrian]] [[Habsburg]]s 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)|Franco-Spanish]] and [[War of the Austrian Succession|Franco-Austrian wars]]<!--disambiguation page intended: "most" wars of that list--> during the 17th and 18th centuries.<ref>Footnote: Further reading: [[Early Modern France#France in the 17th and 18th centuries|France in the 17th and 18th centuries]]</ref> Following the [[French Revolutionary Wars: Campaigns of 1794|campaigns of 1794 in the French Revolutionary Wars]], 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. However, over the previous 350 years of shared connections as varied [[Low Country]] manifestations the two peoples had drifted apart, and after only 15 years, the forced "marriage" was over.
The 1830 [[Belgian Revolution]] led to the establishment of an independent, [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]], and neutral Belgium under a [[Provisional Government of Belgium|provisional government]] and a [[national Congress of Belgium|national congress]]. Since the installation of [[Leopold I of Belgium|Leopold I]] as king in 1831, Belgium has been a [[constitutional monarchy]] and [[parliamentary democracy]]. Initially an [[oligarchy]] ruled mainly by the [[Catholic Party (Belgium)|Catholic Party]] and the [[Liberal Party (Belgium)|Liberals]], the country had evolved towards [[universal suffrage]] by [[World War II]] with the rise of the [[Belgian Labour Party]] and [[trade union]]s playing a strong role. [[French language|French]], once the single official language and adopted by the [[nobility]] and the [[bourgeoisie]], had by then lost its overall importance as [[Dutch language|Dutch]], the language of the majority of the population, had become recognized as well, be it only in 1898. However, it was not until 1967 that an official Dutch version of the [[Belgian Constitution|Constitution]] was accepted.<ref>
{{cite web
|title=Ethnic structure, inequality and governance of the public sector in Belgium
|author=[http://www.unrisd.org/80256B3C005BC203/(httpPeople)/417C5EAAE7060027C1256F2000472415?OpenDocument Kris Deschouwer]
|publisher=United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (<span style="font-size:87%;">UNRISD</span>)
|month=January
|year=2004
|url=http://www.unrisd.org/UNRISD/website/document.nsf/ab82a6805797760f80256b4f005da1ab/ec506a59176be044c1256e9e003077c3/$FILE/Deschou.pdf
|format=pdf
|accessdate=2007-05-22}}</ref>
[[Image:Wappers belgian revolution.jpg|thumb|left|250px|''Episode of the Belgian Revolution of 1830'' (1834)<br/>by [[Egide Charles Gustave Wappers]],<br/>in the Ancient Art Museum, Brussels.]]
The [[Berlin Conference]] of 1885 gave the [[Congo Free State]] to [[Leopold II of Belgium|King Leopold II]] 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.<ref>
{{cite book
|title=The State of Africa
|pages=pp. 95–96(?)
|edition=Hardcover 608pp
|date=[[2005-06-06]]
|author=Meredith, Mark
|publisher= Free Press
|isbn=0-7432-3221-6}}<!--Original 2007-06-21 entry here as publisher=Simon & Schuster, year=2006, pages=95–96, isbn=978-0-7432-3222-7: ref not found on that date--></ref>
Germany invaded Belgium in 1914 as part of the [[Schlieffen Plan]], and much of the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]] 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 controversial [[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|Allied]] troops in the winter of 1944–1945. The [[Belgian Congo]] gained independence in 1960 during the [[Congo Crisis]]; [[Ruanda-Urundi]] followed two years later.
After [[World War II]], Belgium joined [[NATO]] as a founder member, 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 [[European Atomic Energy Community]] and [[European Economic Community]], established in 1957. 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==
{{main|Politics of Belgium}}
{{seealso|Belgian federal parliament|Belgian federal government|Political parties in Belgium}}
{{further|[[List of Belgian monarchs]], [[List of Belgian Prime Ministers]], [[Foreign relations of Belgium]]}}
Belgium is a [[constitutional monarchy|constitutional]], [[popular monarchy]] and a [[parliamentary system|parliamentary democracy]].
In the 19th century, the [[Francophile]] political and economic elite treated the Dutch-speaking population as second class citizens. Late that century, and continuing into the 20th century, the [[Flemish movement]] evolved to counter this situation. 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|unity of the Belgian state]] became scrutinized.<ref name=bbcnews1/> Through constitutional reforms in the 1970s and 1980s,
[[regionalism (politics)|regionalization]] of the [[unitary state]] led to a three-tiered [[federation]]: [[federalism|federal]], regional, and community governments were created, a compromise designed to minimize linguistic, cultural, social and economic tensions.<ref>[http://www.flanders.be/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=MVG_FL/Template/MVG_FL_Html_Detail&cid=1072097196838&enablelasturl=1&p=1053963211306 ]{{Dead link|date=June 2008}}</ref>
[[Image:Yves Leterme campagne foto.jpg|thumb|Prime Minister [[Yves Leterme]]]]
The federal [[bicameralism|bicameral]] parliament is composed of a [[Belgian Senate|Senate]] and a [[Belgian Chamber of People's Representatives|Chamber of Representatives]]. The former is made up of 40 directly elected politicians and 21 representatives appointed by the [[Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium|3 community parliaments]], 10 [[Belgian Senate#Coopted Senators|coopted senators]] and as [[Belgian Senate#Senators by Right|senators by Right]] who in practice do not cast their vote, currently [[Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant|Prince Philippe]], [[Princess Astrid of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este|Princess Astrid]] and [[Prince Laurent of Belgium|Prince Laurent]], children of the [[King]]. The [[Chamber]]'s 150 representatives are elected under a [[proportional voting]] system from 11 [[Arrondissements of Belgium|electoral districts]]. 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.<ref>
{{cite web
|title=The Dynamics of Electoral Participation — Table 10.1 Average turnout in free elections to the lower house in 40 countries, 1961–1999
|pages=p. 32
|year=2001
|author=Franklin, Mark N., [[Trinity College (Connecticut)|Trinity College, Connecticut]]
|url=http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/cache/papers/cs/25027/http:zSzzSzwww2.trincoll.eduzSz~mfranklizSzParticipation.pdf/franklin01dynamics.pdf
|format=pdf
|accessdate=2007-05-29}}</ref>
The [[Monarchy of Belgium|King]] (currently [[Albert II of Belgium|Albert II]]) is the [[head of state]], though with limited [[Royal Prerogative|prerogatives]]. 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]].<ref name=constitution1>
{{cite web
|title=Belgium — Constitution — Title III Powers, Chapter II The Senate, Article 72 <nowiki>[</nowiki>King's Descendants<nowiki>]</nowiki> ; and Title III, Chapter III King and Federal Government, Section I The King ; and Section II The Federal Government, Article 99 <nowiki>[</nowiki>Composition of Government<nowiki>]</nowiki>
|work=International Constitutional Law
|publisher=Institut für öffentliches Recht, [[University of Berne]], [[Switzerland]]
|date=[[1994-02-17]]
|url=http://www.servat.unibe.ch/law/icl/be00000_.html
|accessdate=2007-05-20}} Or both:<br />*
{{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/gwuk0004.htm
|accessdate=2007-05-20}} And<br />*
{{cite web
|title=Title III On Power, Chapter III On the King and the Federal Government, Section I On the King ; and Section II On the Federal Government, Art. 99
|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}}</ref> The judicial system is based on [[Civil law (legal system)|civil law]] and originates from the [[Napoleonic code]]. The [[Court of Cassation (Belgium)|Court of Cassation]] is the court of last resort, with the [[Court of Appeal]] 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|political parties]] 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|political centre]], belong to three main groups: the [[right-wing politics|right-wing]] [[Liberals]], the [[Social conservatism|socially conservative]] [[Christian democracy|Christian Democrats]], and the [[Social democracy|Socialists]] forming the [[left-wing politics|left-wing]]. Further notable parties came into being well after the middle of last century, mainly around [[List of political parties in Belgium#Linguistic parties|linguistic]], [[nationalism|nationalist]], or [[worldwide green parties|environmental]] themes, and recently smaller ones of [[Liberalism in Belgium#Timeline|some specific liberal]] nature.
A string of Christian Democrat coalition governments from 1958 was broken in [[Belgian general election, 1999|1999]] after the first [[dioxin]] crisis, a major food contamination scandal that led to the establishment of the [[Belgian Food Agency]].<ref>
{{cite web
|title=Dioxin contamination scandal hits Belgium: Effects spread through European Union and beyond
|work=World Socialist Web Site (<small>WSWS</small>)
|publisher=International Committee of the Fourth International (<small>ICFI</small>)
|author=Tyler, Richard <!--Do NOT link to fictional character or The Daily Telegraph's Enterprise Editor, this R.T.=WSWS correspondent-->
|date=[[1999-06-08]]
|url=http://www.wsws.org/articles/1999/jun1999/belg-j08.shtml
|accessdate=2007-05-25}} — Follow-up on occasion of 2nd dioxin crisis: [http://www.foodproductiondaily.com/news/ng.asp?id=65481-belgium-netherlands-dioxin α]</ref><ref>
{{cite press release
|title=Food Law News — EU : <small>CONTAMINANTS</small> — Commission Press Release (IP/99/399) Preliminary results of EU-inspection to Belgium
|date=[[1999-06-16]]
|author=[[European Commission]]
|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}}</ref> A 'rainbow [[coalition]]' emerged from six parties: the Flemish and the French-speaking Liberals, Social Democrats, Greens.<ref>
{{cite news
|title=Belgium's "rainbow" coalition sworn in
|publisher=BBC News
|date=[[1999-07-12]]
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/392004.stm
|accessdate=2007-05-20}}</ref> Later, a 'purple coalition' of Liberals and Social Democrats formed after the Greens lost most of their seats in the [[Belgian general election, 2003|2003 election]].<ref>
{{cite web
|title=La Chambre des représentants — Composition (''Composition of the Chamber of Representatives'')
|date=[[2006-03-09]]
|publisher=The Chamber of Representatives of Belgium
|language=[[French language|French]]
|url=http://www.lachambre.be/kvvcr/pdf_sections/pri/fiche/10F.pdf
|format=pdf
|accessdate=2007-05-25}}<!--REF FAILS TO CONFIRM TEXT (counting seats does not exclude possibility of Ecolo/NVA/FN as 5th etc parties)--></ref> The government led by [[Prime Minister]] [[Guy Verhofstadt]] from 1999 to 2007 achieved a balanced budget, some tax-reforms, a labour-market reform, scheduled [[Nuclear energy policy#Europe|nuclear phase-out]], and instigated legislation allowing more stringent [[War Crimes Law (Belgium)|war crime]] and more lenient [[soft drugs|soft drug usage]] prosecution. Restrictions on withholding [[euthanasia#Belgium|euthanasia]] were reduced and [[same-sex marriage in Belgium|same-sex marriage]] legalized. The government promoted active diplomacy in Africa<ref>
{{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.</ref> and opposed the invasion of Iraq.<ref>{{cite news
|title=Belgian demand halts NATO progress
|publisher=CNN News
|date=[[2003-02-16]]
|url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/02/16/sprj.irq.nato.belgium.ap/
|accessdate=2007-06-16}}</ref> Verhofstadt's coalition fared badly in the [[Belgian general election, 2007|June 2007 elections]]. Since then the country has been experiencing a long-lasting [[2007 Belgian government formation|political crisis]].<ref>{{cite news
|title= The Belgian crisis in detail
|publisher=Majorityrights
|date=[[2007-11-20]]
|url= http://majorityrights.com/index.php/weblog/comments/the_belgian_crisis_in_detail/
|accessdate=2007-11-22}}</ref> This crisis is such that many observers have speculated on a possible [[partition of Belgium]]. Since December 21, 2007 the [[Verhofstadt III Government]] has been in office. This coalition of the [[CD&V|Flemish]] and [[Humanist Democratic Centre|Francophone Christian Democrats]], the [[VLD|Flemish]] and [[Mouvement Réformateur|Francophone Liberals]] together with the [[Socialist Party (francophone Belgium)|Francophone Social Democrats]] was an interim government until 20 March 2008. On that day a new government, led by [[CD&V|Flemish Christian Democrat]] [[Yves Leterme]], the actual winner of the federal elections of June 2007, was sworn in by the King.
In its 2007 [[Reporters Without Borders|Worldwide Press Freedom Index]], [[Reporters Without Borders]] ranked Belgium (along with [[Finland]] and [[Sweden]]) 5th out of 169 countries.<ref>[http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=24025 Reporters Without Frontiers, 2007]</ref>
==Communities and regions==
{{main|Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium}}
{{seealso|Language legislation in Belgium|Municipalities with language facilities}}
{| 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;"
|[[Image:Vlaamse GemeenschapLocatie.png|120px]]<br/>[[Flemish Community]]<br/>([[Dutch language|Dutch]]-speaking)
|[[Image:Franse GemeenschapLocatie.png|120px]]<br/>[[French Community of Belgium|French Community]]<br/>([[French language|French]]-speaking)
|[[Image:Duitstalige GemeenschapLocatie.png|120px]]<br/>[[German-speaking Community of Belgium|German-speaking<br/>Community]]
|-
|[[Image:Vlaams GewestLocatie.png|120px]]<br/>[[Flemish Region]]
|[[Image:Wallonia (Belgium).png|120px]]<br/>[[Walloon Region]]
|<br/>[[Image:BelgiumBrussels.png|120px]]<br/>[[Brussels-Capital Region|Brussels-Capital<br/>Region]]
|}
Based on the four language areas defined in 1962–63, consecutive [[state reform in Belgium|revisions]] of [[Constitution of Belgium|the country's constitution]] in 1970, 1980, 1988 and 1993 established a unique federal state with segregated political power into three levels:<ref name=rolandwillemyns>
{{cite journal
|title=The Dutch-French Language Border in Belgium
|journal=Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development
|volume=Vol. 23
|issue=Nos. 1&2
|year=2002
|pages=pp. 36–49
|author=Willemyns, Roland, [[Vrije Universiteit Brussel]], Germanic Languages
|url=http://www.multilingual-matters.net/jmmd/023/0036/jmmd0230036.pdf
|accessdate=2007-06-22}}</ref><ref>Footnote: Each municipality of the Kingdom is part of one of the four [[Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium|language areas (''taalgebieden'' in Dutch, ''Sprachgebiete'' in German), occasionally called linguistic regions (''régions linguistiques'' in French)]]. See the three legal versions of the Constitution:<br />*
{{cite web
|title=Titel I: Het federale België, zijn samenstelling en zijn grondgebied
|quote=Art. 4 België omvat vier taalgebieden
|language=[[Dutch language|Dutch]]
|date=[[2007-05-15]] last update of web page
|work=De Belgische Grondwet
|publisher=Belgian Senate
|url=http://www.senate.be/doc/const_nl.html#t1
|accessdate=2007-05-31}}<br />*
{{cite web
|title=Titel I: Das föderale Belgien, seine Zusammensetzung und sein Staatsgebiet
|quote=Art. 4 Belgien umfaßt vier Sprachgebiete
|language=[[German language|German]]
|date=[[2007-05-15]] last update of web page
|work=Die Verfassung Belgiens
|publisher=Belgian Senate
|url=http://www.senate.be/deutsch/const_de.html#t1
|accessdate=2007-05-31}}<br />*
{{cite web
|title=Titre Ier: De la Belgique fédérale, de ses composantes et de son territoire
|quote=Art. 4 La Belgique comprend quatre régions linguistiques
|language=[[French language|French]]
|date=[[2007-05-15]] last update of web page
|work=La Constitution Belge
|url=http://www.senate.be/doc/const_fr.html#t1
|publisher=Belgian Senate
|accessdate=2007-05-31}}<br /> English translation, not recently updated and without legal value:<br />*
{{cite web
|title=Title I: On Federal Belgium, its components and its territory
|quote=Art. 4 Belgium has four linguistic regions
|date=[[1997-01-21]] last update of main 'the Constitution' page on web site
|work=the Constitution
|publisher=Belgian Senate
|url=http://www.fed-parl.be/gwuk0001.htm#E12E1
|accessdate=2007-05-31}}</ref>
#The [[Belgian federal government|federal government]], based in Brussels.
#The three language communities:
#* the [[Flemish Community]] (Dutch-speaking);
#* the [[French Community of Belgium|French (i.e., French-speaking) Community]];
#* the [[German-speaking Community of Belgium|German-speaking Community]].
#The three regions:
#* the [[Flemish Region]], subdivided into five [[provinces of Belgium|provinces]];
#* 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 empowered institutions for specific matters:
{{clear}}
{|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;"|<br />!!rowspan="2" colspan="3" style="padding-bottom:2px;border-bottom:0px none;border-left:2px;border-right:2px;"|[[Public services|Public services]] rendered in the language of<br />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<br />Federal<br />State||rowspan="7" style="width:0px;padding:0px;border:0px none;border-left:2px solid;"|<br />
|- style="text-align:center;height:1.25em;"
!rowspan="2" style="border-top:0px none;"|Flemish<br /><span style="vertical-align:-.3em;"><ref name="OneFlemishBody">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.</ref></span>!!rowspan="2" style="border-top:0px none;vertical-align:top;"| French !!rowspan="2" style="border-top:0px none;"|German-<br />speaking!!rowspan="2" style="border-left:2px;border-top:0px none;"|Flemish<br /><ref name="OneFlemishBody"/>!!rowspan="2" style="border-top:0px none;vertical-align:top;"|Walloon!!rowspan="2" style="border-right:2px;border-top:0px none;"|Brussels-<br />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;"|{{Y}}||style="font-size:76%;line-height:1.1em;padding-top:1px;padding-bottom:1px;white-space:nowrap;"|in 12 municipalities<br />(limited to 'facilities')||style="border-right:2px;"|-||{{Y}}||-||style="border-right:2px;"|-||{{Y}}||-||style="border-right:2px;"|-||{{Y}}
|- 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<br />(limited to 'facilities')||{{Y}}||style="border-right:2px;font-size:76%;line-height:1.1em;padding-top:1px;padding-bottom:1px;white-space:nowrap;"|in 2 municipalities<br />(limited to 'facilities')||-||{{Y}}||style="border-right:2px;"|-||-||{{Y}}||style="border-right:2px;"|-||{{Y}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
|style="text-align:left;font-weight:700;background-color:#f2f2f2;"|Bilingual area <span style="white-space:nowrap;">Brussels-Capital</span>||style="border-left:2px;"|{{Y}}||{{Y}}||style="border-right:2px;"|-||{{Y}}||{{Y}}||style="border-right:2px;"|-||-||-||style="border-right:2px;"|{{Y}}||{{Y}}
|- 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<br />(limited to 'facilities')||style="border-right:2px;"|{{Y}}||-||-||style="border-right:2px;"|{{Y}}||-||{{Y}}||style="border-right:2px;"|-||{{Y}}
|- 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 27<span style="vertical-align:-.2em;"><ref name="Lebrun">Footnote: 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|French]]
|author=Lebrun, Sophie
|publisher=[[La Libre Belgique]]'s web site
|date=[[2003-01-07]]
|url=http://www.lalibre.be/article.phtml?id=10&subid=90&art_id=97822
|accessdate=2007-08-17}}</ref></span> municipalities can ask limited services to be rendered in a neighbour language, forming '[[Municipalities with language facilities|facilities]]' for them.<br />'Facilities' exist only in specific municipalities along the borders of the Flemish Region and the Walloon Regions.
|}
[[Image:Belgium provinces regions.png|thumb|Languages and provinces of Belgium (yellow: Dutch language, red: French language, orange: bilingual French - Dutch, blue: German language)]]
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.<ref name="OneFlemishBody"/>
<!--<ref name="StateStructure"/> -->
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.<ref name="Fitzmaurice"/>
===Political authority===
The [[Federal State]] retains a considerable "common heritage". This includes justice, defence, 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 <!-- Commented out the following "— an exception to regionalized transport —" because the clause is unclear in this context. For future repair. --> [[Rail transport in Belgium|Belgian Railways]]. 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.<ref name=fedgov1>
{{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}}</ref>
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.).<ref name=fedgov2>
{{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}}</ref>
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.<ref name=fedgov3>
{{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}}</ref>
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.<ref name=fedgov1/> Each level of government can be involved in scientific research and international relations associated with its powers.<ref name=fedgov2/><ref name=fedgov3/>
==Geography, climate, and environment==
{{main|Geography of Belgium}}
Belgium shares borders with [[France]] ({{nowrap|620 km}}), [[Germany]] ({{nowrap|167 km}}), [[Luxembourg]] ({{nowrap|148 km}}) and the [[Netherlands]] ({{nowrap|450 km}}). Its total area, including surface water area, is 33,990 [[square kilometre]]s; 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|Hercynian orogenic belt]]. The [[Paris Basin (geology)|Paris Basin]] reaches a small fourth area at Belgium's southernmost tip, [[Gaume|Belgian Lorraine]].<ref>
{{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}}</ref>
[[Image:Hautes-Fagnes.jpg|thumb|left|170px|High Fens (''Hautes Fagnes'')]]
The coastal plain consists mainly of sand dunes and [[polder]]s. 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 [[gorge]]s, and offer much of Belgium's wildlife but little agricultural capability. Extending westward 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|ft]]).<ref>
{{cite web
|title=Geography of Belgium
|year=<!--unknown-->
|publisher=123independenceday.com
|url=http://www.123independenceday.com/belgium/geography.html
|accessdate=2007-08-10}}</ref><ref>
{{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 <small>3.8 MB</small>
|accessdate=2007-08-10}}</ref>
The climate is [[Oceanic climate|maritime temperate]], with significant precipitation in all seasons ([[Köppen climate classification]]: ''Cfb''). The average temperature is lowest in January at 3 °[[Celsius|C]] (37 °[[Fahrenheit|F]]), and highest in July at 18 °C (64 °F). The average precipitation per month varies between 54 millimetres (2.1 [[inch|in]]) in February or April, to 78 millimetres (3.1 in) in July.<ref>
{{cite web
|title=Climate averages — Brussels
|publisher=Euro<span style="font-size:87%;">WEATHER</span>/Euro<span style="font-size:87%;">METEO</span>, Nautica Editrice Srl, Rome, Italy
|url=http://www.euroweather.net/english/climate/city_EBBR/id_GT/meteo_brussels%20belgium
|accessdate=2007-05-27}}</ref> Averages for the years 2000 to 2006 show daily temperature minimums of {{nowrap|7 °C}} ({{nowrap|45 °F}}) and maximums of {{nowrap|14 °C}} ({{nowrap|57 °F}}), and monthly rainfall of 74 millimetres (2.9 [[inch|in]]); these are about 1 degree [[Celsius]] and nearly 10 millimetres above last century's normal values, respectively.<ref name=statbel2>
{{cite web
|title=Kerncijfers 2006 — Statistisch overzicht van België
|pages=pp. 9–10
|language=[[Dutch language|Dutch]]
|publisher=Belgian Federal Government Service (ministry) of Economy — Directorate-general Statistics Belgium
|url=http://statbel.fgov.be/pub/d0/p007y2006_nl.pdf
|format=pdf <small>1.8 MB</small>
|accessdate=2007-05-08}}</ref>
[[Phytogeography|Phytogeographically]], Belgium is shared between the Atlantic European and Central European provinces of the [[Circumboreal Region]] within the [[Boreal Kingdom]].<ref>[[Takhtajan, Armen]], 1986. Floristic Regions of the World. (translated by T.J. Crovello & A. Cronquist). University of California Press, Berkeley.</ref> According to the [[World Wide Fund for Nature|WWF]], the territory of Belgium belongs to the [[ecoregion]] of [[Atlantic mixed forests]].<ref>[http://www.worldwildlife.org/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/pa/pa0402_full.html Atlantic mixed forests (PA0402)], World Wildlife Fund, 2001.</ref>
Because of its high [[population density]], location in the centre of Western Europe, and inadequate political effort, Belgium faces serious [[Environment of Belgium|environmental problems]]. A 2003 report suggested Belgian rivers to have the lowest water quality of the 122 countries studied.<ref>
{{cite web
|title=Sewage-laden Belgian water worst in world
|last=Pearce |first=Fred
|publisher=[[New Scientist]]
|date=[[2003-03-05]]
|url=http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn3458
|accessdate=2006-05-09}}</ref>
In the 2006 pilot [[Environmental Performance Index]], Belgium scored 75.9% for overall environmental performance and was ranked lowest of the EU member countries , though it was only 39th of 133 countries.<ref>[http://www.yale.edu/epi/2006EPI_Report_Full.pdf Pilot 2006 Environmental Performance Index] - Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy and Columbia University Center for International Earth Science Information Network</ref>
==Economy==
{{main|Economy of Belgium}}
[[Image:Ougree 16.jpg|thumb|300px|Steelmaking along the [[Meuse River]] at [[Ougrée]], near [[Liège (city)|Liège]]]]
Belgium's economy and its [[transportation in Belgium|transportation infrastructure]] 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]].<ref name=diplomatbe1/> 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 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|Flemish]] economy, with [[Brussels]] as its main multilingual and multi-ethnic centre, and a [[Wallonia|Walloon]] economy that lags behind.<ref name="Fitzmaurice"/><ref>
{{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}}</ref> 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|customs]] and [[currency union]]: the [[Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union]].
Belgium was the first continental European country to undergo the [[Industrial Revolution]], in the early 1800s.<ref name=erih>
{{cite web
|title=Industrial History Belgium
|publisher=European Route of Industrial Heritage
|url=http://en.erih.net/index.php?pageId=114
|accessdate=2007-05-08}}</ref> [[Liège (city)|Liège]] and [[Charleroi]] rapidly developed mining and steelmaking, which flourished until the mid-20th century in the [[Sambre]]-[[Meuse river|Meuse]] valley, the [[sillon industriel]]. 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|1973]] and [[1979 oil crisis|1979 oil crises]] sent the economy into a recession; it was particularly prolonged in [[Wallonia]], where the [[steel industry]] had become less competitive and experienced serious decline.<ref name=usdepartmentofstate1>
{{cite web
|title=Background Note: Belgium
|publisher=[[US Department of State]], Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs
|year=2007 |month=April
|url=http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2874.htm
|accessdate=2007-05-08}}</ref> In the 1980s and 90s, the economic centre of the country continued to shift northwards and is now concentrated in the populous [[Flemish Diamond]] area.<ref>
{{cite web
|title=Het belang van de Vlaamse Ruit vanuit economisch perspectief ''The importance of the Flemish Diamond from an economical perspective''
|language=[[Dutch language|Dutch]]
|author=Vanhaverbeke, Wim
|url=http://edata.ub.unimaas.nl/www-edocs/loader/file.asp?id=264
|publisher=Netherlands Institute of Business Organization and Strategy Research, [[University of Maastricht]] (Faculty of Economics and Business Administration), [[The Netherlands]]
|accessdate=2007-05-19}}</ref>
By the end of the 1980s, Belgian [[macroeconomic policies]] had resulted in a cumulative government debt of about 120% of [[GDP]]. As of 2006, the budget was balanced and public debt was equal to 90.30% of GDP.<ref>
{{cite web
|title=The World Factbook — (Rank Order — Public debt)
|date=[[2007-04-17]]
|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2186rank.html
|publisher=CIA
|accessdate=2007-05-08}}</ref> In 2005 and 2006, real GDP growth rates of 1.5% and 3.0%, respectively, were slightly above the average for the Euro area. Unemployment rates of 8.4% in 2005 and 8.2% in 2006 were close to the area average.<ref name=nbb>
{{cite web
|title=Key figures
|publisher=[[National Bank of Belgium]]
|url=http://www.nbb.be/pub/00_00_00_00_02/?l=en&t=ho
|accessdate=2007-05-19}}</ref>
==Numismatics==
[[Image:2004 Belgium 100 Euro Expansion European Union front.JPG|thumb|160px|[[Euro gold and silver commemorative coins (Belgium)#2004 coinage|The European Expansion commemorative coin]] minted in 2004.]]
{{main|Belgian euro coins}}
{{main|Euro gold and silver commemorative coins (Belgium)}}
In Belgium, the euro was introduced in 2002. However, the first sets of coins were minted, as preparation, in 1999. Hence the first euro coins of Belgium have minted the year 1999 instead of 2002 like other countries in the eurozone. In order to conform to the common guidelines on the design of national faces of coins, Belgium has updated the design of the Belgian national face of euro coins to be produced from 2008; also adopted the new common map like the rest of the eurozone countries.
Belgium has a rich collection of collectors' coins, with face value ranging from 10 to 100 euro. These coins are a legacy of an old national practice of minting of silver and gold commemorative coins. Unlike normal issues, these coins are not legal tender in all the eurozone. For instance, a €10 Belgian commemorative coin cannot be used in any other country.
While all Belgian coins designated for circulation show the portrait of King Albert II, this does not happen for commemorative coins, where designs are freely chosen.
== Demographics ==
{{main|Demographics of Belgium}}
At the start of 2007 nearly 92% of the Belgian population were national citizens, and around 6% were citizens from other [[European Union]] member countries. The prevalent foreign nationals were [[Italian people|Italian]] (171,918), [[French people|French]] (125,061), [[Dutch people|Dutch]] (116,970), [[Morocco|Moroccan]] (80,579), [[Spanish people|Spanish]] (42,765), [[Turkish people|Turkish]] (39,419), and [[German people|German]] (37,621).<ref>
{{cite web
|title=European Migration Network — Annual Statistical Report on migration and asylum in Belgium (Reference year 2003) — section A. 1) b) Population by citizenship & c) Third country nationals, [[1 January]] [[2004]]
|year=2006 |month=April
|author=Perrin, Nicolas, [[Université Catholique de Louvain|UCLouvain]], Study Group of Applied Demographics (Gédap)
|pages=pages 5–9
|publisher=Belgian Federal Government Service (ministry) of Interior — Immigration Office
|url=http://www.dofi.fgov.be/nl/statistieken/belgian%20migration%20point/punt%208%20Belgian%20Statistical%20Report%20on%20Asylum%20and%20Migration%202003.pdf
|format=pdf
|accessdate=2007-05-28}}</ref>
<ref>
http://ecodata.mineco.fgov.be/mdn/Vreemde_bevolking.jsp</ref>
[[Image:Be-map.png|thumb|left|275px|Main areas and places in Belgium]]
===Urbanisation===
Almost all of the Belgian population is urban — 97% in 2004.<ref>
{{cite web
|title=Quelques résultats des précédents recensements — Indicateurs de logement (1991)
|publisher=Belgian Federal Government Service (ministry) of Economy — Directorate-general Statistics Belgium
|year=© 1998/2007
|language=[[French language|French]] switchable to [[Dutch language|Dutch]]
|url=http://statbel.fgov.be/census/previous_fr.asp
|accessdate=2007-05-08}}</ref> The population density of Belgium is 342 per square kilometre (886 per square mile) — one of the highest in Europe, after that of the Netherlands and some microstates such as [[Monaco]]. The most densely inhabited area is the [[Flemish Diamond]], outlined by the [[Antwerp]]-[[Leuven]]-[[Brussels]]-[[Ghent]] agglomerations. The Ardennes have the lowest density. As of 2006, the [[Flemish Region]] had a population of about 6,078,600, with [[Antwerp]] (457,749), Ghent (230,951) and [[Bruges]] (117,251) its most populous cities; Wallonia had 3,413,978, with [[Charleroi]] (201,373), [[Liège]] (185,574) and [[Namur (city)|Namur]] (107.178) its most populous. [[Brussels]] houses 1,018,804 in the [[Capital Region]]'s 19 municipalities, two of which have over 100,000 residents.<ref name=statbel1/>
===Languages===
{{main|Languages of Belgium}}
Both the [[Flemish (linguistics)|Dutch spoken in Belgium]] and the [[Belgian French]] have minor differences in [[vocabulary]] and [[semantic]] nuances from the varieties spoken respectively in the [[Netherlands]] and [[France]]. Many [[Flemish]] people still speak [[dialects]] of [[Dutch language|Dutch]] in their local environment. [[Walloon language|Walloon]], once the main [[regional language]] of [[Wallonia]], is now only understood and spoken occasionally, mostly by elderly people. Its [[dialect]]s, along with those of [[Picard language|Picard]],<ref name=ethnologue>
{{cite web
|title=Languages of Belgium
|work=Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 15th edition
|author=Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.)
|year=2005
|publisher=[[SIL International]] Dallas, Texas, USA
|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=BE
|accessdate=2007-05-07}}</ref> are not used in public life.
As no [[census]] exists, there are no official statistics on Belgium's three official languages or their [[dialect]]s. Various criteria, including the language(s) of parents, of education, or the second-language status of foreign born, may affect suggested figures. An estimated 59%<ref>Footnote: Native speakers of [[Dutch language|Dutch]] living in [[Wallonia]] and of [[French language|French]] in [[Flanders]] are relatively small minorities that furthermore largely balance one another, hence counting all inhabitants of each unilingual area to the area's language can cause only insignificant inaccuracies (99% can speak the language). Dutch: Flanders' 6.079 million inhabitants and about 15% of Brussels' 1.019 million are 6.23 million or 59.3% of the 10.511 million inhabitants of Belgium (2006); German: 70,400 in the German-speaking Community (which has [[Municipalities with language facilities|language facilities]] for its less than 5% French-speakers), and an estimated 20,000–25,000 speakers of German in the Walloon Region outside the geographical boundaries of their official Community, or 0.9%; French: in the latter area as well as mainly in the rest of Wallonia (3.414 - 0.093 = 3.321 million) and 85% of the Brussels inhabitants (0.866 million) thus 4.187 million or 39.8%; together indeed 100%;</ref> of the Belgian population speaks [[Dutch language|Dutch]] (often referred to as [[Flemish (linguistics)|Flemish]]), and [[French language|French]] is spoken by 40%. Total Dutch speakers are 6.23 million, concentrated in the northern [[Flemish Region|Flanders]] region, while French speakers comprise 3.32 million in [[Walloon Region|Wallonia]] and an estimated 0.87 million or 85% of the officially bilingual [[Brussels-Capital Region]].<ref name=ericcorijn>Flemish Academic Eric Corijn (initiator of [http://www.charta91.be/ Charta 91]), at a colloquium regarding Brussels, on [[2001-12-05]], states that in Brussels there is 91% of the population speaking French at home, either alone or with another language, and there is about 20% speaking Dutch at home, either alone (9%) or with French (11%) — After ponderation, the repartition can be estimated at between 85 and 90% French-speaking, and the remaining are Dutch-speaking, corresponding to the estimations based on languages chosen in Brussels by citizens for their official documents (ID, driving licenses, weddings, birth, sex, and so on); all these statistics on language are also available at Belgian Department of Justice (for weddings, birth, sex), Department of Transport (for Driving licenses), Department of Interior (for IDs), because there are no means to know ''precisely'' the proportions since Belgium has abolished 'official' linguistic censuses, thus official documents on language choices can only be estimations. For a web source on this topic, see e.g. [[#General online sources|General online sources: Janssens, Rudi]]</ref><ref name=britishcouncil>
{{cite web
|title=Belgium Market background
|quote=The capital Brussels, 80–85 percent French-speaking, ...
|publisher=[[British Council]]
|url=http://www.britishcouncil.org/eumd-information-background-belgium.htm
|accessdate=2007-05-05}} — Strictly, the capital is the municipality [[Brussels|(City of) Brussels]], though the Brussels-Capital Region might be intended because of its name and also its other municipalities housing institutions typical for a capital.</ref> The [[German-speaking Community of Belgium|German-speaking Community]] is made up of 73,000 people in the east of the [[Walloon Region]]; around 10,000 German and 60,000 Belgian nationals are speakers of [[German language|German]]. Roughly 23,000 more of German speakers live in municipalities near the official Community.<ref name=germanspeakingcommunity1/><ref>
{{cite web
|title=Citizens from other countries in the German-speaking Community
|publisher=The German-speaking Community
|url=http://www.dglive.be/EN/Desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-1408/2267_read-27184/
|accessdate=2007-05-05}}<br />*
{{cite web
|title=German (Belgium) — Overview of the language
|publisher=Mercator, Minority Language Media in the European Union, supported by the [[European Commission]] and the [[University of Wales]]
|url=http://www.aber.ac.uk/cgi-bin/user/merwww/index.pl?rm=lang_detail;id=112;lang=1
|accessdate=2007-05-07}}<br />*
{{cite web
|title=Belgique • België • Belgien — La Communauté germanophone de Belgique
|work=L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde
|language=[[French language|French]]
|date=[[2006-04-19]]
|author=Leclerc, Jacques <!--NO LINK: this is not the well-known general-->, membre associé du TLFQ
|publisher=Host: Trésor de la langue française au Québec (TLFQ), [[Université Laval]], [[Quebec]]
|url=http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/AXL/europe/belgiqueger.htm
|accessdate=2007-05-07}}</ref>
[[Image:Brussels signs.jpg|thumb|200px|Bilingual signs in Brussels.]]
The Capital Region having bilingual status obliges its authorities to attend to people and organisations in French or Dutch language as these prefer, and to show street names in both languages on the plates, but does not allow a bilingual school as education belongs to either the French Community or the Flemish one. Geographically, it is an [[enclave]] in the Flemish Region though near Wallonia. Constitutionally, it is a politically distinct Region, while within its boundaries both the Flemish and French Communities exercise their authority. Until the end of the 19th century the majority of the Capital Regions inhabitants spoke local [[Brabantian]] dialects of the [[Dutch language]]. However a large-scale [[Frenchification of Brussels]] started in 1880 as more and more Dutch-speaking people became bilingual, resulting in a rise of monolingual French-speakers after 1910. Halfway through the 20th century the number of monolingual French-speakers carried the day over bilingual people.<ref name="brio4">{{nl}}[http://www.briobrussel.be/assets/andere%20publicaties/btng-rbhc,%2021,%201990,%203-4,%20pp%20383-412.pdf "Thuis in gescheiden werelden" — De migratoire en sociale aspecten van verfransing te Brussel in het midden van de 19e eeuw"], BTNG-RBHC, XXI, 1990, 3-4, pp. 383-412, Machteld de Metsenaere, Eerst aanwezend assistent en docent Vrije Universiteit Brussel</ref> Today Dutch is spoken by approximately 150,000 residents of the Brussels-Capital Region, or a 15% minority.<ref name=jacquesleclerc1/><ref name=paulderidder/><ref name=ericcorijn/><ref name=britishcouncil/> Recent immigration has brought its population of foreign origin to 56%.{{Fact|date=March 2008}} The two largest foreign groups come from two [[Francophonie|francophone]] countries: [[France]] and [[Morocco]].<ref>France: 41,716; Morocco: 40 646 {{cite web| title=IS 2007 - Population (Tableaux) | publisher=[[Brussels-Capital Region]] |language=French | url=http://www.bruxelles.irisnet.be/cmsmedia/fr/is_2007_population_tableaux.xls?uri=ff80818115f323cb0115f659b6880039
|accessdate=2008-03-17}}
</ref> The first language of roughly half of the inhabitants is not an official one of the Capital Region.{{Fact|date=March 2008}} Nevertheless, about three out of four residents have the Belgian nationality.<ref name=philippevanparijs>
{{cite journal
|title=Belgium's new linguistic challenges
|author=[[Philippe Van Parijs|Van Parijs, Philippe]], Professor of economic and social ethics at the [[Université Catholique de Louvain|UCLouvain]], Visiting Professor at [[Harvard University]] and the [[Katholieke Universiteit Leuven|KULeuven]]
|journal=KVS Express (supplement to newspaper [[De Morgen]]) March–April 2007
|pages=Article from [http://www.kvs.be/kvs_express/KVS_EXPRESS_13_WEB.pdf original source (pdf <small>4.9 MB</small>)] pages 34–36 republished by the Belgian Federal Government Service (ministry) of Economy — Directorate-general Statistics Belgium
|url=http://www.statbel.fgov.be/studies/ac699_en.pdf
|format=pdf <small>0.7 MB</small>
|accessdate=2007-05-05}} — The linguistic situation in Belgium (and in particular various estimations of the population speaking French and Dutch in Brussels) is discussed in detail.</ref><ref name=standaard>
{{cite journal
|title=Van autochtoon naar allochtoon
|quote=''Meer dan de helft van de Brusselse bevolking is van vreemde afkomst. In 1961 was dat slechts 7 procent.'' (More than half of the Brussels' population is of foreign origin. In 1961 this was only 7 percent.)
|journal=[[De Standaard]] (newspaper) online
|language=[[Dutch language|Dutch]]
|url=http://www.standaard.be/Artikel/Detail.aspx?artikelId=641B1LAQ&word=brussel+bevolking
|accessdate=2007-05-05}}</ref><ref name=calc1>Footnote: The Brussels region's 56% residents of foreign origin include several percents of either [[Netherlands<!--must link nationality, not 'ethnic group'-->|Dutch people]] or native speakers of French, thus roughly half of the inhabitants do not speak either French or Dutch as primary language.</ref><ref name=ibsa>
{{cite web
|title=Population et ménages
|publisher=IBSA Cellule statistique — Min. Région Bruxelles-Capitale (Statistical cell — Ministry of the Brussels-Capital Region)
|language=[[French language|French]]
|url=http://www.bruxelles.irisnet.be/cmsmedia/fr/is_2006_population_menages.pdf?uri=43742a9611346ccd0111374fb94f0351
|format=pdf <small>1.4 MB</small>
|accessdate=2007-05-05}}</ref> In general the population of Brussels is younger and the gap between rich and poor is wider. Brussels also has a large concentration of people of Turkish and Moroccan ancestry, and mainly French-speaking black Africans. Since Belgium does not collect statistics by ethnic background, exact figures are unknown.
In 2006, the [[Université Catholique de Louvain]], the country's largest French-speaking university, published a report with the introduction ''(here translated)'': "This issue of Regards économiques is devoted to the demand for knowledge of languages in Belgium and in its three regions (Brussels, Flanders, Wallonia). The surveys show that Flanders is clearly more [[Multilingualism|multilingual]], which is without doubt a well known fact, but the difference is considerable : whereas 59% and 53% of the Flemings know French or English respectively, only 19% and 17% of the Walloons know Dutch or English. The measures advocated by the Marshall Plan go towards the proper direction, but are without doubt very insufficient to fully overcome the lag." ''(This particular 2006–2009 'Marshall Plan' was devised in 2004 and published in 2005 to uplift the Walloon economy.<ref>
{{cite journal
|title=Le plan Marshall: cinq actions prioritaires pour l’avenir wallon (The Marshall plan: five prioritary actions for the Walloon future)
|author=[http://www.bayenet.be/pages/carriere.htm Bayenet, Benoît], Professor at the [[Université Libre de Bruxelles]], in 2004 Economical Advisor to the federal Vice Prime Minister & Justice Minister, and to the Walloon Region's Minister of Economy and Employment; Vandendorpe, Luc, ''Direction Politique économique'', Ministry of the Walloon Region
|year=2004<!--text, not yet the publication-->
|language=[[French language|French]]
|journal=<span style="font-size:87%;">OVER.WERK</span> journal of Steunpunt WAV
|issue=4/2005
|publisher=Acco}}</ref>)'' Within the report, professors in economics [[Victor Ginsburgh|Ginsburgh]] and [[Shlomo Weber|Weber]] further show that of the Brussels' residents, 95% declared they can speak French, 59% Dutch, and 41% know the non-local English. Economically significant for a further globalizing future, among people under the age of forty, in Flanders 59%, in Wallonia 10%, and in Brussels 28% can speak all three forementioned languages. In each region, Belgium's third official language, German, is notably less known than those.<ref>
{{cite journal
|author=[[Victor Ginsburgh|Ginsburgh, Victor]], [[Université Catholique de Louvain]]; [[Shlomo Weber|Weber, Shlomo]], Professor of Economics and Director of the Center for Economic Studies of the [[Southern Methodist University]], Dallas, USA, and having a seat in the expert panel of the [[IMF]].
|title=La dynamique des langues en Belgique
|journal=Regards économiques, Publication préparée par les économistes de l'[[Université Catholique de Louvain]]
|month=June
|year=2006
|issue=Numéro 42
|quote=Ce numéro de Regards économiques est consacré à la question des connaissances linguistiques en Belgique et dans ses trois régions (Bruxelles, Flandre, Wallonie). Les enquêtes montrent que la Flandre est bien plus multilingue, ce qui est sans doute un fait bien connu, mais la différence est considérable : alors que 59 % et 53 % des Flamands connaissent le français ou l'anglais respectivement, seulement 19 % et 17 % des Wallons connaissent le néerlandais ou l'anglais. Les mesures préconisées par le Plan Marshall vont dans la bonne direction, mais sont sans doute très insuffisantes pour combler le retard. ... 95 pour cent des Bruxellois déclarent parler le français, alors que ce pourcentage tombe à 59 pour cent pour le néerlandais. Quant à l’anglais, il est connu par une proportion importante de la population à Bruxelles (41 pour cent). ... Le syndrome d’H (...) frappe la Wallonie, où à peine 19 et 17 pour cent de la population parlent respectivement le néerlandais et l’anglais.
|language=[[French language|French]]
|url=http://regards.ires.ucl.ac.be/Archives/RE042.pdf
|format=pdf <small>0.7 MB</small>
|accessdate=2007-05-07
|doi=10.1159/000013462
|volume=19
|pages=282}} (Summary:
{{cite web
|title=Slechts 19 procent van de Walen spreekt Nederlands
|date=[[2006-06-12]]
|publisher=[[Nederlandse Taalunie]]
|language=[[Dutch language|Dutch]]
|url=http://taalunieversum.org/nieuws/1349/
|accessdate=2007-05-26}} — The article shows the interest in the Ginsburg-Weber report, by the French-language Belgian newspaper [[Le Soir]] and the [[Algemeen Dagblad]] in the Netherlands)</ref><ref>
{{cite web
|title=Réformer sans tabous - Question 1: les langues — La connaissance des langues en Belgique: ''Reactie''
|quote=Hoewel in beide landsdelen de jongeren inderdaad meer talen kennen dan de ouderen, is de talenkloof tussen Vlaanderen en Wallonië toch gegroeid. Dit komt omdat de talenkennis in Vlaanderen sneller is toegenomen dan die in Wallonië. ... Het probleem aan Franstalige kant is dus groot en er is, verassend genoeg, niet echt een verbetering of oplossing in zicht. ... het is met de kennis van het Engels ongeveer even pover gesteld als met de kennis van het Nederlands. Tot daar dus de verschoning van de povere talenkennis aan Waalse zijde als een rationele individuele keuze in een markt met externe effecten. Het is merkwaardig dat de auteurs dit huizenhoge probleem met hun verklaring
expliciet toegeven, maar er bij het formuleren van beleidsadviezen dan toch maar van uit gaan dat hun model juist is. (Although in both parts of the country the young indeed know more languages than the elder, the languages chasm between Flanders and Wallonia has nevertheless grown. This is because the knowledge of languages in Flanders has increased faster than that in Wallonia. ... Thus the problem at the French-speaking side is large and there is, quite surprisingly, not really an improvement or solution in sight. ... the knowledge of English is in about as poor a state as the knowledge of Dutch. So far, about the excuse for the poor knowledge of languages on the Walloon side as a rational individual choice in a market with external effects. It is remarkable that the authors by their statement explicitly acknowledge this towering problem, but in formulating governance advices still assume their model to be correct.)
|author=Schoors, Koen, Professor of Economics at [[Ghent University]], the [[Katholieke Universiteit Leuven|KULeuven]] and the [[Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School]].
|publisher=Itinera Institute
|language=[[Dutch language|Dutch]]
|url=http://www.itinerainstitute.org/Sites/ItinerainstituteBe/Assets/RST/Q1_reactie.pdf
|format=pdf
|accessdate=2007-06-14}} — Reaction on the Ginsburgh-Weber report;
{{cite web
|title=Ib. ''Reactions''
|language=[[French language|French]] translation
|url=http://www.itinerainstitute.org/Sites/ItinerainstituteBe/Assets/RST/Q1_reaction.pdf
|format=pdf}}<!--same accessdate 2007-06-14--></ref><ref name=philippevanparijs/>
===Education===
{{seealso|Education in Belgium}}
Education is compulsory from six to eighteen for Belgians, but many continue to study until about 23 years of age. Among [[OECD]] countries in 2002, Belgium had the third-highest proportion of 18–21-year-olds enrolled in [[postsecondary education]], at 42%.<ref>
{{cite web
|title=Table 388. Percentage of population enrolled in secondary and postsecondary institutions, by age group and country
|work=Digest of Education Statistics — Tables and Figures
|chapter=Chapter 6. International Comparisons of Education
|year=2005, data: 2002
|publisher=[[National Center for Education Statistics]], [[Institute of Education Sciences]] (<span style="font-size:87%;">IES</span>), [[US Department of Education]]
|url=http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d05/tables/dt05_388.asp
|accessdate=2007-06-06}}</ref> Though an estimated 98% of the adult population is [[literate]], concern is rising over [[functional illiteracy]].<ref name=ethnologue/><ref>
{{cite web
|title=I. Monitoring Human Development: Enlarging peoples's choices... — 5. Human poverty in OECD, Eastern Europe and the CIS
|work=Human Development Indicators
|year=2000
|pages=pp. 172–173
|publisher=[[United Nations Development Programme]] (<span style="font-size:87%;">UNDP</span>)
|url=http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2000/en/pdf/hdr_2000_back1.pdf
|format=pdf
|accessdate=2007-06-06}}</ref>
The [[Programme for International Student Assessment]], coordinated by the [[OECD]], currently ranks Belgium's education as the 19th best in the world, being significantly higher than the OECD average.<ref>http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/42/8/39700724.pdf</ref>
Highly politicized conflicts between freethought and Catholic segments of the population during the 1950s caused a split in educational organization. A secular branch of schooling is controlled by the Community, the province, or the municipality, while religious, mainly [[Catholic school|Catholic branch]] education, is organized by religious authorities, although [[subsidy|subsidized]] and supervised by the Community.<ref name=deley>
{{cite web
|title=Humanists and Muslims in Belgian Secular Society (Draft version)
|year=2000
|author=De Ley, Herman
|publisher=Centrum voor Islam in Europe (Centre for Islam in Europe), [[Ghent University]]
|url=http://www.flwi.ugent.be/cie/CIE/deley10.htm
|accessdate=2007-06-07}}</ref>
===Religion===
{{seealso|Religion in Belgium}}
Since the country's independence, [[Roman Catholicism]], counterbalanced by strong [[freethought]] movements, has had an important role in Belgium's politics.<ref>See for example [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_%281913%29/Belgium Belgium] entry of the [[Catholic Encyclopedia]]</ref> However Belgium is largely a [[secular]] country as the ''[[laicite|laicist]]'' [[Constitution of Belgium|constitution]] provides for freedom of religion, and the government generally respects this right in practice. Nevertheless, the monarchy has a reputation of deeply-rooted Catholicism. In 1990, for instance, as a King constitutionally obliged to sign a law legalizing abortion after it had been passed by both chambers, [[Baudouin I of Belgium|Baudouin]] asked the then Christian-Democrat Prime Minister [[Wilfried Martens]] to find a way out, causing the Parliament to declare him 'temporarily unfit to reign', with his consent.<ref>
{{cite news
|title=<span style="font-size:87%;">HEADLINERS</span>; Out of Power
|publisher=New York Times
|date=[[1990-04-08]]
|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE2DB1538F93BA35757C0A966958260
|accessdate=2007-06-07}}</ref> On the yearly national holiday, the King and Queen and other members of the royal family officially attend [[Te Deum]] celebrations.<ref>Members of the royal family may attend Te Deums at several locations, the King and Queen always in the Brussels-Capital Region.<br/>*
{{cite web
|title=July 21 — national holiday
|date=2004-07-20
|work=.be Portal
|publisher=Belgian Federal Government
|url=http://www.belgium.be/eportal/application?languageParameter=en&pageid=contentPage&docId=35613
|accessdate=2007-07-07}}<br/>*
{{cite web
|title=Festivities for the National Holiday
|date=2006-07-14
|work=.be Portal
|publisher=Belgian Federal Government
|url=http://www.belgium.be/eportal/application?pageid=contentPage&languageParameter=en&docId=43101
|accessdate=2007-07-07}}</ref>
Symbolically and materially, the Roman Catholic Church remains in a favourable position. Belgium's concept of 'recognized religions'<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hrwf.net/belgium/ext/human_rights_in_belgium_2001.pdf
|title=2001 Annual Report on Human Rights in Belgium}}</ref> set a path for [[Islam]] to follow to acquire the treatment of [[Jewish]] and [[Protestant]] religions. While other minority religions, such as [[Hinduism]], do not yet have such status, [[Buddhism]] took the first steps toward legal recognition in 2007.<ref name=deley/><ref name=oldenburg>
{{cite web
|author=Bousetta, Hassan; Gsir, Sonia; Jacobs, Dirk
|title=Active Civic Participation of Immigrants in Belgium — Country Report prepared for the European research project POLITIS, Oldenburg
|year=2005
|publisher=[[Carl von Ossietzky]] University, Oldenburg IBKM
|quote=In many respects, the Catholic Roman Church remains in a very advantageous situation both symbolically and materially. The long and troublesome process that eventually lead to the recognition of Islam is also illustrative of the ambiguity of the relations between the Belgian
State and religions. For 25 years, Islam has been maintained in an unfair position in comparison to other religions.
|url=http://www.uni-oldenburg.de/politis-europe/download/Belgium.pdf
|format=pdf
|accessdate=2007-05-08}}</ref><ref name=metro>
{{cite news
|title=België gaat plat op zijn buik voor China (Belgium bends over backwards for China)
|language=[[Dutch language|Dutch]]
|date=[[2007-05-10]]
|publisher=[[Metro (Belgian newspaper)]]
|issue=#1455
|pages=page 2
|quote=''[Upon the [[Dalai Lama]] for the second time in two years canceling a visit to Belgium after being informed by the Belgian government of [[Government of the People's Republic of China|Peking]]'s diplomatic pressure, quote newspaper:]'' Uittredend Senaatsvoorzitster Anne-Marie Lizin reageert teleurgesteld: 'Gezien het belang van de vergadering waaraan u wilde deelnemen en gezien de redenen van uw beslissing, betreur ik dat ik u niet kan ontvangen in ons land, een land dat openstaat voor iedereen, ongeacht de religieuze overtuiging, en dat net een eerste stap heeft gezet in de erkenning van het'<small>[sic]</small> 'boeddhistische filosofie'. (Lawfully resigning at the end of the government's legislation, President of the Senat Anne-Marie Lizin reacts disappointed: 'In view of the importance of the meeting you wanted to attend and in view of the reasons of your decision, I regret not being able to receive you in our country, a country open for everyone regardless the religious conviction, and which has just set a first step towards the recognition of the Buddhist philosophy.')
|url=http://www.metrotime.be/digipapernl.html?pag=2&kdate=2007-05-10
|accessdate=2007-05-10}} Alternative urls:[http://www.metrotime.be/digipaperArticlenl.html?storyId=3947981 α], [http://www.metrotime.be/Belgie_gaat_plat_op_br_zijn_buik_voor_China.html β], pdf <small>1.1 MB</small>:[http://www.metrotime.be/UserFiles/DigiPaper/nl/20070510/2/MVLMP-0-20070510-02.pdf γ]<!--Retrieved same date--></ref> According to the ''2001 Survey and Study of Religion'',<ref>
{{cite web
|title=Belgium
|work=International Religious Freedom Report 2004
|year=2004
|publisher=US Department of State, [[Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor]]
|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2004/35444.htm
|accessdate=2007-05-28}}</ref> about 47% of the population identify themselves as belonging to the Catholic Church, while Islam is the second-largest religion at 3.5%. A 2006 inquiry in Flanders, considered to be a more religious region than Wallonia, showed that 55% considered themselves religious, and that 36% believed that God created the world.<ref>Inquiry by 'Vepec', 'Vereniging voor Promotie en Communicatie' (Organisation for Promotion and Communication), published in Knack magazine [[22 November]][[2006]] p. 14 [The Dutch language term 'gelovig' is in the text translated as 'religious', more precisely it is a very common word for believing in particular in any kind of God in a [[monotheism|monotheistic]] sense, and/or in some [[afterlife]]].</ref>
According to the most recent [[Eurobarometer|Eurobarometer Poll]] 2005,<ref name=EUROBAROMETER>{{cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_225_report_en.pdf|title=Eurobarometer on Social Values, Science and technology 2005 - page 11|accessdate=2007-05-05}}</ref> 43% of Belgian citizens responded that "they believe there is a god", whereas 29% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 27% that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force".
There is also a tiny [[Hindu]] and [[Sikh]] population. While there are around 8,000 Hindus mostly near [[Antwerp]], most [[Sikhs]] (around 10,000) are either in [[Vilvoorde]] or [[Sint-Truiden]] (see [[Sikhism in Belgium]]).
==Science and technology==
[[Image:mercator.jpg|thumb|110px|Gerardus Mercator]]
{{main|Science and technology in Belgium}}
Contributions to the development of science and technology have appeared throughout the country's history. The sixteenth century [[Early Modern]] flourishing of Western Europe included [[cartography|cartographer]] [[Gerardus Mercator]], [[anatomy|anatomist]] [[Andreas Vesalius]], [[herbalist]] [[Rembert Dodoens]], and [[mathematics|mathematician]] [[Simon Stevin]] among the most influential scientists. In the first half of the seventeenth century, the Walloon method of making [[bar iron]] found its way to [[Sweden]] where it remained in use for more than two hundred and sixty years.
The quickly developed and dense Belgian railroad system caused major companies like [[La Brugeoise et Nivelles SA.|La Brugeoise et Nivelles]] (now the BN division of [[Bombardier Transportation]]) to develop specific technologies, and the economically important [[History of coal mining#Belgium|very deep coal mining]] in the course of the [[First Industrial Revolution]] has required highly reputed specialized studies for [[Mining engineering|mine engineers]].
The end of the nineteenth century and the twentieth saw important Belgian advances in [[applied science|applied]] and [[pure science]]. The chemist [[Ernest Solvay]] and the engineer [[Zenobe Gramme]] (École Industrielle de Liege) gave their names to the [[Solvay process]] and the [[Gramme dynamo]], respectively, in the 1860s. [[Georges Lemaître]] (Université Catholique de Louvain) is credited with proposing the [[Big Bang]] theory of the origin of the universe in 1927. Three [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine|Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine]] were awarded to Belgians: [[Jules Bordet]] ([[Université Libre de Bruxelles]]) in 1919, [[Corneille Heymans]] (Universiteit Gent) in 1938, and [[Albert Claude]] (Université Libre de Bruxelles) and [[Christian De Duve]] (Université Catholique de Louvain) in 1974. [[Ilya Prigogine]] (Université Libre de Bruxelles) was awarded the [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]] in 1977.<ref>
{{cite web
|title=Rembert Dodoens: iets over zijn leven en werk — Dodoens' werken
|date=Revised [[20 Dec]], 2005
|work=Plantaardigheden — Project Rembert Dodoens (Rembertus Dodonaeus)
|language=[[Dutch language|Dutch]]
|quote=... het Cruijdeboeck, dat in 1554 verscheen. Dit meesterwerk was na de bijbel in die tijd het meest vertaalde boek. Het werd gedurende meer dan een eeuw steeds weer heruitgegeven en gedurende meer dan twee eeuwen was het het meest gebruikte handboek over kruiden in West-Europa. Het is een werk van wereldfaam en grote wetenschappelijke waarde. De nieuwe gedachten die Dodoens erin neerlegde, werden de bouwstenen voor de botanici en medici van latere generaties. ''(... the Cruijdeboeck, published in 1554. This masterpiece was, after the bible, the most translated book in that time. It continued to be republished for more than a century and for more than two centuries it was the mostly used referential about herbs. It is a work with world fame and great scientific value. The new thoughts written down by Dodoens, became the building bricks for botanists and [[physician]]s of later generations.)''
|publisher=Stichting Kruidenhoeve/Plantaardigheden, Balkbrug, the Netherlands
|url=http://plantaardigheden.nl/dodoens/over_dodoens/leven_en_werk.htm#dodoens
|accessdate=2007-05-17}}<br />*
{{cite web
|title=Simon Stevin
|author=O'Connor, J. J.; Robertson, E. F.
|publisher=School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St Andrews, Scotland
|year=2004
|url=http://www-groups.dcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Stevin.html
|quote=Although he did not invent decimals (they had been used by the Arabs and the Chinese long before Stevin's time) he did introduce their use in mathematics in Europe.
|accessdate=2007-05-11}}<br />*
{{cite web
|title=Abstract (*)
|quote=The importance of A. Vesalius' publication'' 'de humani corporis fabrica libri septem' ''cannot be overestimated.
|publisher=S. Karger AG, Basel
|url=http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/produkte.asp?Aktion=ShowPDF&ProduktNr=223979&Ausgabe=225203&ArtikelNr=13462
|accessdate=2007-05-11}} (*) Free abstract for pay-per-view article by
{{cite journal
|title=The Low Countries - 16th/17th Century
|author=De Broe, Marc E.; De Weerdt, Dirk L.; Ysebaert, Dirk K.; Vercauteren, Sven R.; De Greef, Kathleen E.; De Broe Luc C.
|work=Origins of Renal Physiology
|journal=American Journal of Nephrology
|year=1999
|volume=19
|issue=2
|pages=pp. 282–9
|pmid=10213829
|doi=10.1159/000013462
|url=http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/produkte.asp?Aktion=ShowPDF&ArtikelNr=13462&Ausgabe=225203&ProduktNr=223979&filename=13462.pdf
|format=pdf}}<br />*
{{cite journal
|title=Study Tour Takes A Close-up Look at Sweden’s Industrial Heritage
|author=Poh Miller, Carol
|journal=Society for Industrial Archeology Newsletter
|year=2003 |month=Winter
|volume=32
|issue=1
|pages=p. 7. <!--publisher=-->Department of Social Sciences, [[Michigan Technological University]], U.S.A.
|url=http://www.social.mtu.edu/ia/sian/images/sianv32/sianv321.pdf
|format=pdf
|accessdate=2007-07-13}}<br />*
{{cite web
|title='A Day Without Yesterday': Georges Lemaitre & the Big Bang
|date=[[2000-03-24]]
|pages=pp. 18–19
|author=Midbon, Mark, [[University of Wisconsin-Madison]]
|publisher=[[Commonweal]], republished: Catholic Education Resource Center (<span style="font-size:87%;">CERC</span>)
|url=http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/science/sc0022.html
|accessdate=2007-06-07}}</ref>
==Culture==
{{main|Culture of Belgium}}
Belgian cultural life is concentrated within each language community,<ref name="Fitzmaurice"/><ref>
{{cite web
|title=Belgium — Arts and cultural education
|work=Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in Europe, 8th edition
|publisher=Council of Europe / ERICarts
|year=2007
|url=http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/belgium.php?aid=831
|accessdate=2007-05-08}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web
|title=Belgique (though it should have been 'Belgium')
|work=European Culture Portal
|publisher=[[European Commission]]
|year=2007
|url=http://ec.europa.eu/culture/portal/sites/members/belgium_en.htm
|accessdate=2007-05-10}}</ref> and a variety of barriers have made a shared cultural sphere less pronounced. There has been since the 1970s no bilingual universities except the [[Royal Military Academy (Belgium)|Royal Military Academy]], no common media,<ref>{{cite web
|title=Frontière linguistique, frontière politique, une presse en crise
|language=French
|author=Adrien Gonthier
|publisher=[[Le Monde Diplomatique]]
|year=2003
|url=http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/2003/05/GONTHIER/10142
|accessdate=2008-06-17}}</ref> and no single large cultural or scientific organization in which both main communities are represented. The forces that once held them (the Belgians) together--Roman Catholicism and economic and political opposition to the Dutch-- are no longer strong.<ref>{{cite book
| last = Mumford
| first = David
| authorlink = David Mumford
| title = The World Today Series
| publisher = [[NY Times]]
| series = Western Europe/2007
| year = 2008
| isbn = 1-887985-89-1 }}</ref>
Despite its political and linguistic divisions that have been strongly changing during the centuries, the region corresponding to today's Belgium has seen the flourishing of major artistic movements that have had tremendous influence on European art and culture.
===Fine arts===
{{seealso|list of Flemish painters|list of Belgian painters}}
[[Image:Brueghel-tower-of-babel.jpg|thumb|left|250px|''[[The Tower of Babel (Brueghel)|The Tower of Babel]]'' (oil on board, c. 1563)<br />by [[Pieter Brueghel the Elder]], <br />in [[Vienna]]'s [[Kunsthistorisches Museum]].]]
Contributions to painting and architecture have been especially rich. The [[Mosan art]], the [[Early Netherlandish painting|Early Netherlandish]],<ref>
{{cite web
|title=Low Countries, 1000–1400 AD
|work=Timeline of Art History
|publisher=[[Metropolitan Museum of Art]]
|year=2007
|url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/07/euwl/ht07euwl.htm
|accessdate=2007-05-10}}</ref> the [[Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting|Flemish Renaissance]] and [[Baroque painting]],<ref>
{{cite web
|title=Low Countries, 1400–1600 AD
|work=Timeline of Art History
|publisher=[[Metropolitan Museum of Art]]
|year=2007
|url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/08/euwl/ht08euwl.htm
|accessdate=2007-05-10}}</ref> and major examples of [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]], [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]], [[Renaissance architecture|Renaissance]] and [[Baroque architecture]]<ref>Several examples of major architectural realisations in Belgium belong to [[UNESCO]]'s [[World Heritage List]]:
{{cite web
|title=Belgium
|work=Properties inscribed on the World Heritage List
|publisher=[[UNESCO]]
|url=http://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/be
|accessdate=2007-05-15}}</ref> are milestones in the history of art. Famous names in this classic tradition include the Flemish artists [[Jan van Eyck]], [[Rogier van der Weyden]] and, [[Pieter Brueghel the Elder]] as well as [[Lambert Lombard]] and [[Theodore de Bry]] from Liège. The [[Flemish painting|historical artistic production of the Flemish]] before the early seventeenth century [[Flemish Baroque painting|Baroque style]] of [[Peter Paul Rubens]] and [[Anthony van Dyck]] is often not distinguished from that of the Dutch nor of the Walloons. In the southern Netherlands it gradually declined thereafter, although high quality [[tapestry]] continued to be created until well into the eighteenth century.<ref>
{{cite web
|title=Low Countries, 1600–1800 AD
|work=Timeline of Art History
|publisher=[[Metropolitan Museum of Art]]
|year=2007
|url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/09/euwl/ht09euwl.htm
|accessdate=2007-05-10}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web
|title=Art History: Flemish School: (1600–1800) — Artists: (biography & artworks)
|date=[[2006-02-05]]
|publisher=World Wide Arts Resources
|url=http://wwar.com/masters/movements/flemish_school.html
|accessdate=2007-05-10}} — A general presentation of the Flemish artistic movement with a list of its artists, linking to their biographies and artworks</ref>
During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries many original [[romanticism|romantic]], [[expressionism|expressionist]] and [[surrealism|surrealist]] Belgian painters emerged, including [[Egide Charles Gustave Wappers|Egide Wappers]], [[James Ensor]], [[Constant Permeke]] and [[René Magritte]]. The avant-garde [[COBRA (avant-garde movement)|CoBrA movement]] appeared in the 1950s, while the sculptor [[Panamarenko]] remains a remarkable figure in contemporary art.<ref>
{{cite web
|title=Belgian Artists: (biographies & artworks)
|date=[[2006-02-05]]
|publisher=World Wide Arts Resources
|url=http://wwar.com/masters/nationalities/belgian.html
|accessdate=2007-05-10}} — List of Belgian painters, linking to their biographies and artworks</ref><ref>
{{cite web
|author=Baudson, Michel
|title=Panamarenko
|publisher=Flammarion (Paris), quoted at presentation of the ''XXIII Bienal Internacional de São Paulo''
|year=1996
|url=http://www1.uol.com.br/bienal/23bienal/universa/iueopa.htm
|accessdate=2007-05-10}}</ref> The multidisciplinary artist [[Jan Fabre]] and the painter [[Luc Tuymans]] are other internationally renowned figures on the contemporary art scene. Belgian contributions to architecture also continued into the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including the work of [[Victor Horta]] and [[Henry van de Velde]], who were major initiators of the [[Art Nouveau]] style.<ref>
[http://www.senses-artnouveau.com/brussels.php Brussels, capital of Art Nouveau (page 1)],
{{cite web
|title=ib. (page2)
|year=2007
|publisher=[http://www.senses-artnouveau.com/about_us.php Senses Art Nouveau Shop], Brussels
|url=http://www.senses-artnouveau.com/brussels.php?page=2
|accessdate=2007-05-11}} (for example)</ref><ref>
{{cite web
|title=Major Town Houses of the Architect Victor Horta (Brussels)
|work=[[UNESCO]]'s [[World Heritage List]]
|publisher=UNESCO
|url=http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1005
|quote=The appearance of Art Nouveau in the closing years of the 19th century marked a decisive stage in the evolution of architecture, making possible subsequent developments, and the Town Houses of Victor Horta in Brussels bear exceptional witness to its radical new approach.
|accessdate=2007-05-16}}</ref>
The [[vocal music]] of the [[Franco-Flemish School]] developed in the southern part of the Low Countries and was an important contribution to Renaissance culture.<ref>
{{cite web
|title=Western music, the Franco-Flemish school
|quote=Most significant musically was the pervasive influence of musicians from the Low Countries, whose domination of the musical scene during the last half of the 15th century is reflected in the period designations the Netherlands school and the Franco-Flemish school.
|work=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]
|year=2007
|url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-15698/Western-music
|accessdate=2007-05-15}}</ref> The nineteenth and twentieth centuries witnessed the appearance of major violinists, such as [[Henri Vieuxtemps]], [[Eugène Ysaÿe]] and [[Arthur Grumiaux]], while [[Adolphe Sax]] invented the [[saxophone]] in 1846. The composer [[Cesar Franck|César Franck]] was born in [[Liège (city)|Liège]] in 1822. Belgium has also produced [[Belgian music|music]] of contemporary note. The first Belgian singer to successfully pursue an international career is [[Bobbejaan Schoepen]], pioneer of varieté and pop music.<ref>
{{cite web
|author=Notte, Peter
|title=De Vlaamse kleinkunstbeweging na de Tweede Wereldoorlog. Een historisch overzicht. — 4. De schlager na de tweede wereldoorlog
|work=Verhandeling voorgelegd aan de Faculteit der Letteren en Wijsbegeerte, groep Germaanse Filologie, van de Universiteit Gent, voor het verkrijgen van de graad van licentiaat (Thesis presented at the Faculty of Literature and Philosophy, Germanic Philology, Ghent University, for obtaining a licentiate [equivalent to master's] degree) Promotor: Prof. Dr Anne-Marie Musschoot
|year=1992
|language=[[Dutch language|Dutch]]
|publisher=Sint-Lodewijkscholen (educational project ethesis)
|url=http://www.ethesis.net/kleinkunst/kleinkunst_4.htm
|accessdate=2007-05-12}} (For these credentials see [http://www.ethesis.net/kleinkunst/kleinkunst_inhoud.htm this thesis' presentation], retrieved on [[2007-05-12]])</ref> Jazz musician [[Toots Thielemans]] has achieved global fame, as have the singers [[Jacques Brel]] and Italy-born [[Salvatore Adamo|Adamo]].<ref>The Italian singer Adamo mainly made his career in Belgium, as confirmed by the [http://www.adamosalvatore.com/bio.html biography on his site], retrieved on [[2007-06-07]].</ref> In rock/pop music, [[Telex (band)|Telex]], [[Front 242]], [[K's Choice]], [[Hooverphonic]], [[Zap Mama]], [[Soulwax]] and [[Deus (band)|dEUS]] are well known.<ref>Two comprehensive discussions of rock and pop music in Belgium since the fifties:<br />*
{{cite web
|title=The Timeline — A brief history of Belgian Pop Music
|year=2007 |month=March
|work=The Belgian Pop & Rock Archives
|publisher=[http://www.muziekcentrum.be/english/about/static.asp?Id=298 Flanders Music Centre], Brussels
|url=http://houbi.com/belpop/timeline.htm
|accessdate=2007-06-07}}<br />*
{{cite web
|title=Belgian Culture — Rock
|year=© 2006
|publisher=[http://www.belgianexperts.com/aboutus.php Vanberg & DeWulf Importing]
|url=http://www.belgianexperts.com/rock.php
|accessdate=2007-05-11}}</ref>
Belgium has produced several well-known [[Belgian literature|authors]], including the poet [[Emile Verhaeren]] and novelists [[Hendrik Conscience]], [[Georges Simenon]], [[Suzanne Lilar]] and [[Amélie Nothomb]]. The poet and playwright [[Maurice Maeterlinck]] won the [[Nobel Prize in literature]] in 1911. ''[[The Adventures of Tintin]]'' by [[Hergé]] is the best known of [[Franco-Belgian comics]], but many other major authors, including [[Peyo]] ([[The Smurfs]]), [[André Franquin]], [[Edgar P. Jacobs]], and [[Willy Vandersteen]] brought the [[Belgian comics|Belgian cartoon strip industry]] on a par with the U.S.A. and Japan.
[[Cinema of Belgium|Belgian cinema]], often influenced by the [[Cinema of the Netherlands|Dutch]] or [[French cinema|French]], has brought a number of mainly Flemish novels to life on-screen.<ref>Notable Belgian films based on works by Flemish authors include: ''De Witte'' (author [[Ernest Claes]]) movie by Jan Vanderheyden & Edith Kiel in 1934, remake as ''De Witte van Sichem'' directed by [[Robbe De Hert]] in 1980; ''De man die zijn haar kort liet knippen'' ([[Johan Daisne]]) [[André Delvaux]] 1965; ''Mira'' ('De teleurgang van de Waterhoek' by [[Stijn Streuvels]]) [[Fons Rademakers]] 1971; ''[[Malpertuis]] (aka The Legend of Doom House)'' ([[Jean Ray]] [pen name of Flemish author who mainly wrote in [[French language|French]], or as John Flanders in [[Dutch language|Dutch]]]) [[Harry Kümel]] 1971<!--not 1973 as hereafter 'see also' link, it won the Cannes Festival in 1972-->; ''De loteling'' ([[Hendrik Conscience]]) Roland Verhavert 1974; ''Dood van een non'' ([[Maria Rosseels]]) Paul Collet & Pierre Drouot 1975; ''Pallieter'' ([[Felix Timmermans]]) Roland Verhavert 1976; ''De komst van Joachim Stiller'' ([[Hubert Lampo]]) [[Harry Kümel]] 1976; ''[[De Leeuw van Vlaanderen]]'' ([[Hendrik Conscience]]) [[Hugo Claus]] (a famous author himself) 1985; ''[[Daens (film)|Daens]]'' ('Pieter Daens' by [[Louis Paul Boon]]) [[Stijn Coninx]] 1992; see also [http://www.ledoux.be/nl/dvdmain.htm Filmarchief ''les DVD!s de la cinémathèque''] (in [[Dutch language|Dutch]]). Retrieved on [[2007-06-07]].</ref> The absence of a major Belgian cinema company, however, has forced several talented directors to emigrate, such as Carl Colpaert or participate in low-budget productions such as [[Marc Didden]]'s ''Brussels by Night'' (1983).<ref>
{{cite web
|title=Kroniek van de Vlaamse film 1955–1990 — Perstekst naar aanleiding van de uitgave van ‘Brussels By Night’
|language=[[Dutch language|Dutch]]
|publisher=[[Flemish Community]], Media Desk, Ghent
|url=http://www.mediadesk-vlaanderen.be/ic_downloads/project%20kroniek%20van%20de%20vlaamse%20film.doc
|format=doc
|accessdate=2007-05-12}}</ref> Other Belgian directors include [[André Delvaux]], [[Stijn Coninx]], [[Luc Dardenne|Luc]] and [[Jean-Pierre Dardenne]]; well-known actors include [[Jan Decleir]] and [[Marie Gillain]]; and successful films include ''[[Man Bites Dog (film)|Man Bites Dog]]'' and ''[[The Alzheimer Affair]]''.<ref>A review of the Belgian cinema can be found at
{{cite web
|title=Cinema
|work=.be Federal Portal
|publisher=Federal government of Belgium
|year=2007
|url=http://www.belgium.be/eportal/application?languageParameter=en&pageid=contentPage&docId=6879
|accessdate=2007-05-13}}</ref> In the 1980s, Antwerp's [[Koninklijke Academie voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen|Royal Academy of Fine Arts]] produced important fashion trendsetters, known as the [[Antwerp Six]].<ref>
{{cite web
|title=Fashion and the ‘Antwerp Six’
|year=© 2004
|publisher=[http://fashionworlds.blogspot.com/2000_01_01_fashionworlds_archive.html Fashion Worlds], Dorset, UK
|url=http://fashionworlds.blogspot.com/2000_01_16_fashionworlds_archive.html
|accessdate=2007-05-13}}</ref>
===Folklore===
[[Image:Binche MCL01.jpg|right|thumb|200px|The [[Gilles]] of [[Binche]], in costume, wearing wax masks]]
Folklore plays a major role in Belgium's cultural life: the country has a comparatively high number of [[procession]]s, [[cavalcade]]s, [[parade]]s, 'ommegangs' and 'ducasses',<ref>Footnote: The Dutch word 'ommegang' is here used in the sense of an entirely or mainly non-religious procession, or the non-religious part thereof — see also [[:nl:Ommegang|its article on the Dutch-language Wikipedia]]; the Processional Giants [http://www.visitbelgium.com/mediaroom/Ommegang.htm of Brussels], Dendermonde and Mechelen mentioned in this paragraph are part of each city's 'ommegang'. The French word 'ducasse' refers also to a procession; the mentioned Processional Giants of Ath and Mons are part of each city's 'ducasse'.</ref> '[[Kermesse (festival)|kermesse]]', and other local festivals, nearly always with an originally religious background. The [[Carnival of Binche]] with its famous [[Gilles]], and the 'Processional Giants and Dragons' of [[Ath]], [[Brussels]], [[Dendermonde]], [[Mechelen]] and [[Mons]] are recognized by [[UNESCO]] as [[Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity]].<ref>
{{cite web
|title=Processional Giants and Dragons in Belgium and France
|publisher=[[UNESCO]]
|url=http://www.unesco.org/culture/intangible-heritage/05eur_uk.htm
|accessdate=2007-05-15}}</ref> Other examples are the Carnival of [[Aalst]]; the still very religious processions of [[procession of the Holy Blood|the Holy Blood]] in [[Bruges]], [[Virga Jesse]] in [[Hasselt]], and [[List of basilicas#Belgium|Hanswijk]] in Mechelen; the [[August 15]] festival in [[Liège (city)|Liège]]; and the Walloon festival in [[Namur (city)|Namur]]. Originated in 1832 and revived in the 1960s, the [[Gentse Feesten]] have become a modern tradition. A major non-official holiday is the [[Saint Nicholas#Saint Nicholas the festive gift-giver|Saint Nicholas Day]], a festivity for children and, in Liège, for students.<ref>
{{cite web
|title=Folklore estudiantin liégeois
|publisher=[[University of Liège]]
|url=http://www.ulg.ac.be/cms/c_36320/photographies-folklore-etudiant?hlText=Saint+Nicolas&hlMode=any&hlText=Saint+Nicolas&hlMode=any&hlText=Saint+Nicolas&hlMode=any
|language=[[French language|French]]
|accessdate=2008-06-17}}</ref>
===Sports===
The [[1920 Summer Olympics]] were held in Antwerp, Belgium.
[[Football in Belgium|Football (soccer)]] and [[cycling]] are especially popular. [[Jean-Marie Pfaff]], a former Belgian goalie, is considered one of the greatest goalkeepers (soccer) in the history of the game.<ref>"[http://www.goalkeepersaredifferent.com/keeper/goalkeeping_greats.htm Goalkeeping Greats]" Goalkeepersaredifferent.com. Retrieved on [[June 29]], [[2008]]</ref>. With five victories in the [[Tour de France]] and numerous other cycling records, Belgian [[Eddy Merckx]] ranks #1 as the greatest cyclist of all time.<ref>
{{cite web
|title=Great, but there are greater
|author=Majendie, Matt
|publisher=[[BBC Sport]]
|date=2005-04-18
|quote=[the Author's] top five [cyclists] of all time: 1 Eddy Merckx, 2 [[Bernard Hinault]], 3 [[Lance Armstrong]], 4 [[Miguel Indurain]], 5 [[Jacques Anquetil]]
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/cycling/3925265.stm
|format=stm
|accessdate=2007-09-20}}</ref> His hour speed record (set in 1972) stood for twelve years. Either [[Kim Clijsters]] or [[Justine Henin]], two Belgian tennis champions, are consistently listed as the Top Professional Female.
The [[Spa-Francorchamps]] motor-racing circuit hosts the [[Formula One World Championship]] [[Belgian Grand Prix]]. The Belgian driver, [[Jacky Ickx]], has won eight Grands Prix and six [[24 Hours of Le Mans]], and twice finished as runner-up in the Formula One World Championship. [[Thierry Boutsen]] also won three races in 1989 and 1990. Belgium also has a strong reputation in [[motocross]]; world champions include [[Roger De Coster]], [[Joël Robert]], [[Georges Jobé]], [[Eric Geboers]], [[Joël Smets]] and [[Stefan Everts]].
Belgium has played a major part in the promotion and development of [[Duathlon]]. More specifically [[Benny Vansteelant]] has made a lasting legacy conquering a stunning 8 World Champion titles and 5 European Champion titles.
Belgium is currently bidding with the Netherlands to host the [[2018 World Cup]]. <ref name="ESPN>[http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=385813&&cc=5739" Benelux trio to apply to host the 2018 World Cup], ESPN Soccernet Global, retrieved on May 22, 2008 from [[2018 FIFA World Cup]]</ref> Both countries previously hosted the [[UEFA European Football Championship]] in [[UEFA Euro 2000|2000]]. Belgium also hosted the European Football Championships in [[UEFA Euro 1972|1972]].
===Cuisine===
Belgium is well known the world over for its [[Belgian cuisine|cuisine]].<ref>
{{cite web
|title=Eating Out in Belgium
|work=subsite www.hostelbelgium.com
|publisher=[http://www.hostelworld.com/aboutus.php Hostelworld.com], Dublin, Ireland
|year=2007
|url=http://www.hostelbelgium.com/countryinfo/eating.php/ChosenCountry.Belgium
|accessdate=2007-05-15}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web
|title=Belgium cuisine
|work=About.com: French Cuisine
|year=2007
|publisher=About, Inc., a part of The New York Times Company
|url=http://frenchfood.about.com/od/belgiancuisine/Belgian_Cuisine.htm
|accessdate=2007-05-15}}</ref> Many highly ranked restaurants can be found in the most influential gastronomic guides, such as the [[Michelin Guide]].<ref>
{{cite web
|title=The Michelin stars 2007 in Belgium
|publisher=[http://www.resto.be/ware/legal.jsp Resto.be <small>TM Dreaminvest</small>]
|year=2007
|url=http://www2.resto.be/bib_new.cfm?langue=uk
|accessdate=2007-05-15}}</ref> Belgian food is, like the country itself, a mix of Germanic and Latin influences. Belgians have a reputation for loving [[Belgian waffle|waffles]] and [[french fries]]; contrary to the name of the latter, both dishes originated in Belgium. The national dishes are "[[steak]] and fries with [[salad]]", and "[[mussel]]s with fries".<ref>
{{cite web
|title=Steak-frites
|publisher=Epicurious
|url=http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/40035
|accessdate=2007-08-12}} Republished from
{{cite book
|title=Everybody Eats Well in Belgium Cookbook
|year=1996 |month=October
|author=Van Waerebeek, Ruth; Robbins, Maria
|publisher=Workman Publishing
|id=ISBN 1-56305-411-6 (Paperback), ISBN 0-7611-0106-3 (Cloth)}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web
|title=Belgium
|publisher=Global Gourmet
|url=http://www.globalgourmet.com/destinations/belgium/backgrounder.html
|accessdate=2007-08-12}} Republished from
{{cite book
|title=Everybody Eats Well in Belgium Cookbook
|year=1996 |month=October
|author=Van Waerebeek, Ruth; Robbins, Maria
|publisher=Workman Publishing
|id=ISBN 1-56305-411-6 (Paperback), ISBN 0-7611-0106-3 (Cloth)}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web
|title=Mussels
|year=2005
|work=Visit Belgium
|publisher=Official Site of the Belgian Tourist Office in the Americas
|url=http://www.visitbelgium.com/mussels.htm
|accessdate=2007-08-12}} — Note: Contrarily to what the text suggests, the season starts as early as July and lasts through April.</ref> A challenge issued by a television program elicited no less than 307 different local or regional dishes, presented on a 118-metre long table in Tivoli Park in [[Mechelen]] on [[1 September]] [[2007]].<ref>
{{cite web
|title=Mechelen viert feest! - het verslag (Fata Morgana)
|language=[[Dutch language|Dutch]]
|quote=[translated] From starter to dessert (...) from all over Flanders. Also the entire public could enjoy the food, and did! Only the verdict by the sworn [[Bailiff#Belgium|bailiff]] might spoil the fun. She counted 307 local or regional dishes
|date=[[2007-09-02]]
|publisher=[[één]], primary TV channel of the official Flemish radio & television broadcast institution [[Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroep|VRT]]
|url=http://www.fatamorgana.be/tv1_master/subsite/fatamorgana/afleveringen/e_fata_413_verslag_ezjkd/index.html
|accessdate=2007-09-02}}. — [300 different ones were required to meet the challenge] see also [http://www.fatamorgana.be/tv1_master/subsite/fatamorgana/afleveringen/e_fata_413_uitdaging_cnklwpq/index.html?video_1 challenge details], retrieved on [[2007-09-02]] </ref>
Brands of Belgian [[chocolate]] and [[pralines]], like [[Callebaut]], [[Côte d'Or (brand)|Côte d'Or]], [[Chocolatier Neuhaus|Neuhaus]], [[Leonidas (chocolate maker)|Leonidas]], [[Guylian]] and [[Godiva Chocolatier|Godiva]], are world renowned and widely sold.
Belgium produces over [[Belgian beer|500 varieties of beer]]. The biggest [[Brewing (beer)|brewer]] in the world by volume is [[InBev]] based in Belgium.<ref>
{{cite press release
|title=InBev dividend 2006: 0.72 euro per share — <small>infobox:</small> About InBev
|quote=InBev is a publicly traded company ([[Euronext]]: INB) based in [[Leuven]], Belgium. The company's origins date back to 1366, and today it is the leading global brewer by volume.
|date=[[2007-04-24]]
|publisher=InBev
|url=http://www.inbev.com/press_releases/20070424.1.e.cfm
|accessdate=2007-05-31}}</ref>
==See also==
{{portal|Belgium|Flag of Belgium.svg}}
<div style="font-size:100%;">
{{columns |width=33ex
|col1width=34.5ex
|col1 =
*[[List of Belgians]]
*[[List of Belgian municipalities by population|List of Belgian municipalities]]
*[[List of Belgium-related topics]]<br/><!--adjust till bottom of table--><br/><!--no bot fix-->
*[[:Category:Belgium-related lists]]
|col2 =
*[[Military of Belgium]]
*[[Crime in Belgium]]
*[[Transportation in Belgium]]
*[[Communications in Belgium]]
*[[Sport in Belgium]]
|col3 =
*[[Tourism in Belgium]]
*[[Public holidays in Belgium]]
*[[Belgian nationality law]]
*[[Belgian passport]]
*[[Euro gold and silver commemorative coins (Belgium)|Belgian euro commemorative coins]]
}}
</div>
==References==
===Footnotes===
<!-- Do not add a scrollbox to these references. It breaks formatting, inhibits printing, and prevents users of screen readers from "viewing" an article's references.-->
{{Reflist|2}}
===General online sources===
{{sourcesstart}}
*{{cite web
|title=Belgium
|work=[[Encyclopædia Britannica Online]]
|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Chicago, IL, USA
|url=http://www.britannica.com/nations/Belgium
|accessdate=2007-06-07}}
*{{cite web
|title=Boordtabel
|year=2007
|language=[[Dutch language|Dutch]]
|publisher=[http://www.briobrussel.be/eng/default.asp?WebpageId=1 Centre for Information, Documentation and Research on Brussels (<span style="font-size:87%;">BRIO</span>)]
|url=http://www.briobrussel.be/ned/webpage4.asp?WebpageId=39
|accessdate=2007-06-02}} (mentioning other original sources)
*{{CIA_World_Factbook_link|be|Belgium}} Retrieved on [[2007-06-07]].
*{{cite web
|title=The Constitution
|date=[[1997-01-21]]
|publisher=Federal Parliament Belgium
|url=http://www.fed-parl.be/constitution_uk.html
|accessdate=2007-06-07}}
*{{cite web
|title=Country Portal - Europe — Belgium
|publisher=Belgian Federal Government Service (ministry) of Economy — Directorate-general Statistics Belgium
|url=http://statbel.fgov.be/port/cou_eu_en.asp#BE
|accessdate=2007-06-07}}
*{{cite web
|title=Die Stellung und Rolle der deutschsprachigen Minderheit in Ostbelgien innerhalb des belgischen Nationalstaats
|author=Fischer, Kathrin
|work=Kleiner Geländekurs in die <span style="font-size:87%;">EUREGIO</span> Maas-Rhein
|language=[[German language|German]]
|date=[[1999-07-21]]
|publisher=Geographical Institute of the [[Georg-August University of Göttingen|Georg-August University]] (Department Culture and Social Geography), Göttingen, Germany
|url=http://www.geogr.uni-goettingen.de/kus/personen/euregio/emr99-21.htm
|accessdate=2007-06-13}}
*{{cite web
|title=History of Belgium
|date=Last revised [[2007-05-30]]
|work=[http://www.zum.de/whkmla/index.html World History at KMLA]
|publisher=[http://www.zum.de/whkmla/about.html Korean Minjok Leadership Academy (<span style="font-size:87%;">KMLA</span>)]
|url=http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/lowcountries/xbelgium.html
|accessdate=2007-06-02}}
*{{cite web
|title=Brusselse Thema's 8 — Taalgebruik in Brussel — Taalverhoudingen, taalverschuivingen en taalindentiteit in een meertalige stad
|language=[[Dutch language|Dutch]], summary ''The Use of Languages in Brussels'' pp. 227–250 in English
|date=[[2001-06-01]]
|author=[http://www.briobrussel.be/ned/webpage3.asp?WebpageId=30 Janssens, Rudi], [[Vrije Universiteit Brussel]]
|publisher=VUBPress, Brussels ISBN 90 5487 293 4 — republished
|url=http://www.briobrussel.be/assets/bt8download.pdf
|format=pdf
|accessdate=2007-06-02}}
*{{cite web
|title=Belgique • België • Belgien
|work=[http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/index.shtml L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde]
|language=[[French language|French]]
|year=© 2006
|author=Leclerc, Jacques<!--NO LINK: this is not the wellknown general-->, membre associé du TLFQ
|publisher=Host: Trésor de la langue française au Québec (TLFQ), [[Université Laval]], [[Quebec]]
|url=http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/europe/belgiqueacc.htm
|accessdate=2007-06-02}}
*{{cite web
|title=Bye bye Belgium?
|date=[[2006-12-20]]
|author=Mnookin, Robert, Professor at [[Harvard Law School|HLS]]
|coauthors=Verbeke, Alain
|publisher=[[International Herald Tribune]], republished by [[Harvard Law School]]
|url=http://www.law.harvard.edu/news/2006/12/20_mnookin.php
|accessdate=2007-06-01}} — Reflections on nations and nation-state developments regarding Belgium
{{sourcesend}}
===Bibliography===
{{sourcesstart}}
*{{cite book
|title=A History of the Low Countries
|author=Arblaster, Paul
|edition=Hardcover 312pp
|date=[[2005-12-23]]
|series=Palgrave Essential Histories
|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan, New York
|isbn=1-4039-4827-5 [Also edition ([[2005-12-23]]), Paperback 312pp, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, ISBN 1-4039-4828-3]}}
*{{cite book
|title=History of the Low Countries
|author=Blom, J. C. H., Dutch State Institute for War Documentation, ed.; Lamberts, Emiel, Professor in Modern History [[Katholieke Universiteit Leuven|KULeuven]], ed.; Kennedy, James C., translator
|edition=Hardcover 503pp
|year=1999 |month=May
|publisher=Berghahn Books, Oxford/New York
|isbn=1-5718-1084-6 [Also newer edition ([[2006-06-29]]), Paperback 516pp, Berghahn Books, New York, ISBN 1-8454-5272-0]}}
*{{cite book
|title=A History of Belgium from the Roman Invasion to the Present Day
|author=[http://www.famousbelgians.net/cammaerts.htm Cammaerts, Émile L.]<!--NO WIKILINK to poor stub-->
|origyear=1913
|edition=357pp
|year=1921
|publisher=D. Appleton and Co, New York
|id={{OCLC|1525559}} {{ASIN|B00085PM0A}} [Also editions [1913], London, {{OCLC|29072911}}; (1921) D. Unwin and Co., New York {{OCLC|9625246}}; also published (1921) as ''Belgium from the Roman invasion to the present day'', The Story of the nations, 67, T. Fisher Unwin, London, {{OCLC|2986704}} {{ASIN|B00086AX3A}}]}}
*{{cite book
|title=Belgium: A History
|url=http://www.netlibrary.com/Details.aspx
|author=Cook, Bernard A., Professor of History at [[Loyola University New Orleans]], LA, USA
|edition=Paperback 205pp
|year=[http://isbndb.com/d/book/belgium_a02.html c2002] or [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0820458244 May 2004]
|series=Studies in Modern European History, Vol. 50
|publisher=Peter Lang Pub, New York
|isbn=0-8204-5824-4 Ib. e-book (2004) NetLibrary, Boulder, CO, USA, ISBN 0-8204-7283-2 [Also print edition ([http://isbndb.com/d/book/belgium_a_history.html 2004-06-30] or [http://www.peterlang.com/index.cfm?vID=67647&vLang=E&vHR=1&vUR=3&vUUR=4&vNoHB=True 2005]), ISBN 0-8204-7647-1]}}
*{{cite book
|title=The History of Belgium: Part 1. Cæsar to Waterloo
|url=http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1402167148/
|author=de Kavanagh Boulger, Demetrius C.
|edition=Paperback 493pp
|origdate=1902
|date=[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1402167148 2001-06-28] or [http://isbndb.com/d/book/the_history_of_belgium.html 2006-03-30]
|series=Elibron Classics
|publisher=Adamant Media ([[Delaware corporation]]), Boston, MA, USA.
|isbn=1-4021-6714-8 [Facsimile reprint of a 1902 edition by the author, London]}} — {{cite book
|title=Ib. Part 2. 1815-1865. Waterloo to the Death of Leopold I
|author=Ib.
|edition=Paperback 462pp
|origyear=1909
|date=[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/140216713X 2001-06-28] or [http://isbndb.com/d/book/the_history_of_belgium_a01.html 2006-03-30]
|series=Ib.
|publisher=Ib
|isbn=1-4021-6713-X [Facsimile reprint of a 1909 edition by the author, London]}}
*{{cite book
|title=The Politics of Belgium: A Unique Federalism
|author=Fitzmaurice, John
|edition=Paperback 284pp
|year=1996 |month=March
|series=Nations of the modern world
|publisher=Westview Press, Boulder, CO, USA
|isbn=0-8133-2386-X
|id={{OCLC|30112536}}}}
*{{cite book
|title=The Low Countries: History of the Northern and Southern Netherlands
|author=Kossmann-Putto, Johanna A.; Kossmann Ernst H.; Deleu Jozef H. M., ed.; Fenoulhet Jane, translator [of: (1987). ''De Lage Landen : geschiedenis van de Noordelijke en Zuidelijke Nederlanden''. Vlaams-Nederlandse Stichting Ons Erfdeel, Rekkem]
|edition=3rd Rev. edition Paperback 64pp
|origyear=1987<!--verified, though @libris (alibris.com) mentions 1987-->
|year=1993 |month=January
|publisher=Flemish-Netherlands [http://www.onserfdeel.be/en/info.asp Foundation "Stichting Ons Erfdeel"], Rekkem, Belgium
|isbn=9-0708-3120-1 [several editions in English, incl. (1997) 7th ed.]}}
{{sourcesend}}
==External links==
{{sisterlinks|Belgium}}
:''See also: section References, subsection [[#General online sources|General online sources]]''
{{wikiatlas|Belgium}}
*{{wikitravel}}
*[http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_%281913%29/Belgium Belgium], entry on the [[Catholic Encyclopedia|Catholic Encyclopedia 1913]], republished on [[Wikisource]]
*[http://www.monarchie.be Official site of Belgian monarchy]
*[http://www.Belgium.be/ Official site of the Belgian federal government]
*[http://www.visitbelgium.com/ Official Site of the Belgian Tourist Office in the Americas and GlobeScope],<br />- its [http://www.visitbelgium.com/links.htm#toursitofficeinbelgium links to sites of Belgian Tourist Offices in Belgium]<br />- its [http://www.visitbelgium.com/links.htm#globaloffices links to sites of Belgian Tourist Offices worldwide]
*[http://eudocs.lib.byu.edu/index.php/History_of_Belgium:_Primary_Documents History of Belgium: Primary Documents] ''EuroDocs: Online Sources for European History''
*[http://publicdiplomacy.wikia.com/wiki/Belgium Belgium], entry on the Public Diplomacy wiki monitored by the [[USC Center on Public Diplomacy]]
*[http://www.expatica.be Local news and features on Belgium], ''Expatica''
* http://www.helium.com/items/834554-belgium-small-country-northwest
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<!--As featured article-->
<!--Categories-->
[[Category:Belgium| ]]
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