Belgium

constitutional monarchyIndependence 4 October 1830 (from the Netherlands)

Belgium as the 1991 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 69 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalBrussels

Area30,510 km2

Populationas each edition published it

9.92 million July 1991 · 9.91m in 1990

Population growth% a year

Not in this edition 0.23% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 40 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

Not in this edition 76.72 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

1.6 children per woman 1991 · 1.6 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

6 deaths per 1,000 live births 1991 · 6 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

Not in this edition $17,800 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

Not in this edition 0.8% in 1993

Geography

10 fields

Total area

30,510km2

land area: 30,230 km2Comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland

Land boundaries

1,385km total

France 620 km, Germany 167 km, Luxembourg 148 km, Netherlands 450 km

Coastline

64 km Continental shelf: not specific;
Exclusive fishing zone: equidistant line with neighbors (extends about 68 km from coast);
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate

temperate;
mild winters, cool summers;
rainy, humid, cloudy

Terrain

flat coastal plains in northwest, central rolling hills, rugged mountains of Ardennes Forest in southeast

Land use

arable land 24%;
permanent crops 1%;
meadows and pastures 20%;
forest and woodland 21%;
other 34%, includes irrigated NEGL%

Note

majority of West European capitals within 1,000 km of Brussels;
crossroads of Western Europe;
Brussels is the seat of the EC

People

14 fields

Population

9,921,910

(July 1991), growth rate 0.1% (1991)

Per 1,000 population(1991)

Birth

12Death

11Net migration

Ethnic divisions

Fleming 55%Walloon 33%mixed or other 12%

Literacy

99%

(male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.)

Religion

Roman Catholic 75%, remainder Protestant or other

Language

Flemish (Dutch) 56%, French 32%, German 1%;
legally bilingual 11%;
divided along ethnic lines

Labor force

4,200,000; services 69%, industry 28%, agriculture 3% (1988)

Government

Constitutional monarchy

17 fields

Senate, 106 seats, elected 13 December 1987one dot, one seat

CVP 22PS 20SP 17PRL 12PVV 11PSC 9VU 8ECOLO-AGALEV 5VB 1FDF 1

Percent of vote

CVP 19.2%PS 15.7%SP 14.7%PVV 11.3%PRL 9.3%VU 8.1%PSC 7.8%ECOLO-AGALEV 7.7%VB 2.0%VDF 1.3%other 1.96%

Administrative divisions

9 provinces (French--provinces, singular--province; Flemish--provincien, singular--provincie);
Antwerpen, Brabant, Hainaut, Liege, Limburg, Luxembourg, Namur, Oost-Vlaanderen, West-Vlaanderen

Constitution

7 February 1831, last revised 8-9 August 1980; the government is in the process of revising the Constitution, with the aim of federalizing the Belgian state

Legal system

civil law system influenced by English constitutional theory;
judicial review of legislative acts;
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

National holiday

National Day, 21 July (ascension of King Leopold to the throne in 1831)

Executive branch

monarch, prime minister, five deputy prime ministers, Cabinet

bicameral Parliament consists of an upper chamber or Senate (Flemish--Senaat, French--Senat) and a lower chamber or Chamber of Representatives (Flemish--Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers, French--Chambre des Representants)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court of Justice (Flemish--Hof van Cassatie, French--Cour de Cassation) Chief of State--King BAUDOUIN I (since 17 July 1951);
Heir Apparent Prince ALBERT of Liege (brother of the King; born 6 June 1934);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Wilfried MARTENS, (since April 1979, with a 10-month interruption in 1981) Flemish Social Christian (CVP), Herman van ROMPUY, president;
Walloon Social Christian (PSC), Gerard DEPREZ, president;
Flemish Socialist (SP), Frank VANDENBROUCKE, president;
Walloon Socialist (PS), Guy SPITAELS, president;
Flemish Liberal (PVV), Guy VERHOFSTADT, president;
Walloon Liberal (PRL), Antoine DUQUESNE, president;
Francophone Democratic Front (FDF), Georges CLERFAYT, president;
Volksunie (VU), Jaak GABRIELS, president;
Communist Party (PCB), Louis van GEYT, president;
Vlaams Blok (VB), Karel DILLEN;
other minor parties

Suffrage

universal and compulsory at age 18 Senate--last held 13 December 1987 (next to be held by January 1992);
results--CVP 19.2%, PS 15.7%, SP 14.7%, PVV 11.3%, PRL 9.3%, VU 8.1%, PSC 7.8%, ECOLO-AGALEV 7.7%, VB 2.0%, VDF 1.3%, other 1.96%;
seats--(106 total) CVP 22, PS 20, SP 17, PRL 12, PVV 11, PSC 9, VU 8, ECOLO-AGALEV 5, VB 1, FDF 1;
Chamber of Representatives--last held 13 December 1987 (next to be held by January 1992);
results--CVP 19.45%, PS 15.66%, SP 14.88%, PVV 11.55%, PRL 9.41%, PSC 8.01%, VU 8.05%, ECOLO-AGALEV 7.05%, VB 1.90%, FDF 1.16%, other 2.88%;
seats--(212 total) CVP 43, PS 40, SP 32, PVV 25, PRL 23, PSC 19, VU 16, ECOLO-AGALEV 9, FDF 3, VB 2

Communists

under 5,000 members (December 1985 est.)

Other political or pressure groups

Christian and Socialist Trade Unions;
Federation of Belgian Industries;
numerous other associations representing bankers, manufacturers, middle-class artisans, and the legal and medical professions;
various organizations represent the cultural interests of Flanders and Wallonia;
various peace groups such as the Flemish Action Committee Against Nuclear Weapons and Pax Christi

Member of

ACCT, AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, Benelux, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, COCOM, CSCE, EBRD, EC, ECE, EIB, ESA, FAO, G-9, G-10, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NATO, NEA, OAS (observer), OECD, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMOGIP, UNRWA, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador Juan CASSIERS;
Chancery at 3330 Garfield Street NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone (202) 333-6900;
there are Belgian Consulates General in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York;
US--Ambassador Maynard W. GLITMAN;
Embassy at 27 Boulevard du Regent, B-1000 Brussels (mailing address is APO New York 09667-1000);
telephone [32] (2) 513-3830;
there is a US Consulate General in Antwerp

Flag

three equal vertical bands of black (hoist side), yellow, and red; the design was based on the flag of France

Economy

This small private-enterprise economy has capitalized on its central geographic location, highly developed transport network, and diversified industrial and commercial base.

16 fields

GDP, purchasing power parity

$144.8billion

per capita $14,600; real growth rate 3.3% (1990)

Inflation, consumer prices

(1991 est.)

Unemployment rate

8.2%est.

(1991 est.)

External debt

$28.8billion

(1990 est.)

Budget

Revenues

$45.0 billionExpenditures

$55.3 billion

expenditures, including capital expenditures of NA (1989)

Overview

This small private-enterprise economy has capitalized on its central geographic location, highly developed transport network, and diversified industrial and commercial base. Industry is concentrated mainly in the populous Flemish area in the north, although the government is encouraging reinvestment in the southern region of Walloon.

With few natural resources Belgium must import essential raw materials, making its economy closely dependent on the state of world markets. Over 70% of trade is with other EC countries. During the period 1988-90 Belgium's economic performance was marked by buoyant output growth, moderate inflation, and a substantial external surplus. Real GDP grew by an average of 3.9% in 1988-90. However, the economy is likely to slow in 1991-92 to below 3% GDP growth.

Exports

$106 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.) Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union;
commodities--iron and steel, transportation equipment, tractors, diamonds, petroleum products;
partners--EC 74%, US 5%, Communist countries 2% (1989)

Imports

$108 billion (c.i.f., 1989) Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union;
commodities--fuels, grains, chemicals, foodstuffs;
partners--EC 73%, US 4%, oil-exporting less developed countries 4%, Communist countries 3% (1989)

Industrial production

growth rate 1.3% (1991 est.); accounts for almost 30% of GDP

Electricity

17,325,000 kW capacity; 62,780 million kWh produced, 6,350 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries

engineering and metal products, processed food and beverages, chemicals, basic metals, textiles, glass, petroleum, coal

Agriculture

accounts for 2% of GDP;
emphasis on livestock production--beef, veal, pork, milk;
major crops are sugar beets, fresh vegetables, fruits, grain, and tobacco;
net importer of farm products

Economic aid

donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $5.8 billion

Currency

Belgian franc (plural--francs); 1 Belgian franc (BF) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates

Belgian francs (BF) per US$1--31.102 (January 1991), 33.418 (1990), 39.404 (1989), 36.768 (1988), 37.334 (1987), 44.672 (1986), 59.378 (1985)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

9 fields

Merchant marine, 69 ships by typeone square, one ship

cargo 12roll-on/roll-off 6container 6petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker 7liquefied gas 9combination ore/oil 3chemical tanker 9bulk 11combination bulk 669 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,785,066 GRT/2,927,618 DWT

Airports, 42 total, 42 usable

permanent-surface runways

24runways over 3,659 m

nonerunways 2,440-3,659 m

14runways 1,220-2,439 m

Networkskm

Highways

103,396Inland waterways

2,043

Highways: ; 1,317 km limited access, divided autoroute; 11,717 km national highway; 1,362 km provincial road; about 38,000 km paved and 51,000 km unpaved rural roads · Inland waterways: (1,528 km in regular commercial use)

Railroads

Belgian National Railways (SNCB) operates 3,667 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, government owned;
2,563 km double track;
1,978 km electrified;
191 km 1.000-meter gauge, government owned and operated

Highways

103,396 km total;
1,317 km limited access, divided autoroute;
11,717 km national highway;
1,362 km provincial road;
about 38,000 km paved and 51,000 km unpaved rural roads

refined products 1,167 km;
crude 161 km;
natural gas 3,300 km

Civil air

47 major transport aircraft

Telecommunications

excellent domestic and international telephone and telegraph facilities;
4,720,000 telephones;
stations--8 AM, 19 FM (42 relays), 25 TV (10 relays);
5 submarine cables;
satellite earth stations operating in INTELSAT 3 Atlantic Ocean and EUTELSAT systems