The Kingdom of Belgium (Dutch: Koninkrijk België; French: Royaume de Belgique; German: Königreich Belgien) is a country in northwest Europe bordered by the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and France. Belgium has a population of over ten million people in an area of around 30,000 square kilometres (11,700 square miles). Straddling the cultural boundary between Germanic and Romance Europe, it is both linguistically and culturally divided. Two major languages are spoken in Belgium: Dutch–sometimes unofficially called Flemish–is mainly spoken in Flanders to the north, while French in Wallonia in the south. The capital, Brussels, is officially bilingual, while the majority of its residents speak French, and an officially-recognised German-speaking minority is present in the east of the country. This linguistic diversity often leads to political conflict, and is reflected in Belgium's complex system of government and political history.
Area:
total: 30,528 sq km
land: 30,278 sq km
water: 250 sq km 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 Population:
10,348,276 Languages:
Dutch (official) 60%, French (official) 40%, German (official) less than 1%, legally bilingual (Dutch and French) Capital:
Brussels
Countries
