Outline of Belgium

The Flag of Belgium		The Greater coat of arms of Belgium

The location of Belgium

An enlargeable relief map of the Kingdom of Belgium

See also: Index of Belgium-related articles

The Kingdom of Belgium is a sovereign country located in northwest Europe.^[1] It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO. Belgium covers an area of 30,528 square kilometers (11,787 sq mi) and has a population of about 10.5 million.

Straddling the cultural boundary between Germanic and Latin Europe, Belgium's two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north, with 58% of the population, and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia, inhabited by 32%. The Brussels-Capital Region, although officially bilingual, is a mostly French-speaking enclave within the Flemish Region and near Wallonia, and has 10% of the population.^[2] A small German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia.^[3] Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political and cultural conflicts are reflected in the political history and a complex system of government.^[4][5]

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Belgium:

General reference

An enlargeable basic map of Belgium

• Pronunciation: /ˈbɛldʒəm/ ( listen) bel-jəm
• Common English country name: Belgium
• Official English country name: The Kingdom of Belgium
• Common endonym(s):
• Official endonym(s):
• Adjectival(s): Belgian
• Demonym(s): Belgians
• Etymology: Name of Belgium
• International rankings of Belgium
• ISO country codes: BE, BEL, 056
• ISO region codes: See ISO 3166-2:BE
• Internet country code top-level domain: .be

Geography of Belgium

An enlargeable topographic map of Belgium

Main article: Geography of Belgium

• Belgium is a:
  • Country
    • Developed country
  • Nation state
    • Sovereign state
    • Member State of the European Union
• Location:
  • Northern Hemisphere and Eastern Hemisphere
  • Eurasia
    • Europe
      • Western Europe
  • Time zone: Central European Time (UTC+01), Central European Summer Time (UTC+02)
  • Extreme points of Belgium
    • High: Signal de Botrange 694 m (2,277 ft)
    • Low: North Sea 0 m
  • Land boundaries: 1,385 km

 France 620 km

 Netherlands 450 km

 Germany 167 km

 Luxembourg 148 km

• Coastline: 66.5 km

• Population of Belgium: 10,584,534(2007) - 76th most populous country
• Area of Belgium: 30,528 square kilometres (11,787 sq mi) - 139th largest country
• Atlas of Belgium

Environment of Belgium

An enlargeable satellite image of Belgium

Main article: Environment of Belgium

• Climate of Belgium
• Environmental issues in Belgium
• Ecoregions in Belgium
• Renewable energy in Belgium
• Geology of Belgium
• Protected areas of Belgium
  • Biosphere reserves in Belgium
  • National parks of Belgium
• Wildlife of Belgium
  • Flora of Belgium
  • Fauna of Belgium
    • Birds of Belgium
    • Mammals of Belgium

Natural geographic features of Belgium

• Lakes of Belgium
• Rivers of Belgium
• World Heritage Sites in Belgium

Regions of Belgium

Ecoregions of Belgium

Main article: Ecoregions in Belgium

Administrative divisions of Belgium

Main article: Administrative divisions of Belgium

• Regions of Belgium
  • Provinces of Belgium
    • Municipalities of Belgium

Regions of Belgium

Main article: Regions of Belgium

• Brussels-Capital Region
• Flemish Region
• Walloon Region

Provinces of Belgium

Main article: Provinces of Belgium

• Antwerp
• Limburg
• Flemish Brabant
• East Flanders
• West Flanders
• Hainaut
• Walloon Brabant
• Namur
• Liège
• Luxembourg

Municipalities of Belgium

Main article: Municipalities of Belgium

• Capital of Belgium: Brussels
• Cities of Belgium

Belgium comprises 589 municipalities grouped into five provinces in each of two regions and into a third region, the Brussels-Capital Region, comprising 19 municipalities that do not belong to a province.

Demography of Belgium

Main article: Demographics of Belgium

Government and politics of Belgium

Main article: Government of Belgium and Politics of Belgium

• Form of government: federal parliamentary representative democratic constitutional monarchy
• Capital of Belgium: Brussels

• Elections in Belgium
  • (specific elections)
• Political parties in Belgium
• Political scandals of Belgium
• Taxation in Belgium

Branches of government

Main article: Government of Belgium

Executive branch of the government of Belgium

• Head of state (ceremonial): King of the Belgians, Albert II
• Head of government: Prime Minister of Belgium, Yves Leterme
• Cabinet of Belgium

Legislative branch of the government of Belgium

• Belgian Federal Parliament (bicameral)
  • Upper house: Belgian Senate (Dutch: de Senaat, French: le Sénat, German: der Senat)
  • Lower house: Belgian Chamber of Representatives (Dutch: Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers, French: la Chambre des Représentants, German: die Abgeordnetenkammer)

Judicial branch of the government of Belgium

Main article: Politics of Belgium#Judiciary

• Court of Cassation

Foreign relations of Belgium

Main article: Foreign relations of Belgium

• Diplomatic missions in Belgium
• Diplomatic missions of Belgium

International organization membership

The Kingdom of Belgium is a member of:^[1]

African Development Bank Group (AfDB) (nonregional member) Asian Development Bank (ADB) (nonregional member) Australia Group Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Benelux Economic Union (Benelux) Council of Europe (CE) Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) European Investment Bank (EIB) European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) European Space Agency (ESA) European Union (EU) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Group of 9 (G9) Group of Ten (G10) Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) International Criminal Court (ICCt) International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) International Development Association (IDA) International Energy Agency (IEA) International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRCS) International Finance Corporation (IFC) International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) International Labour Organization (ILO) International Maritime Organization (IMO) International Mobile Satellite Organization (IMSO) International Monetary Fund (IMF) International Olympic Committee (IOC) International Organization for Migration (IOM) International Organization for Standardization (ISO) International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (ICRM) International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (ITSO) International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Organization of American States (OAS) (observer) Paris Club Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) Schengen Convention Southeast European Cooperative Initiative (SECI) (observer) United Nations (UN) United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) United Nations Mission in the Sudan (UNMIS) United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) United Nations University (UNU) West African Development Bank (WADB) (nonregional) Western European Union (WEU) World Confederation of Labour (WCL) World Customs Organization (WCO) World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) World Health Organization (WHO) World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) World Meteorological Organization (WMO) World Trade Organization (WTO) Zangger Committee (ZC)

Law and order in Belgium

Main article: Law of Belgium

• Capital punishment in Belgium
• Constitution of Belgium
• Crime in Belgium
• Human rights in Belgium
  • LGBT rights in Belgium
  • Freedom of religion in Belgium
• Law enforcement in Belgium

Military of Belgium

Main article: Military of Belgium

• Command
  • Commander-in-chief:
    • Ministry of Defence of Belgium
• Forces
  • Army of Belgium
  • Navy of Belgium
  • Air Force of Belgium
  • Special forces of Belgium
• Military history of Belgium
• Military ranks of Belgium

Local government in Belgium

Main article: Local government in Belgium

History of Belgium

Main article: History of Belgium, Timeline of the history of Belgium, and Current events of Belgium

• Economic history of Belgium
• Military history of Belgium

Culture of Belgium

Main article: Culture of Belgium

• Architecture of Belgium
• Cuisine of Belgium
• Ethnic minorities in Belgium
• Festivals in Belgium
• Humor in Belgium
• Languages of Belgium
• Media in Belgium
• National symbols of Belgium
  • Coat of arms of Belgium
  • Flag of Belgium
  • National anthem of Belgium
• People of Belgium
• Prostitution in Belgium
• Public holidays in Belgium
• Records of Belgium
• Religion in Belgium
  • Buddhism in Belgium
  • Christianity in Belgium
  • Hinduism in Belgium
  • Islam in Belgium
  • Judaism in Belgium
  • Sikhism in Belgium
• World Heritage Sites in Belgium

Art in Belgium

• Art in Belgium
• Cinema of Belgium
• Literature of Belgium
• Music of Belgium
• Television in Belgium
• Theatre in Belgium

Sports in Belgium

Main article: Sports in Belgium

• Football in Belgium
• Belgium at the Olympics

Economy and infrastructure of Belgium

Main article: Economy of Belgium

• Economic rank, by nominal GDP (2007): 19th (nineteenth)

• Agriculture in Belgium
• Banking in Belgium
  • National Bank of Belgium
• Communications in Belgium
  • Internet in Belgium
• Companies of Belgium
• Currency of Belgium: Euro (see also Euro topics)
  • ISO 4217: EUR
• Economic history of Belgium
• Energy in Belgium
  • Energy policy of Belgium
  • Oil industry in Belgium
• Health care in Belgium
• Mining in Belgium
• Belgium Stock Exchange
• Tourism in Belgium
• Transport in Belgium
  • Airports in Belgium
  • Rail transport in Belgium
  • Roads in Belgium
• Water supply and sanitation in Belgium

Education in Belgium

Main article: Education in Belgium

See also

	Belgium portal
	European Union portal

Main article: Belgium

• All pages beginning with "Belgium"
• All pages beginning with "Belgian"
• All pages with titles containing "Belgium"
• All pages with titles containing "Belgian"
• Index of Belgium-related articles
• List of Belgium-related topics
• List of international rankings
• Member state of the European Union
• Member state of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
• Member state of the United Nations
• Outline of Europe
• Outline of geography

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Belgium". The World Factbook. United States Central Intelligence Agency. July 15, 2009. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/be.html. Retrieved July 23, 2009. 
2. ^ Leclerc, Jacques , membre associé du TLFQ (2007-01-18). "Belgique • België • Belgien — Région de Bruxelles-Capitale • Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest" (in French). L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde. Host: Trésor de la langue française au Québec (TLFQ), Université Laval, Quebec. http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/EtatsNsouverains/bruxelles-capitale.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-18. "C'est une région officiellement bilingue formant au centre du pays une enclave dans la province du Brabant flamand (Vlaams Brabant)" 
   * "About Belgium". Belgian Federal Public Service (ministry) / Embassy of Belgium in the Republic of Korea. http://www.belgium.or.kr/page60.html. Retrieved 2007-06-21. "the Brussels-Capital Region is an enclave of 162 km2 within the Flemish region." 
   * "Flanders (administrative region)". Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia. Microsoft. 2007. Archived from the original on 2009-10-31. http://www.webcitation.org/query?id=1257012993822035. Retrieved 2007-06-21. "The capital of Belgium, Brussels, is an enclave within Flanders." 
   * McMillan, Eric (October 1999). "The FIT Invasions of Mons" (pdf). Capital translator, Newsletter of the NCATA, Vol. 21, No. 7, p. 1. National Capital Area Chapter of the American Translators Association (NCATA). http://www.ncata.org/doc/Oct99.pdf. Retrieved 2007-06-21. "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)." 
   * Van de Walle, Steven, lecturer at University of Birmingham Institute of Local Government Studies, School of Public Policy. "Language Facilities in the Brussels Periphery" (pdf). KULeuven — Leuvens Universitair Dienstencentrum voor Informatica en Telematica. Archived from the original on 2009-10-31. http://www.webcitation.org/query?id=1257012993822035. Retrieved 2007-06-21. "Brussels is a kind of enclave within Flanders — it has no direct link with Wallonia." 
3. ^ "The German-speaking Community". The German-speaking Community. http://www.dglive.be/EN/Desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-1263/2264_read-27181/. Retrieved 2007-05-05.  The (original) version in German language (already) mentions 73,000 instead of 71,500 inhabitants.
4. ^ Morris, Chris (2005-05-13). "Language dispute divides Belgium". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4545433.stm. Retrieved 2007-05-08. 
5. ^ Petermann, Simon, Professor at the University of Liège, Wallonia, Belgium — at colloquium IX^e Sommet de la francophonie — Intitiatives 2001 — Ethique et nouvelles technologies, session 6 Cultures et langues, la place des minorités, Bayreuth (2001-09-25). "Langues majoritaires, langues minoritaires, dialectes et NTIC" (in French). http://www.initiatives.refer.org/Initiatives-2001/_notes/sess604.htm. Retrieved 2007-05-04. 

External links

Wikimedia Atlas of Belgium

• Belgium, entry on the Catholic Encyclopedia 1913, republished on Wikisource
• Official site of Belgian monarchy
• Official site of the Belgian federal government
• Official Site of the Belgian Tourist Office in the Americas and GlobeScope,
  – its links to sites of Belgian Tourist Offices in Belgium
  – its links to sites of Belgian Tourist Offices worldwide
• History of Belgium: Primary Documents EuroDocs: Online Sources for European History
• Belgium, entry on the Public Diplomacy wiki monitored by the USC Center on Public Diplomacy
• Local news and features on Belgium, Expatica