"text":"Belgium became independent from the Netherlands in 1830; it was occupied by Germany during World Wars I and II. The country prospered in the past half century as a modern, technologically advanced European state and member of NATO and the EU. Political divisions between the Dutch-speaking Flemings of the north and the French-speaking Walloons of the south have led in recent years to constitutional amendments granting these regions formal recognition and autonomy. Its capital, Brussels, is home to numerous international organizations including the EU and NATO."
}
},
"Geography":{
"Location":{
"text":"Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between France and the Netherlands"
"text":"most of the population concentrated in the northern two-thirds of the country; the southeast is more thinly populated; considered to have one of the highest population densities in the world; approximately 97% live in urban areas"
"text":"intense pressures from human activities: urbanization, dense transportation network, industry, extensive animal breeding and crop cultivation; air and water pollution also have repercussions for neighboring countries"
"text":"5.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
},
"Population distribution":{
"text":"most of the population concentrated in the northern two-thirds of the country; the southeast is more thinly populated; considered to have one of the highest population densities in the world; approximately 97% live in urban areas"
"text":"the name derives from the Belgae, an ancient Celtic tribal confederation that inhabited an area between the English Channel and the west bank of the Rhine in the first centuries B.C."
"text":"federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy"
},
"Capital":{
"name":{
"text":"Brussels"
},
"geographic coordinates":{
"text":"50 50 N, 4 20 E"
},
"time difference":{
"text":"UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)"
},
"daylight saving time":{
"text":"+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October"
}
},
"Administrative divisions":{
"text":"3 regions (French: regions, singular - region; Dutch: gewesten, singular - gewest); Brussels-Capital Region, also known as Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest (Dutch), Region de Bruxelles-Capitale (French long form), Bruxelles-Capitale (French short form); Flemish Region (Flanders), also known as Vlaams Gewest (Dutch long form), Vlaanderen (Dutch short form), Region Flamande (French long form), Flandre (French short form); Walloon Region (Wallonia), also known as Region Wallone (French long form), Wallonie (French short form), Waals Gewest (Dutch long form), Wallonie (Dutch short form)",
"note":{
"text":"as a result of the 1993 constitutional revision that furthered devolution into a federal state, there are now three levels of government (federal, regional, and linguistic community) with a complex division of responsibilities; the 2012 sixth state reform transferred additional competencies from the federal state to the regions and linguistic communities"
}
},
"Independence":{
"text":"4 October 1830 (a provisional government declared independence from the Netherlands); 21 July 1831 (King LEOPOLD I ascended to the throne)"
"text":"drafted 25 November 1830, approved 7 February 1831, entered into force 26 July 1831, revised 14 July 1993 (creating a federal state); amended many times, last in 2014 (2016)"
"text":"civil law system based on the French Civil Code; note - Belgian law continues to be modified in conformance with the legislative norms mandated by the European Union; judicial review of legislative acts"
},
"International law organization participation":{
"text":"accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction"
"text":"18 years of age; universal and compulsory"
},
"Executive branch":{
"chief of state":{
"text":"King PHILIPPE (since 21 July 2013); Heir Apparent Princess ELISABETH, daughter of the monarch"
},
"head of government":{
"text":"Prime Minister Charles MICHEL (since 11 October 2014); Deputy Prime Ministers Alexander DE CROO (since 22 October 2012), Jan JAMBON (since 11 October 2014), Kris PEETERS, Didier REYNDERS (since 30 December 2008)"
},
"cabinet":{
"text":"Council of Ministers formally appointed by the monarch"
},
"elections/appointments":{
"text":"the monarchy is hereditary and constitutional; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the monarch and approved by Parliament"
"text":"bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate or Senaat in Dutch, Senat in French (71 seats; 40 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote and 31 indirectly elected by Community Parliaments; members serve 4-year terms) and the Chamber of Representatives or Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers in Dutch, Chambre des Representants in French (150 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)"
"text":"the 1993 constitutional revision that further devolved Belgium into a federal state created three levels of government (federal, regional, and linguistic community) with a complex division of responsibilities; this reality leaves six governments, each with its own legislative assembly; changes above occurred since the sixth state reform"
"text":"highest court(s): Constitutional Court or Grondwettelijk Hof in Dutch and Cour constitutionelle in French (consists of 12 judges - 6 Dutch-speaking and 6 French-speaking); Supreme Court of Justice or Hof van Cassatie in Dutch and Cour de Cassation in French (court organized into 3 chambers: civil and commercial; criminal; social, fiscal, and armed forces; each chamber includes a Dutch division and a French division, each with a chairperson and 5-6 judges)"
"text":"Constitutional Court judges appointed by the monarch from candidates submitted by Parliament; judges appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 70; Supreme Court judges appointed by the monarch from candidates submitted by the High Council of Justice, a 44-member independent body of judicial and non-judicial members; judges appointed for life"
"text":"Courts of Appeal; regional courts; specialized courts for administrative, commercial, labor, and audit issues; magistrate's courts; justices of the peace"
"text":" ++ Christian Democratic and Flemish or CD&V [Wouter BEKE] ++ Flemish Liberals and Democrats or Open VLD [Gwendolyn RUTTEN] ++ Groen! [Meyrem ALMACI] (formerly AGALEV, Flemish Greens) ++ New Flemish Alliance or N-VA [Bart DE WEVER] ++ Social Progressive Alternative or SP.A [John CROMBEZ] ++ Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest) or VB [Tom VAN GRIEKEN]"
"text":" ++ Ecolo (Francophone Greens) [Patrick DUPRIEZ and Zakia KHATTABI] ++ Francophone Federalist Democrats or Defi [Olivier MAINGAIN] ++ Humanist and Democratic Center or CDH [Benoit LUTGEN] ++ People's Party or PP [Mischael MODRIKAMEN] ++ Reform Movement or MR [Olivier CHASTEL] ++ Socialist Party or PS [Elio DI RUPO] ++ Workers' Party [Peter MERTENS] ++ other minor parties"
"text":"Belgian General Federation of Labor [Rudy DE LEEUW, Marc GOBLET] ++ Confederation of Christan Trade Unions [Marc LEEMANS, Marie-Helene SKA] ++ Federation of Enterprises in Belgium [Pieter TIMMERMANS, Michele SIOEN]",
"other":{
"text":"numerous other associations representing bankers, manufacturers, middle-class artisans, and the legal and medical professions; trade unions; various organizations representing the cultural interests of Flanders and Wallonia; various peace groups such as Pax Christi and groups representing immigrants"
"text":"3330 Garfield Street NW, Washington, DC 20008"
},
"telephone":{
"text":"[1] (202) 333-6900"
},
"FAX":{
"text":"[1] (202) 333-3079"
},
"consulate(s) general":{
"text":"Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York"
}
},
"Diplomatic representation from the US":{
"chief of mission":{
"text":"Ambassador Denise Campbell BAUER (since 26 September 2013)"
},
"embassy":{
"text":"27 Boulevard du Regent [Regentlaan], B-1000 Brussels"
},
"mailing address":{
"text":"PSC 82, Box 002, APO AE 09710"
},
"telephone":{
"text":"[32] (2) 811-4000"
},
"FAX":{
"text":"[32] (2) 811-4500"
}
},
"Flag description":{
"text":"three equal vertical bands of black (hoist side), yellow, and red; the vertical design was based on the flag of France; the colors are those of the arms of the duchy of Brabant (yellow lion with red claws and tongue on a black field)"
},
"National symbol(s)":{
"text":"lion; national colors: red, black, yellow"
},
"National anthem":{
"name":{
"text":"\"La Brabanconne\" (The Song of Brabant)"
},
"lyrics/music":{
"text":"Louis-Alexandre DECHET[French] Victor CEULEMANS [Dutch]/Francois VAN CAMPENHOUT"
},
"note":{
"text":"adopted 1830; according to legend, Louis-Alexandre DECHET, an actor at the theater in which the revolution against the Netherlands began, wrote the lyrics with a group of young people in a Brussels cafe"
"text":"This modern, open, and private-enterprise-based economy has capitalized on its central geographic location, highly developed transport network, and diversified industrial and commercial base. Industry is concentrated mainly in the more heavily-populated region of Flanders in the north. With few natural resources, Belgium imports substantial quantities of raw materials and exports a large volume of manufactures, making its economy vulnerable to shifts in foreign demand, particularly with Belgium’s EU trade partners. Roughly three-quarters of Belgium's trade is with other EU countries. ++ ++ In 2015, Belgian GDP grew by 1.4%, the unemployment rate stabilized at 8.6%, and the budget deficit was 2.7% of GDP. Prime Minister Charles MICHEL's center-right government has pledged to further reduce the deficit in response to EU pressure to reduce Belgium's high public debt, which remains above 100% of GDP, but such efforts could also dampen economic growth. In addition to restrained public spending, low wage growth and high unemployment promise to curtail a more robust recovery in private consumption. ++ ++ The government has pledged to pursue a reform program to improve Belgium’s competitiveness, including changes to tax policy, labor market rules, and welfare benefits. These changes risk worsening tensions with trade unions and triggering extended strikes."
"text":"engineering and metal products, motor vehicle assembly, transportation equipment, scientific instruments, processed food and beverages, chemicals, base metals, textiles, glass, petroleum"
"text":"data cover general government debt and include debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data include debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intra-governmental debt; intra-governmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment; debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions; general government debt is defined by the Maastricht definition and calculated by the National Bank of Belgium as consolidated gross debt; the debt is defined in European Regulation EC479/2009 concerning the implementation of the protocol on the excessive deficit procedure annexed to the Treaty on European Union (Treaty of Maastricht) of 7 February 1992; the sub-sectors of consolidated gross debt are: federal government, communities and regions, local government, and social security funds"
"text":"see entry for the European Union for money supply for the entire euro area; the European Central Bank (ECB) controls monetary policy for the 18 members of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU); individual members of the EMU do not control the quantity of money circulating within their own borders"
}
},
"Stock of broad money":{
"text":"$606.9 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $630.9 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
"text":"country code - 32; landing point for a number of submarine cables that provide links to Europe, the Middle East, and Asia; satellite earth stations - 7 (Intelsat - 3) (2015)"
"text":"a segmented market with the three major communities (Flemish, French, and German-speaking) each having responsibility for their own broadcast media; multiple TV channels exist for each community; additionally, in excess of 90% of households are connected to cable and can access broadcasts of TV stations from neighboring countries; each community has a public radio network coexisting with private broadcasters (2007)"
"text":"3,592 km 1.435-m gauge (2,960 km electrified) (2014)"
}
},
"Roadways":{
"total":{
"text":"154,012 km"
},
"paved":{
"text":"120,514 km (includes 1,756 km of expressways)"
},
"unpaved":{
"text":"33,498 km (2010)"
}
},
"Waterways":{
"text":"2,043 km (1,528 km in regular commercial use) (2012)"
},
"Merchant marine":{
"total":{
"text":"87"
},
"by type":{
"text":"bulk carrier 23, cargo 15, chemical tanker 5, container 4, liquefied gas 23, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 8, roll on/roll off 7"
},
"foreign-owned":{
"text":"15 (Denmark 4, France 7, Russia 1, UK 2, US 1)"
},
"registered in other countries":{
"text":"107 (Bahamas 6, Cambodia 1, Cyprus 3, France 7, Gibraltar 1, Greece 17, Hong Kong 26, Liberia 1, Luxembourg 11, Malta 7, Marshall Islands 1, Mozambique 2, North Korea 1, Panama 1, Portugal 8, Russia 4, Saint Kitts and Nevis 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 7, Singapore 1, Vanuatu 1) (2010)"
"text":"growing producer of synthetic drugs and cannabis; transit point for US-bound ecstasy; source of precursor chemicals for South American cocaine processors; transshipment point for cocaine, heroin, hashish, and marijuana entering Western Europe; despite a strengthening of legislation, the country remains vulnerable to money laundering related to narcotics, automobiles, alcohol, and tobacco; significant domestic consumption of ecstasy"
