"text":"<p>Belgium became independent from the Netherlands in 1830; it was occupied by Germany during World Wars I and II. The country prospered as a modern, technologically advanced European state and member of NATO and the EU. In recent years, longstanding tensions between the Dutch-speaking Flemish of the north and the French-speaking Walloons of the south have led to constitutional amendments granting these regions formal recognition and autonomy. The capital city of Brussels is home to numerous international organizations, including the EU and NATO.</p>"
"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"
},
"Natural hazards":{
"text":"flooding is a threat along rivers and in areas of reclaimed coastal land, protected from the sea by concrete dikes"
"text":"<br>Het Wereld Feitenboek, een onmisbare bron van informatie. (Dutch)<br><br>The World Factbook, une source indispensable d'informations de base. (French)<br><br>The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information."
"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"
},
"Environment - international agreements":{
"party to":{
"text":"Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling"
"text":"Royaume de Belgique (French)/Koninkrijk Belgie (Dutch)/Koenigreich Belgien (German)"
},
"local short form":{
"text":"Belgique/Belgie/Belgien"
},
"etymology":{
"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."
}
},
"Government type":{
"text":"federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy"
"text":"may derive from the Old Dutch <em>bruoc/broek</em>, meaning \"marsh\" and <em>sella/zele/sel</em> signifying \"home\" to express the meaning \"home in the marsh\""
"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":"<strong>note:</strong> 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"
"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"
"text":"\"revisions\" proposed as declarations by the federal government in accord with the king or by Parliament followed by dissolution of Parliament and new elections; adoption requires two-thirds majority vote of a two-thirds quorum in both houses of the next elected Parliament; amended many times, last in 2019"
"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"
"note":"<strong>note </strong>- Alexander DE CROO resigned on 9 June 2024 following the parliamentary elections and is serving as prime minister in a caretaker status until a new prime minister is sworn into office"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> 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 results in six governments, each with its own legislative assembly"
"text":"House of Representatives (Chambre des Représentants)"
},
"number of seats":{
"text":"150 (all directly elected)"
},
"electoral system":{
"text":"proportional representation"
},
"scope of elections":{
"text":"full renewal"
},
"term in office":{
"text":"5 years"
},
"most recent election date":{
"text":"6/9/2024"
},
"parties elected and seats per party":{
"text":"New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) (24); Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest) (20); Movement for Reform (MR) (20); Socialist Party in Wallonia (PS) (16); Workers' Party of Belgium (PTB*PVDA) (15); LES ENGAGÉS (14); Vooruit (13); Christian Democratic and Flemish (CD&V) (11); Other (17)"
"text":"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)"
},
"judge selection and term of office":{
"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"
},
"subordinate courts":{
"text":"Courts of Appeal; regional courts; specialized courts for administrative, commercial, labor, immigration, and audit issues; magistrate's courts; justices of the peace"
"text":"<strong>Flemish parties:</strong> <br>Christian Democratic and Flemish or CD&V<br>Vooruit or Forward (formerly Social Progressive Alternative or SP.A)<br>Groen or Green (formerly AGALEV, Flemish Greens)<br>New Flemish Alliance or N-VA<br>Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats or Open VLD<br>Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest) or VB<br><strong>Francophone parties:</strong> <br>Ecolo (Francophone Greens)<br>Francophone Federalist Democrats or Defi<br>Les Engages (formerly Humanist and Democratic Center or CDH)<br>Reform Movement or MR<br>Socialist Party or PS<br>Workers' Party or PVDA-PTB"
"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":"golden rampant lion; national colors: red, black, yellow"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> 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":"high-income, core EU and eurozone economy; slow but steady growth supported by household consumption and energy shock recovery; high public debt and structural deficits linked to social spending; aging workforce with weak productivity growth and participation rates"
"text":"engineering and metal products, motor vehicle assembly, transportation equipment, scientific instruments, processed food and beverages, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, base metals, textiles, glass, petroleum"
"note":"<b>note:</b> central government revenues (excluding grants) and expenses converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated"
"text":"-0.2% of total installed capacity (2022 est.) <b>note:</b> Belgium has negative net hydroelectric power generation based on losses from use of pumped storage hydropower"
"text":"mobile networks have been upgraded to support growing mobile data use among subscribers, with near-comprehensive LTE coverage; operators have also trialed 5G in preparation for launching services; the auction of 5G-suitable spectrum has been delayed to the beginning of 2022, while the onerous restrictions on radiation have meant that some 5G trials have been suspended; there is effective competition in Belgium between the DSL and cable platforms, while in recent years government support has also encouraged investment in fiber networks; in a bid to encourage investment in under served areas, the regulator in 2018 amended the conditions by which market players grant wholesale access to copper and fiber infrastructure; in May 2019 it opened a further consultation on cost models for access to the networks of cablecos and fiber infrastructure (2021)"
"text":"country code - 32; landing points for Concerto, UK-Belgium, Tangerine, and SeaMeWe-3, submarine cables that provide links to Europe, the Middle East, Australia, and Asia; satellite earth stations - 7 (Intelsat - 3) (2019)"
"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"
"note":"<strong>note: </strong>the Belgian Federal Police is the national police force and responsible for internal security and nationwide law and order, including migration and border enforcement; the force reports to the ministers of interior and justice"
"text":"approximately 23,000 active-duty personnel (10,000 Land Component; 1,500 Marine Component; 5,000 Air Force Component; 1,500 Medical Component; 5,000 other, including joint staff, support, and training schools) (2024)"
"text":"the armed forces have a mix of weapons systems from European countries, Israel, and the US; Belgium has an export-focused defense industry that focuses on components and subcontracting (2024)"
"note":"<strong>note 1:</strong> in 2024, women comprised about 11% of the military's full-time personnel<br><br><strong>note 2:</strong> foreign nationals 18-34 years of age who speak Dutch or French and are citizens of EU countries, Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland may apply to join the military"
"text":"has about 1,000 personnel deployed on foreign missions, including more than 300 ground forces deployed in Eastern Europe, as well as air and naval assets, supporting NATO missions for the defense of NATO's eastern flank (2024)"
"text":"the Belgian military is a small, all-volunteer force equipped with modern Western equipment; its responsibilities include territorial defense, humanitarian/disaster relief, assistance to the police if required, international peacekeeping missions, and support to its NATO and EU security commitments, which Belgium considers vital components of its national security policy; outside of the country, the military operates almost always within an international organization or a coalition, such as its ongoing deployments to Africa for the EU and UN, eastern Europe as part of NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence mission, and the Middle East with an international coalition to combat the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham; Belgium was one of the original 12 countries to sign the North Atlantic Treaty (also known as the Washington Treaty) establishing NATO in 1949; it hosts the NATO headquarters in Brussels; Belgium also cooperates with neighboring countries, such as Luxembourg and the Netherlands, in conducting joint patrols of their respective air spaces and in a composite combined special operations command with Denmark and the Netherlands (2024)"
"text":"Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy-Interfederal Space Agency of Belgium (BIRA-IASB; established 1964; IASB added 2017); Belgium Federal Science Policy Office (BELSPO) (2024)"
"text":"founding member of the European Space Agency (ESA), which acts as the de facto Belgian space agency as most programs are carried out under the ESA or bi-laterally with its member states; builds satellites, particularly research/science/technology and remote sensing (RS) platforms; also researches, develops, and produces a wide variety of other space technologies, including telecommunications, optics, robotics, scientific instruments, and space launch vehicle (SLV) components; supports the ESA’s SLV program with economic assistance (6% of the funding for the Ariane-5 SLV, for example), as well as legal, scientific, and technological expertise; hosts the European Space Security and Education Center (established 1968); participates in international astronomy efforts, particularly through the European Southern Observatory (ESO); participates in multiple ESA and EU space-related programs and research efforts; in addition to the ESA and EU and their individual country members, has cooperated with a variety foreign space agencies and commercial entities, including those of Argentina, China, India, Russia, South Africa, UAE, Vietnam, and the US (2024)",
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in the Space Programs reference guide"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide"
"text":"<p>a transit point for precursor chemicals from China and India destined for clandestine synthetic drug laboratories in the Netherlands and to some labs in Belgium; a primary entry point for cocaine into Europe; one of the top methamphetamine producers in Europe; a major source of precursor or essential chemicals used in the production of illicit narcotics</p>"
