Belgium

Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Western Europe. On the west it is bordered by the North Sea, on the north by The Netherlands, in the east by Germany, in the southeast by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and in the south by France. On January 1, 2007 the country had 10.584.534 inhabitants.

Belgium has three official languages, Dutch (Flemish), French, and German. The two largest regions are Dutch-speaking Flanders in the north, with 58% of the population, and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia with 32% of the population. A small German-speaking community (< 1% of the population) exists in eastern Wallonia, near the German border. The city of Brussels is the capital of Belgium as well as of Flanders. The capital of Wallonia is Namur. The Brussels region is an officially bilingual enclave within the Flemish region, but close to the Walloon Region. The bilingual Brussels region has 10% of the population.

Historically, Belgium and the Netherlands were known as the Low Countries. From the end of the Middle Ages until the middle of the sixteenth century, the Low Countries, and Flanders in particular, were a prosperous centre of commerce and culture. From the fourteenth century onward they were governed by Dukes of Burgundy and later by the Habsburg emperor Charles V. From the middle of the sixteenth century until the Belgian revolution of 1830, Belgium changed hands several times. It is an independent state since 1830.