Place:Belgium

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NameBelgium
Alt namesAustrian Netherlandssource: Cambridge World Gazetteer (1990) p 67-68
Belgicasource: Canby, Historic Places (1984) I, 90
Belgiensource: Rand McNally Atlas (1994) p 319
Belgiosource: Cassell's Italian Dictionary (1983) p 607
Belgiquesource: UN Terminology Bulletin (1993) p 40
Belgiësource: Getty Vocabulary Program
Bélgicasource: UN Terminology Bulletin (1993) p 40
Kingdom of Belgiumsource: Wikipedia
Koninkrijk Belgiësource: Wikipedia
Koninkrijk Belgïesource: Britannica Book of the Year (1993) p 563; Britannica Book of the Year (1994) p 563; Encyclopædia Britannica (1988) XXVIII, 61-62
Royaume de Belgiquesource: Wikipedia
Southern Netherlandssource: Times Atlas of World History (1993) p 338
Spanish Netherlandssource: Cambridge World Gazetteer (1990) p 68; Times Atlas of World History (1993) p 338
BELsource: Abbreviation
België
Belguimsource: common misspelling
TypeNation
Coordinates50.833°N 4°E
Contained Places
Unknown
Termonde
Bailliage
Hainaut (Bailliage)
Former province
Brabant ( - 1995 )
General region
Famenne
Kempen
Inhabited place
Foy
Province
Antwerpen ( - 1995 )
Hainaut ( - 1995 )
Limburg ( - 1995 )
Liège ( - 1995 )
Luxembourg ( - 1995 )
Namur ( - 1995 )
Oost-Vlaanderen ( - 1995 )
West-Vlaanderen ( - 1995 )
Region
Brussels-Capital Region ( 1993 - )
Vlaanderen ( 1993 - )
Wallonne ( 1993 - )
Unknown
Sérezé sur Thimister
source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
source: Family History Library Catalog


the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the southwest, and the North Sea to the northwest. It covers an area of and has a population of more than 11.5 million, making it the 22nd most densely populated country in the world and the 6th most densely populated country in Europe, with a density of . The capital and largest city is Brussels; other major cities are Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi, Liège, Bruges, Namur, and Leuven.

Belgium is a sovereign state and a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system. Its institutional organization is complex and is structured on both regional and linguistic grounds. It is divided into three highly autonomous regions: the Flemish Region (Flanders) in the north, the Walloon Region (Wallonia) in the south, and the Brussels-Capital Region. Brussels is the smallest and most densely populated region, as well as the richest region in terms of GDP per capita.

Belgium is home to two main linguistic communities: the Dutch-speaking Flemish Community, which constitutes about 60 percent of the population, and the French-speaking Community, which constitutes about 40 percent of the population. A small German-speaking Community, numbering around one percent, exists in the East Cantons. The Brussels-Capital Region is officially bilingual in French and Dutch, although French is the dominant language.[1] Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in its complex system of governance, made up of six different governments.

The country as it exists today was established following the 1830 Belgian Revolution, when it seceded from the Netherlands, which had itself only existed since 1815. The name chosen for the new state is derived from the Latin word , used in Julius Caesar's "Gallic Wars", to describe a nearby region in the period around 55 BCE. Belgium is part of an area known as the Low Countries, historically a somewhat larger region than the Benelux group of states, as it also included parts of northern France. Since the Middle Ages, its central location near several major rivers has meant that the area has been relatively prosperous, connected commercially and politically to its bigger neighbours. Belgium has also been the battleground of European powers, earning the moniker the "Battlefield of Europe",[2] a reputation strengthened in the 20th century by both world wars.

Belgium participated in the Industrial Revolution and, during the course of the 20th century, possessed a number of colonies in Africa. Between 1885 and 1908, the Congo Free State, which was privately owned by King Leopold II of Belgium, was characterized by widespread atrocities and a population decline of millions, leading Belgium to takeover the territory as a colony.

The second half of the 20th century was marked by rising tensions between the Dutch-speaking and the French-speaking citizens fuelled by differences in language and culture and the unequal economic development of Flanders and Wallonia. This continuing antagonism has led to several far-reaching reforms, resulting in a transition from a unitary to a federal arrangement during the period from 1970 to 1993. Despite the reforms, tensions between the groups have remained, if not increased; there is significant separatism particularly among the Flemish; controversial language laws exist such as the municipalities with language facilities; and the formation of a coalition government took 18 months following the June 2010 federal election, a world record. Unemployment in Wallonia is more than double that of Flanders, which boomed after the Second World War.

Belgium is one of the six founding countries of the European Union and its capital, Brussels, hosts the official seats of the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, and the European Council, as well as one of two seats of the European Parliament (the other being Strasbourg). Belgium is also a founding member of the Eurozone, NATO, OECD, and WTO, and a part of the trilateral Benelux Union and the Schengen Area. Brussels hosts the headquarters of many major international organizations such as NATO.

Belgium is a developed country, with an advanced high-income economy. It has very high standards of living, quality of life, health care, education, and is categorized as "very high" on the Human Development Index. It also ranks relatively high on the Global Peace Index.

Contents

How places in Belgium are organized

Historically Belgium was divided into nine provinces. In the early 1990's three regions were created and the provinces were placed into regions, with the former province of Brabant split among the three regions. The standard at WeRelate is to title Belgium place pages according to the province when it is known, and omit the region from the place title.

All places in Belgium

Further information on historical place organization in Belgium

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This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Belgium. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with WeRelate, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.