Statistical information Belgium 1994

Belgium in the World
top of pageBackground: Belgium became independent from the Netherlands in 1830 and was occupied by Germany during World Wars I and II. In the half century following, it has prospered as a small, modern, technologically advanced European state and member of the European Union. Its unique political circumstance is the long-standing differences between the wealthier Dutch-speaking Flemings of the north and the poorer French-speaking Walloons of the south, differences that are becoming increasingly acute.
top of pageLocation: Western Europe, bordering on the North Sea, between France and the Netherlands
Geographic coordinatesMap reference:
Arctic Region, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the WorldAreaTotal area total: 30,510 km²
Land: 30,230 km²
Land boundaries: total 1,385 km, France 620 km, Germany 167 km, Luxembourg 148 km, Netherlands 450 km
Coastline: 64 km
Maritime claimsContinental shelf: equidistant line with neighbors
Exclusive fishing zone: equidistant line with neighbors (extends about 68 km from coast)
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: temperate; mild winters, cool summers; rainy, humid, cloudy
Terrain: flat coastal plains in northwest, central rolling hills, rugged mountains of Ardennes Forest in southeast
ElevationNatural resources: coal, natural gas
Land useArable land: 24%
Permanent crops: 1%
Meadows and pastures: 20%
Forest and woodland: 21%
Other: 34%
Irrigated land: 10 km² (1989 est.)
Major riversMajor watersheds area km²Total water withdrawalTotal renewable water resourcesNatural hazards: NA
GeographyNote: crossroads of Western Europe; majority of West European capitals within 1,000 km of Brussels which is the seat of the EC
top of pagePopulation: 10,062,836 (July 1994 est.)
Growth rate: 0.2% (1994 est.)
Nationality: noun:Belgian(s)
Ethnic groups: Fleming 55%, Walloon 33%, mixed or other 12%
Languages: Dutch 56%, French 32%, German 1%, legally bilingual 11% divided along ethnic lines
Religions: Roman Catholic 75%, Protestant or other 25%
Demographic profileAge structureDependency ratiosMedian agePopulation growth rate: 0.2% (1994 est.)
Birth rate: 11.71 births/1000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate: 10.26 deaths/1000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.6 migrant(s)/1000 population (1994 est.)
Population distributionUrbanizationMajor urban areasEnvironmentCurrent issues: Meuse River, a major source of drinking water, polluted from steel production wastes; other rivers polluted by animal wastes and fertilizers; industrial air pollution contributes to acid rain in neighboring countries
Air pollutantsSex ratioMothers mean age at first birthMaternal mortality ratioInfant mortality rate: 7.2 deaths/1000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birthTotal population: 76.96 years
Male: 73.67 years
Female: 80.44 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.62 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rateDrinking water sourceCurrent health expenditurePhysicians densityHospital bed densitySanitation facility accessHiv/AidsMajor infectious diseasesObesity adult prevalence rateAlcohol consumptionTobacco useChildren under the age of 5 years underweightEducation expendituresLiteracy: age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.)
Total population: 99%
Male: NA%
Female: NA%
School life expectancy primary to tertiary educationYouth unemploymenttop of pageCountry nameConventional long form: Kingdom of Belgium
Conventional short form:local long form: Royaume de Belgique
local short form; Belgique
Government type: constitutional monarchy
Capital: Brussels
Administrative divisions: 9 provinces (French:provinces, singular - province; Flemish:provincien, singular - provincie; Antwerpen, Brabant, Hainaut, Liege, Limburg, Luxembourg, Namur, Oost-Vlaanderen, West-Vlaanderen
Dependent areasIndependence: 4 October 1830 (from the Netherlands)
National holiday: National Day, 21 July (ascension of King Leopold to the throne in 1831)
Constitution: 7 February 1831, last revised 14 July 1993; parliament approved a constitutional package creating a federal state
Legal system: civil law system influenced by English constitutional theory; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
International law organization participationCitizenshipSuffrage: 18 years of age, universal and compulsory
Executive branchChief of state: King ALBERT II (since NA August 1993)
Head of government: Prime Minister Jean-Luc DEHAENE (since 6 March 1992)
Legislative branch: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie
Senate: (Flemish - Senaat, French - Senat); elections last held 24 November 1991 (next to be held by November 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (184 total; of which 106 are directly elected) CVP 20, SP 14, PVV (now VLD) 13, VU 5, AGALEV 5, VB 5, ROSSEN 1, PS 18, PRL 9, PSC 9, ECOLO 6, FDF 1
Chamber of Representatives: (Flemish - Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers, French - Chambre des Representants); elections last held 24 November 1991 (next to be held by November 1996); results - CVP 16.7%, PS 13.6%, SP 12.0%, PVV (now VLD) 11.9%, PRL 8.2%, PSC 7.8%, VB 6.6%, VU 5.9%, ECOLO 5.1%, AGALEV 4.9%, FDF 2.6%, ROSSEM 3.2%, FN 1.5%; seats - (212 total) CVP 39, PS 35, SP 28, PVV (now VLD) 26, PRL 20, PSC 18, FB 12, VU 10, ECOLO 10, AGALEV 7, FDF 3, ROSSEM 3, FN 1
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Flemish - Hof van Cassatie, French - Cour de Cassation)
Political parties and leadersInternational organization participation: AG (observer), ACCT, AfDB, AsDB, Australian Group, Benelux, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, COCOM, CSCE, EBRD, EC, ECE, EIB, ESA, FAO, G-9, G-10, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS, MINURSO, MTCR, NACC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMOGIP, UNOSOM, UNPROFOR, UNRWA, UNTAC, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representationFrom the us chief of mission: Ambassador Alan J. BLINKEN
From the us chancery: 3,330 Garfield Street NW, Washington, DC 20,008
From the us telephone: [32] (2) 513-3,830
From the us fax: (202) 333-3,079
From the us consulates general: Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York
From the us embassy: 27 Boulevard du Regent, Brussels
From the us mailing address: B-1000 Brussels, APO AE 9,724
From the us FAX: [32] (2) 511-2,725
Flag description
: three equal vertical bands of black (hoist side), yellow, and red; the design was based on the flag of France
National symbolsNational anthemNational heritagetop of pageEconomy overview: This small private enterprise economy has capitalized on its central geographic location, highly developed transport network, and diversified industrial and commercial base. Industry is concentrated mainly in the populous Flemish area in the north, although the government is encouraging reinvestment in the southern region of Walloon. With few natural resources Belgium must import substantial quantities of raw materials and export a large volume of manufactures, making its economy unusually dependent on the state of world markets. Three fourths of its trade is with other EC countries. The economy grew at a strong 4% pace during the period 1988-90, but economic growth slowed to a 1% pace in 1991-92 and dropped by 1.5% in 1993. Belgium's public debt has risen to 140% of GDP, and the government is trying to control its expenditures to bring the figure more into line with other industrialized countries.
Real gdp purchasing power parityReal gdp growth rate: -1.5% (1993)
Real gdp per capita: $17,700 (1993)
Gross national savingGdp composition by sector of origin
Gdp composition by end useGdp composition by sector of originAgriculture products: accounts for 2.0% of GDP; emphasis on livestock production - beef, veal, pork, milk; major crops are sugar beets, fresh vegetables, fruits, grain, tobacco; net importer of farm products
Industries: engineering and metal products, motor vehicle assembly, processed food and beverages, chemicals, basic metals, textiles, glass, petroleum, coal
Industrial production growth rate: -0.1% (1993 est.), accounts for 25% of GDP
Labor force: 4.126 million
By occupation services: 63.6%
By occupation industry: 28%
By occupation construction: 6.1%
By occupation agriculture: 2.3% (1988)
Unemployment rate: 13.5% (March 1994)
Youth unemploymentPopulation below poverty lineGini indexHousehold income or consumption by percentage shareDistribution of family income gini indexBudget: revenues:$97.8 billion
Taxes and other revenuesPublic debtRevenueFiscal year: calendar year
Inflation rate consumer pricesCentral bank discount rateCommercial bank prime lending rateStock of narrow moneyStock of broad moneyStock of domestic creditMarket value of publicly traded sharesCurrent account balanceExports: $117 billion (f.o.b., 1992) Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union
Commodities: iron and steel, transportation equipment, tractors, diamonds, petroleum products
Partners: EC 75.5%, US 3.7%, former Communist countries 1.4% (1991)
Imports: $120 billion (c.i.f., 1992) Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union
Commodities: fuels, grains, chemicals, foodstuffs
Partners: EC 73%, US 4.8%, oil-exporting less developed countries 4%, former Communist countries 1.8% (1991)
Reserves of foreign exchange and goldDebt external: $31.3 billion (1992 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment at homeStock of direct foreign investment abroadExchange rates: Belgian francs (BF) per US$1 - 36.242 (January 1994), 34.597 (1993), 32.150 (1992), 34.148 (1991), 33.418 (1990), 39.404 (1989)
top of pageElectricityCapacity: 17,500,000 kW
Production: 68 billion kWh
Consumption per capita: 6,790 kWh (1992)
CoalPetroleumCrude oilRefined petroleumNatural gasCarbon dioxide emissionsEnergy consumption per capitatop of pageTelephonesTelephone systemBroadcast mediaInternetBroadband fixed subscriptionstop of pageMilitary expendituresDollar figure: exchange rate conversion - $3.8 billion, 1.8% of GDP (1993)
Military and security forcesMilitary service age and obligationSpace programTerrorist groupstop of pageNational air transport systemCivil aircraft registration country code prefixAirports: 42
Usable: 42
With permanentsurface runways: 24
With runways over 3659 m: 0
With runways 2440-3659 m: 15
With runways 1220-2439 m: 3
HeliportsPipelines: crude oil 161 km; petroleum products 1,167 km; natural gas 3,300 km
RailwaysRoadwaysWaterways: 2,043 km (1,528 km in regular commercial use)
Merchant marine: 21 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 36,200 GRT/52,039 DWT, bulk 1, cargo 9, chemical tanker 5, liquefied gas 1, oil tanker 5
Ports and terminalsBelgium - Transnational issues 1994
top of pageDisputes international: none
Refugees and internally displaced personsIllicit drugs: source of precursor chemicals for South American cocaine processors; important gateway country for cocaine entering the European market