SOCIAL STUDIES FACT CARDS
COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD
     

BELGIUM
(BEL-juhm)
Copyright © by Toucan Valley Publications, Inc.

During its history, Belgium has been both a trade center and a battleground for its European neighbors. It is populated by two cultural groups often in tension: the Dutch (Flemish) in the north, and the French (Walloons) in the south. The Walloons are considered to be generally more conservative than the Flemish. The country is 75% Catholic, and has produced much outstanding religious art and architecture.

Despite its short coastline, Belgium is a maritime nation. The Port of Antwerp, on the Schelde River which flows to the North Sea, is important for foreign trade. Belgian lace, linen, crystal, and diamonds grace the formal affairs of the world.

THE LAND

Location:  on the North Sea, with France, Germany, the Nether-lands, and Luxembourg as neighbors.

Terrain:  northern plain, central river lowlands, southern wooded plateau rising over 2,000 ft.

Climate:  maritime climate, rainy and foggy, with cool summers and mild winters.

Area: 11,783 square miles   (ranks 136th of 191 countries)

Highest point: 2,277 feet   (Signal de Botrange)

Lowest point:  0 feet   (North Sea)

Greatest distances: north-south: 140 miles; east-west: 170 miles

Coastline:  40 miles

Wildlife: sandpiper, snipe, pheasant, boar, wildcats, deer, muskrat, hamster

Plants and trees: oak, beech, silver birch, elm, spruce, Corsican pine

THE PEOPLE

People in Belgium are called:   Belgians

Population (2003): 10,289,088   (ranks 74th of 191 countries)

Ethnic Groups:

Fleming (from Dutch descent)

55%

Walloon (from French descent)

33%

other

12%

Religion:

Roman Catholic

75%

other

25%

Population growth rate: 0.2%

Population density: 869 persons per square mile

Largest cities (with population):

Brussels (954,000)
Antwerp (468,000)
Ghent (230,000)
Charleroi (205,591)
Liege (195,000)

Population living in cities: 97%

Life expectancy:  77.3 years

Languages spoken: Flemish (official); French (official); German (official)

Education: school is required for children of ages 6 to 16

Literacy: 98% persons age 15 and over can read and write

Popular foods: famous for mussels, chocolates, and 300 varieties of beer; pork, fish, variety of international dishes

Sports: soccer, cycling, hunting, fishing, pigeon racing

Music: classical, jazz, popular music, piano, violin

Holidays:

May 1

Labor Day

Jul 21

Independence Day

Nov 11

Veterans' Day

Famous Belgians:

Gerhard Mercator (16th century) - geographer and map maker
Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) - artist and court painter for Archduke Albert
Maurice Maeterlinck (1862-1949) - Nobel Prize poet and playwright
Georges Simenon (1903-89) - author, creator of mystery series featuring Commissioner Maigret

HISTORY

Celtic tribes called Belgae settled the area about 100 BC. They were defeated by the Romans about 50 BC and the area became Gaul. Frankish rulers Clovis (in the AD 400s) and then Charlemagne (ruled 768-814) conquered Belgium and made it part of their empires in the Middle Ages. A 300-year feudal period followed, with merchants, manufacturers, and artisans gaining status and developing their trades.    

The Low Countries, which included Holland, Belgium, Austria, and part of France, were claimed by Spain in 1516. Austrians and French contested for the Low Countries after the Netherlands was established in 1648. Belgium and the Netherlands became one in 1815; then Belgium separated and became independent in 1830.

During World Wars I and II, Germany occupied Belgium and was driven out by Allied forces. After the wars, Belgium was the first to recover and stabilize. It was a founding member of the United Nations, which had a Belgian as its first president.

In the 1960s, Belgium gave up its African territories in the Congo and Ruanda-Urundi.

Since the 1970s, Belgium’s French, Dutch, and German cultural and language groups have each played a part in governing the country. A new constitution in 1994 gave each region more local control. Of concern in the 1990s has been government corruption.  

THE ECONOMY

Money: Euro;   Euro 1.0626 = US$1 (2002)

Gross Domestic Product (value of all good and services, 2002): us$ 297.6 billion, or us$ 29,200 per person (ranks 7th of 191 countries)

Unemployment rate (2002): 7.2%

Inflation rate (2002): 1.7%

Industries: motor vehicle assembly, processed food and beverages, textiles, petroleum

Crops: sugar beets, tobacco, apples, pears, cherries

Livestock: cattle, pigs, sheep, horses

Natural resources: coal, natural gas, diamonds

Exports (2002): us$ 162 billion

Imports (2001): us$ 152 billion

Major trading partners: Eastern Europe, United States, former Communist countries

GOVERNMENT

The square flag with three equal vertical stripes of black, yellow, and red was first used in 1789 when Belgians attempted to overthrow Austrian rule. The design, inspired by the French tricolor, was adopted in 1831. Black, yellow, and red were  colors of former Belgian provinces.

 

 


Established: 1830

Capital: Brussels

Type: federal parliamentary

Chief of state: King Albert II

Head of government: Guy Verhofstadt

Legislature: 71-member Senate; 150-member Chamber of Deputies

Voting rights: all persons age 18 and older must vote

National anthem: The Song of Brabant

Belgian ambassador to the U.S.: Franciskus Van Daele

U.S. ambassador to Belgium: Stephen Franklin Brauer

POINTS OF INTEREST

St. Bavon Cathedral in Ghent is a majestic high Gothic structure housing the “Adoration of the Mystic Lamb” altarpiece by Herbert and Jan van Eyck.

The Atomium, created by Andre Waterkeyn for the 1958 Brussels Worlds Fair, is a model of a molecule of iron. There is a restaurant and observation area at the top.

The Brussels Comic Museum has over 25,000 comics and print plates for this popular art form.

The Port of Antwerp, best seen by boat tour, is visited annually by over 20,000 seagoing vessels from 70 nations.

Centuries of Belgian artists (Jan van Eyck, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Anton Van Dyck, Peter Paul Rubens) left a heritage of paintings.