Belgium




                                 Geography


Location:
     Western Europe, bordering on the North Sea, between France and the
     Netherlands
Map references:
     Arctic Region, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
     30,510 sq km
land area:
     30,230 sq km
comparative area:
     slightly larger than Maryland
Land boundaries:
     total 1,385 km, France 620 km, Germany 167 km, Luxembourg 148 km,
     Netherlands 450 km
Coastline:
     64 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf:
     equidistant line with neighbors
exclusive fishing zone:
     equidistant line with neighbors (extends about 68 km from coast)
territorial sea:
     12 nm
International disputes:
     none
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
Natural resources:
     coal, natural gas
Land use:
arable land:
     24%
permanent crops:
     1%
meadows and pastures:
     20%
forest and woodland:
     21%
other:
     34%
Irrigated land:
     10 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current 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




natural hazards:
     NA
international agreements:
     party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Sulphur, Antarctic Treaty,
     Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes,
     Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone
     Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber, Wetlands; signed,
     but not ratified - Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
     Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental
     Protocol, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea
Note:
     crossroads of Western Europe; majority of West European capitals
     within 1,000 km of Brussels which is the seat of the EC


                                  People


Population:
     10,062,836 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
     0.2% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
     11.71 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
     10.26 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
     0.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
     7.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
     76.96 years
male:
     73.67 years
female:
     80.44 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
     1.62 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
     Belgian(s)
adjective:
     Belgian
Ethnic divisions:
     Fleming 55%, Walloon 33%, mixed or other 12%
Religions:
     Roman Catholic 75%, Protestant or other 25%
Languages:
     Dutch 56%, French 32%, German 1%, legally bilingual 11% divided along
     ethnic lines
Literacy:
     age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.)
total population:
     99%
male:
     NA%




female:
     NA%
Labor force:
     4.126 million
by occupation:
     services 63.6%, industry 28%, construction 6.1%, agriculture 2.3%
     (1988)


                                Government


Names:
conventional long form:
     Kingdom of Belgium
conventional short form:
local long form:
     Royaume de Belgique
local short form:
     Belgique
Digraph:
     BE
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
Independence:
     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
Suffrage:
     18 years of age, universal and compulsory
Executive branch:
chief of state:
     King ALBERT II (since NA August 1993)
head of government:
     Prime Minister Jean-Luc DEHAENE (since 6 March 1992)
cabinet:
     Cabinet; the king appoints the ministers who are chosen by the
     legislature
Legislative branch:
     bicameral Parliament




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 leaders:
     Flemish Social Christian (CVP), Johan van HECKE, president;
     Francophone Social Christian (PSC), Melchior WATHELET, president;
     Flemish Socialist (SP), Frank VANDENBROUCKE, president; Francophone
     Socialist (PS), Philippe BUSQUIN; Flemish Liberals and Democrats
     (VLD), Guy VERHOFSTADT, president; Francophone Liberal (PRL), Jean
     GOL, president; Francophone Democratic Front (FDF), Georges CLERFAYT,
     president; Volksunie (VU), Bert ANCIAUX, president; Communist Party
     (PCB), Louis VAN GEYT, president; Vlaams Blok (VB), Karel DILLEN,
     chairman; ROSSEM, Jean Pierre VAN ROSSEM; National Front (FN), Werner
     van STEEN; AGALEV (Flemish Greens), no president; ECOLO (Francophone
     Ecologists), no president; other minor parties
Other political or pressure groups:
     Christian and Socialist Trade Unions; Federation of Belgian
     Industries; numerous other associations representing bankers,
     manufacturers, middle-class artisans, and the legal and medical
     professions; various organizations represent the cultural interests of
     Flanders and Wallonia; various peace groups such as the Flemish Action
     Committee Against Nuclear Weapons and Pax Christi
Member of:
     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 representation in US:
chief of mission:
     Ambassador Juan CASSIERS
chancery:
     3330 Garfield Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
     (202) 333-6900
FAX:
     (202) 333-3079
consulate(s) general:
     Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York




US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
     Ambassador Alan J. BLINKEN
embassy:
     27 Boulevard du Regent, Brussels
mailing address:
     B-1000 Brussels, APO AE 09724
telephone:
     [32] (2) 513-3830
FAX:
     [32] (2) 511-2725
Flag:
     three equal vertical bands of black (hoist side), yellow, and red; the
     design was based on the flag of France


                                  Economy


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.
National product:
     GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $177.5 billion (1993)
National product real growth rate:
     -1.5% (1993)
National product per capita:
     $17,700 (1993)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
     2.8% (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate:
     13.5% (March 1994)
Budget:
revenues:
     $97.8 billion
expenditures:
     $109.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1989)
Exports:
     $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)
External debt:
     $31.3 billion (1992 est.)
Industrial production:
     growth rate -0.1% (1993 est.); accounts for 25% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity:
     17,500,000 kW
production:
     68 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
     6,790 kWh (1992)
Industries:
     engineering and metal products, motor vehicle assembly, processed food
     and beverages, chemicals, basic metals, textiles, glass, petroleum,
     coal
Agriculture:
     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
Illicit drugs:
     source of precursor chemicals for South American cocaine processors;
     important gateway country for cocaine entering the European market
Economic aid:
donor:
     ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $5.8 billion
Currency:
     1 Belgian franc (BF) = 100 centimes
Exchange 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)
Fiscal year:
     calendar year


                              Communications


Railroads:
     Belgian National Railways (SNCB) operates 3,568 km 1.435-meter
     standard gauge, government owned; 2,563 km double track; 2,207 km
     electrified
Highways:
total:
     137,876 km
paved:
     129,603 km (including 1,631 km of limited access divided highway)
unpaved:
     8,273 km (1989)
Inland waterways:
     2,043 km (1,528 km in regular commercial use)




Pipelines:
     crude oil 161 km; petroleum products 1,167 km; natural gas 3,300 km
Ports:
     Antwerp, Brugge, Gent, Oostende, Zeebrugge
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
Airports:
total:
     42
usable:
     42
with permanent-surface runways:
     24
with runways over 3,659 m:
     0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
     15
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
     3
Telecommunications:
     highly developed, technologically advanced, and completely automated
     domestic and international telephone and telegraph facilities;
     extensive cable network; limited microwave radio relay network;
     4,720,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 3 AM, 39 FM, 32 TV; 5
     submarine cables; 2 satellite earth stations - Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT
     and EUTELSAT systems; nationwide mobile phone system


                              Defense Forces


Branches:
     Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie
Manpower availability:
     males age 15-49 2,558,109; fit for military service 2,130,172; reach
     military age (19) annually 61,710 (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures:
     exchange rate conversion - $3.8 billion, 1.8% of GDP (1993)