Kingdom of Belgium | |
|---|---|
 Location of Belgium (dark green) – in Europe (green & dark grey) | |
| Capital | Brussels 50°51′N 4°21′E / 50.850°N 4.350°E |
| Largest city | Antwerp (city proper) Brussels (metropolitan area) |
| Official languages | Dutch French German |
| Ethnic groups | see Demographics |
| Religion (2018[1]) |
|
| Demonym(s) | Belgian |
| Government | Federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy[2] |
• Monarch | Philippe |
| Sophie Wilmès | |
| Legislature | Federal Parliament |
| Senate | |
| Chamber of Representatives | |
| Independence (from the Netherlands) | |
• Declared | 4 October 1830 |
| 19 April 1839 | |
| Area | |
• Total | 30,689[3] km2 (11,849 sq mi) (136th) |
• Water (%) | 6.5 |
| Population | |
• 2020 estimate | 11,492,641  [4] (81st) |
• Density | 376/km2 (973.8/sq mi) (22nd) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2018 estimate |
• Total | $550 billion[5] (38th) |
• Per capita | $48,224[5] (20th) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2018 estimate |
• Total | $533 billion[5] (23rd) |
• Per capita | $46,724[5] (17th) |
| Gini (2018) |  25.6[6]low |
| HDI (2019) | 0.919[7] very high · 17th |
| Currency | Euro (€) (EUR) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Note: Although Belgium is located in Western European Time/UTC (Z) zone, since 25 February 1940, upon WW2 German occupation, Central European Time/UTC+1 was enforced as standard time,[8] with a +0:42:30 offset (and +1:42:30 during DST) from Brussels LMT (UTC+0:17:30). | |
| Driving side | right |
| Calling code | +32 |
| ISO 3166 code | BE |
| Internet TLD | .be |
| |
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Western Europe. It 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 30,689 km2 (11,849 sq mi) 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 376 per square kilometre (970/sq mi). The capital and largest city is Brussels; other major cities are Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi and Liège.