Belgium is a tiny little country in Europe, with a population of 10.4 million people.

The land area of Belgium is 30,528sq kilometres.

Belgium has three official languages – Flemish (Dutch), French and German.

Belgium became independent from the Netherlands in 1830; it was occupied by Germany during World Wars I and II. The country prospered in the past half century as a modern, technologically-advanced European state and member of NATO and the European Union (EU). In recent years, tensions between the Dutch-speaking Flemings of the north and the French-speaking Walloons of the south have led to constitutional amendments granting these regions formal recognition and autonomy.

The Prime Minister is Herman van Rompuy.

The country of Belgium is split pretty much in half into two distinct areas, based on language. The northern is Flanders and is populated by the Flemish people. The southern half is Wallonia, and is populated by the Walloons, the French-speaking people, with a smaller concentration of German-speaking folk at the eastern edge. The capital of Brussels, in the centre of the country, is a bi-lingual area.

Belgium shares borders with France (620km), Germany (167km), Luxembourg (148km) and the Netherlands (450km), and has 66km of coastline.

Belgium's population is 10.4million.
The land area is 30,528sq kilometres.
The population density is 340.67 people per square kilometre.
Compared to:
Australia's population is 21.2million.
The land area is 7,686,850sq kilometres.
The population density is 2.7 people per square kilometre.
(The land area of the island of Tasmania is 62,409sq kilometres - more than double the size of Belgium!)




Some useful phrases in Flemish and French:
Goeiendag (Hello in Flemish)
Bonjour (Hello in French)
Tot ziens (Goodbye in Flemish)
Au revoir (Goodbye in French)
Bedankt (Thank you in Flemish)
Merci (Thank you in French)

Belgium is famous for:
Waffles
Beer
Chocolate
Jean-Claude van Damme
The Smurfs



Interesting places to visit:
Brussels – for lots of art and history museums, gothic buildings and the very European café culture. Don’t forget to stop by to look at the famous Mannekin Pis, the little boy statue peeing into the pool. If you’re lucky, you might see him wearing a snazzy new outfit.

Antwerp – for Renaissance-style buildings, baroque art by Ruebens, and diamonds. Apparently the only thing better than eating in Antwerp is drinking.

Ghent – for one of the world’s oldest oil paintings, the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb. Don’t forget the Gravensteen castle.

Bruges (pronounced Broozsh) – for the town’s historic Markt centre and Belfort (bell tower, as featured in the 2008 film In Brugge). You could visit the Heilig-Bloedbasiliek (Basilica of the Holy Blood), where a few drops of Christ’s blood are kept. You can’t go past Choco-Story – Bruges’ newest attraction devoted to the making of chocolate.

Ypres – the last bastion of Belgian territory not occupied by the Germans in World War I. More than 300,000 Allied soldiers were killed there during four years of fighting that levelled the town. The town has been reverentially rebuilt with a number of memorials of the dark days of the war. A visit to the Australian war graves is a must.

Helpful facts:
The Australian Embassy is located in Brussels:
Rue Guimard 6, B-1040
Brussels
Ph: 02 286 05 00
Fax: 02 230 68 02.

The international telephone access code is 32. Call 1234 for the international operator.

Emergency numbers:
Ambulance 100
Fire 100
Police 101
European Union wide emergency hotline 112

Food facts:
The national dish of Belgium is mussels (or moules). They are traditionally served in a bowl of steaming broth, however there are many variations. Another dish that you may come across often is pomme frites (potato fries/chips) served with creamy homemade mayonnaise.

Comic art:
Comic book art is very highly regarded in Belgium, and some of the best known exports are the Adventures of Tintin and The Smurfs.
Les Aventures de Tintin is a series of comic strips created by Belgium artist Herge (the pen name of George Remi).
Les Schtroumpfs were created by Belgian cartoonist Peyo in a series of comic strips in 1958. The English-speaking world knowns them best from the animated television series from Hanna-Barbera in the 1980s.