1990 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1990 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Climate
temperate; mild winters, cool summers; rainy, humid, cloudy
Coastline
64 km
Comparative area
slightly larger than Maryland
Continental shelf
not specific;
Environment
air and water pollution
Exclusive fishing zone
equidistant line with neighbors (extends about 68 km from coast);
Land boundaries
1,385 km total; France 620 km, Luxembourg 148 km, Netherlands 450 km, FRG 167 km
Land use
24% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 20% meadows and pastures; 21% forest and woodland; 34% other; includes NEGL% irrigated
Natural resources
coal, natural gas
Note
majority of West European capitals within 1,000 km of Brussels; crossroads of Western Europe; Brussels is the seat of the EC
Terrain
flat coastal plains in northwest, central rolling hills, rugged mountains of Ardennes Forest in southeast
Territorial sea
12 nm
Total area
30,510 km2; land area: 30,230 km2
People and Society
Birth rate
12 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate
11 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Ethnic divisions
55% Fleming, 33% Walloon, 12% mixed or other
Infant mortality rate
6 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Labor force
4,000,000; 58% services, 37% industry, 5% agriculture (1987)
Language
56% Flemish (Dutch), 32% French, 1% German; 11% legally bilingual; divided along ethnic lines
Life expectancy at birth
73 years male, 80 years female (1990)
Literacy
98%
Nationality
noun--Belgian(s); adjective--Belgian
Net migration rate
0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Organized labor
70% of labor force
Population
9,909,285 (July 1990), growth rate 0.1% (1990)
Religion
75% Roman Catholic; remainder Protestant or other
Total fertility rate
1.6 children born/woman (1990)
Government
Administrative divisions
9 provinces (French--provinces, singular--province; Flemish--provincien, singular--provincie); Antwerpen, Brabant, Hainaut, Liege, Limburg, Luxembourg, Namur, Oost-Vlaanderen, West-Vlaanderen
Capital
Brussels
Communists
under 5,000 members (December 1985 est.)
Constitution
7 February 1831, last revised 8-9 August 1980; the government is in the process of revising the Constitution, with the aim of federalizing the Belgian state
Diplomatic representation
Ambassador Herman DEHENNIN; Chancery at 3330 Garfield Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 333-6900; there are Belgian Consulates General in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York; US--Ambassador Maynard W. GLITMAN; Embassy at 27 Boulevard du Regent, B-1000 Brussels (mailing address is APO New York 09667); telephone [32] (2) 513-3830; there is a US Consulate General in Antwerp
Elections
Senate--last held 13 December 1987 (next to be held December 1991); results--CVP 19.2%, PS 15.7%, SP 14.7%, PVV 11.3%, PRL 9.3%, VU 8.1%, PSC 7.8%, ECOLO-AGALEV 7.7%, VB 2.0%, VDF 1.3%, other 1.96%; seats--(106 total) CVP 22, PS 20, SP 17, PRL 12, PVV 11, PSC 9, VU 8, ECOLO-AGALEV 5, VB 1, FDF 1; Chamber of Representatives--last held 13 December 1987 (next to be held December 1991); results--CVP 19.45%, PS 15.66%, SP 14.88%, PVV 11.55%, PRL 9.41%, PSC 8.01%, VU 8.05%, ECOLO-AGALEV 7.05%, VB 1.90%, FDF 1.16%, other 2.88%; seats--(212 total) CVP 43, PS 40, SP 32, PVV 25, PRL 23, PSC 19, VU 16, ECOLO-AGALEV 9, FDF 3, VB 2
Executive branch
monarch, prime minister, five deputy prime ministers, Cabinet
Flag
three equal vertical bands of black (hoist side), yellow, and red; the design was based on the flag of France
Independence
4 October 1830 (from the Netherlands)
Judicial branch
Supreme Court of Justice (Flemish--Hof van Cassatie, French--Cour de Cassation)
Leaders
Chief of State--King BAUDOUIN I (since 17 July 1951); Heir Apparent Prince ALBERT of Liege (brother of the King; born 6 June 1934); Head of Government--Prime Minister Wilfried MARTENS,
Legal system
civil law system influenced by English constitutional theory; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Legislative branch
bicameral Parliament consists of an upper chamber or Senate (Flemish--Senaat, French--Senat) and a lower chamber or Chamber of Representatives (Flemish--Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers, French--Chambre des Representants)
Long-form name
Kingdom of Belgium
Member of
ADB, Benelux, BLEU, CCC, Council of Europe, DAC, EC, ECE, ECOSOC, EIB, EMS, ESA, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICES, ICO, IDA, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, ILZSG, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOOC, IPU, ITC, ITU, NATO, OAS (observer), OECD, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG
National holiday
National Day, 21 July (ascension of King Leopold to the throne in 1831)
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
Political parties and leaders
Flemish Social Christian (CVP), Herman van Rompuy, president; Walloon Social Christian (PSC), Gerard Deprez, president; Flemish Socialist (SP), Frank Vandenbroucke, president; Walloon Socialist (PS), Guy Spitaels, president; Flemish Liberal (PVV), Guy Verhofstadt, president; Walloon Liberal (PRL), Antoine Duquesne, president; Francophone Democratic Front (FDF), Georges Clerfayt, president; Volksunie (VU), Jaak Gabriels, president; Communist Party (PCB), Louis van Geyt, president; Vlaams Blok (VB), Karel Dillen; other minor parties
Suffrage
universal and compulsory at age 18
Type
constitutional monarchy
Economy
Agriculture
accounts for 2% of GDP; emphasis on livestock production--beef, veal, pork, milk; major crops are sugar beets, fresh vegetables, fruits, grain, and tobacco; net importer of farm products
Aid
donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-87), $4.3 billion
Budget
revenues $45.0 billion; expenditures $55.3 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (1989)
Currency
Belgian franc (plural--francs); 1 Belgian franc (BF) = 100 centimes
Electricity
17,325,000 kW capacity; 62,780 million kWh produced, 6,350 kWh per capita (1989)
Exchange rates
Belgian francs (BF) per US$1--35.468 (January 1990), 39.404 (1989), 36.768 (1988), 37.334 (1987), 44.672 (1986), 59.378 (1985)
Exports
$100.3 billion (f.o.b., 1989) Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union; commodities--iron and steel, transportation equipment, tractors, diamonds, petroleum products; partners--EC 74%, US 5%, Communist countries 2% (1988)
External debt
$27.5 billion (1988)
Fiscal year
calendar year
GDP
$136.0 billion, per capita $13,700; real growth rate 4.5%
Imports
$100.1 billion (c.i.f., 1989) Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union; commodities--fuels, grains, chemicals, foodstuffs; partners--EC 72%, US 5%, oil-exporting less developed countries 4%, Communist countries 3% (1988)
Industrial production
growth rate 6.4% (1988)
Industries
engineering and metal products, processed food and beverages, chemicals, basic metals, textiles, glass, petroleum, coal
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
3.6% (1989 est.)
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 essential raw materials, making its economy closely dependent on the state of world markets. In 1988 over 70% of trade was with other EC countries. During the period 1986-88 the economy profited from falling oil prices and a lower dollar, which helped to improve the terms of trade. Real GDP grew by an average of 3.5% in 1986-89, up from 1.5% in 1985. However, a large budget deficit and 10% unemployment cast a shadow on the economy.
Unemployment rate
9.7% est. (1989 est.)
Communications
Airports
42 total, 42 usable; 24 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 14 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 3 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
47 major transport aircraft
Highways
103,396 km total; 1,317 km limited access, divided autoroute; 11,717 km national highway; 1,362 km provincial road; about 38,000 km paved and 51,000 km unpaved rural roads
Inland waterways
2,043 km (1,528 km in regular commercial use)
Merchant marine
67 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,854,898 GRT/3,071,637 DWT; includes 1 short-sea passenger, 10 cargo, 6 roll-on/roll-off, 6 container, 7 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 6 liquefied gas, 3 combination ore/oil, 9 chemical tanker, 13 bulk, 6 combination bulk
Pipelines
refined products 1,167 km; crude 161 km; natural gas 3,300 km
Ports
Antwerp, Brugge, Gent, Oostende, Zeebrugge, 1 secondary, and 1 minor maritime; 11 inland
Railroads
Belgian National Railways (SNCB) operates 3,667 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, government owned; 2,563 km double track; 1,978 km electrified; 191 km 1.000-meter gauge, government owned and operated
Telecommunications
excellent domestic and international telephone and telegraph facilities; 4,560,000 telephones; stations--8 AM, 19 FM (41 relays), 25 TV (10 relays); 5 submarine cables; satellite earth stations operating in INTELSAT 3 Atlantic Ocean and EUTELSAT systems
Military and Security
Branches
Army, Navy, Air Force
Defense expenditures
2.7% of GDP, or $3.7 billion (1989 est.)
Military manpower
males 15-49, 2,512,681; 2,114,701 fit for military service; 66,758 reach military age (19) annually