Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a nation in Northwestern Europe. The nation is surrounded by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the eastern, 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) as well as has a population of more than 11.5 million, making it the 22nd most largely populated country on the planet and the 6th most largely inhabited nation in Europe, with a thickness of 376 per square kilometre (970/sq mi). The resources as well as biggest city is Brussels; other major cities are Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi, Liège, Bruges, Namur, and also Leuven.

Belgium is a sovereign state and a government absolute monarchy with a parliamentary system. Its institutional company is intricate and is structured on both regional and linguistic grounds. It is divided right into 3 extremely independent areas: the Flemish Area (Flanders) in the north, the Walloon Region (Wallonia) in the south, and also the Brussels-Capital Region. Brussels is the smallest as well as most largely inhabited region, in addition to the wealthiest region in terms of GDP per capita.

Belgium is home to 2 main linguistic communities: the Dutch-speaking Flemish Community, which makes up about 60 percent of the populace, and also the French-speaking Community, which constitutes regarding 40 percent of the populace. A tiny German-speaking Community, numbering around one percent, exists in the East Cantons. The Brussels-Capital Region is formally multilingual in French and also Dutch, although French is the dominant language. Belgium’s linguistic variety and also related political problems are reflected in its complicated system of administration, composed of 6 different governments.

The nation as it exists today was established following the 1830 Belgian Revolution, when it seceded from the Netherlands, which had itself just existed since 1815. The name selected for the new state is derived from the Latin word Belgium, used in Julius Caesar’s “Gallic Wars”, to define a neighboring region in the duration around 55 BCE. Belgium belongs to an area referred to as the Low Countries, historically a somewhat larger area than the Benelux group of states, as it likewise consisted of parts of northern France.

Given that the Middle Ages, its main place near several significant rivers has suggested that the location has actually been reasonably flourishing, linked commercially and also politically to its bigger neighbours. Belgium has additionally been the battlefield of European powers, gaining the name the “Battleground of Europe”, an online reputation enhanced in the 20th century by both world wars.