General overview : Belgium

. Area: 33, 990 km² (including the Northern Sea); 30, 528 km² (earthly area).
. Population: 10, 396, 421 (2004).
. Capital: Brussels
. Largest cities and number of inhabitants: Brussels - Capital (999, 899), Antwerp (455, 148), Ghent (229, 344), Charleroi (200, 608), Liege (185, 488), Bruges (117, 025).
. Official languages: Dutch, French, German.
. Regions: Belgium is a federal State divided into communities and regions. Today, Belgium is made up of three communities (the Flemish community, the French-speaking community and the German-speaking community), three regions (the Flemish region, Brussels-Capital Region and Wallonia), 10 provinces (Antwerp, West Flanders, East Flanders, Liège, Namur, Flemish Brabant, Walloon Brabant, Hainaut, Limburg, Luxembourg ; the Brussels-Capital Region is not divided into a province) and 589 municipalities.

Belgium has six recognised religions (Catholicism, Anglicanism, Judaism, Orthodoxy, Protestantism and Islam); secularism is also recognised. Other religions are also present, including Buddhism and Jehovah’s Witness.

Sources: FPS Economy, National Institute of Statistics; FPS Finances (Land Registry); National Geographic Institute (IGN); Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (IRSNB); Federal portal (website available in four languages).