Belgium Country Profile

Country Profile
Physical Geography
1. Official Name of Country: Kingdom of Belgium
2. Climate: temperate: mild winters, cool summers: rainy, humid, cloudy
3. Map
1. Absolute Location (find the latitude and longitude)50 50N 4 00E
2. Relative location (is it the 7th largest country in the world? What countries, bodies of water, mountains, and desserts are it next to?)Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between France and the Netherlands
Political Geography
1. Type of government, names of the officials, and major political parties
federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional nonarchy
2. Capital
Brussels
3. International Organization participation
ACCT, ADB (nonregional members), AfDB (nonregional members), Australia Group, Benelux, BIS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G-9, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, Schengen Convention, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIS, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, WADB (nonregional), WCL, WCO, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
4. Size of armed forces
Male 62,722
Female 59, 969
Cultural Geography
1. Official language, and other languages spoken, ethnic composition, and major religions
Dutch (official) 60%, French (official) 40%, German (official) less than 1%, legally bilingual (Dutch and French) Fleming 58%, Walloon 31%, mixed or other 11% Roman Catholic 75%, other (includes Protestant) 25 %
2. Population, population growth rate, and population distribution
10,414,336 0.094% urban populations: 97% of total population
rate of urbanization: 0.3% annual rate of change
3. Major cities
Oosteende, Zeebrugge, Brugge, Gent, Kortrijk, Aaist, Antwerp, Mechelen, Leuven, Brussels, Moons, Charlerol, Namur, Liege, Bastogne
4. Infant mortality rate and average life expectancy
Total: 4.44 deaths/1,000 live births
5. Teachers and doctors per population
Economic Geography
1. GNP (Gross National Product) and GDP (Gross Domestic Product) GDP: $389.3 billion
2. Percent of arable land used for agriculture arable land: 27.42%
3. Natural resources construction materials, silica sand, carbonates
4. Major agricultural and industrial products Agriculture: sugar beets, fresh vegetables, fruits, grain, tobacco; beef, veal, pork, milk Industry: engineering and metal products, motor vehicle assembly, transportation equipment, scientific instruments, processed food and beverages, chemicals, basic metals, textiles, glass, petroleum
5. Major exports and imports Export: machinery and equipment, chemicals, finished diamonds, metals and metal products, foodstuffs Import: raw materials, machinery and equipment, chemicals, raw diamonds, pharmaceuticals, foodstuffs, transportation equipment, oil products
6. Currency (include exchange rate vs. TWD): 1.00 Eur = 47.7936
7. Balance of trade (include amounts in TWD currency of total exports and imports) Exports: $371.5 billion Import: $387.7 billion
8. Historical events (Timeline format from 1980 to present; give your teacher 10 major events)
Information from CIA WORLD FACTBOOK