other
Religion: 75% Roman Catholic; remainder Protestant or other
Language: 56% Flemish (Dutch), 32% French, 1% German; 11% legally bilingual; divided along ethnic lines
Literacy: 98%
Labor force: 4,000,000; 58% services, 37% industry, 5% agriculture (1987)
Organized labor: 70% of labor force
- Government
Long-form name: Kingdom of Belgium
Type: constitutional monarchy
Capital: Brussels
Administrative divisions: 9 provinces (French—provinces,
singular—province; Flemish—provincien, singular—provincie); Antwerpen,
Brabant, Hainaut, Liege, Limburg, Luxembourg, Namur, Oost-Vlaanderen,
West-Vlaanderen
Independence: 4 October 1830 (from the Netherlands)
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
Legal system: civil law system influenced by English constitutional theory; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
National holiday: National Day, 21 July (ascension of King Leopold to the throne in 1831)
Executive branch: monarch, prime minister, five deputy prime ministers,
Cabinet
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)
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, (since April 1979, with a 10-month interruption in 1981)
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
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
Communists: under 5,000 members (December 1985 est.)
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
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
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 p32o (2) 513–3830; there is a US Consulate General in Antwerp
Flag: three equal vertical bands of black (hoist side), yellow, and red; the design was based on the flag of France
- Economy 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.
GDP: $136.0 billion, per capita $13,700; real growth rate 4.5% (1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.6% (1989 est.)
Unemployment rate: 9.7% est. (1989 est.)
Budget: revenues $45.0 billion; expenditures $55.3 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (1989)
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)
Imports: $100.1 billion (c.i.f., 1989) Belgium-Luxembourg Economic
Union; commodities—fuels, grains, chemicals, foodstuffs;
partners—EC
