About Belgium

Belgium is a Western European country of 10 million inhabitants, neighboring The Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and France. Belgium is a founding member of the European Union and NATO both of which are Headquartered in Brussels, the capital of the country. There are three national languages, i.e. Dutch, French and German. Major cities are Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, Bruges, Liège and Charleroi.

It has a GNI per capita of $44,326 and a GDP of $468.6 billion (source : World Bank - Data and Statistics 2009).

Government

Belgium is a constitutional monarchy. The Head of State is King Albert II and the Government of current affairs is headed by Prime Minister Yves Leterme. Following the June 2010 elections, a new government is expected to be installed before year’s end.

Mr. Didier Reynders, Minister of Finance, is Belgium's Governor to the World Bank. The Minister of Foreign Affairs is Mr. Steven Vanackere and the Minister of Development Cooperation is Mr. Charles Michel.

Since 1993, Belgium is a federal state composed of three Regions (the Flemish, the Walloon and the Brussels-Capital Region) and three Communities (the Flemish, the French and the German-speaking Community) whose jurisdiction and territory overlap partly. Regions are mainly responsible for economic matters (e.g. employment, transport, etc.) while Communities are active in cultural areas (e.g. education, youth, etc). For more information on Belgium’s subnational entities, click here