65 Facts About Belgium

Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a small and densely populated country located in Western Europe. 

Belgium has an area of 30,528 square km. 

Brussels is capital and largest city of Belgium. 

Dutch, French, and German are all accepted as Belgium’s official languages. 

Belgium's official currency is Euro (€) (EUR). 

Belgium shares four borders with France, Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.

Belgium is one of the European Union's six founding members.

Belgium's national flag was adopted in 1931. It's a tricolour with vertical black, yellow, and red stripes.

In 2002, the Belgian Franc was replaced by the Euro. The Euro is used by 19 of the 27 countries in the European Union. The EU members who do not use the euro are Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

In Belgium, the metric system is the legal standard for weights and measures.

Belgium has a high population density. It has a land area of 30,528 square kilometres and a population of more than 11 million people.

The coastal plain in the north-west, the central plateau, and the Ardennes uplands in the south-east are the three main geographical regions of Belgium.

The two main linguistic groups in Belgium are those who speak Dutch and those who speak French. The country also has a small percentage of German speakers, who live in the country's east.

The country's French-speaking population, known as Walloons, lives in the country's five southern provinces.

The population of Brussels is 85% French-speaking.

Belgium is also one of Europe's most industrialised and urbanised countries.

Belgium is a low-lying, mostly flat country. Belgium is 181 metres above sea level on average.

Belgium is also known as the "Battlefield of Europe" because it served as a battlefield between many European powers as well as during both World Wars.

Belgium is thought to be the birthplace of the Big Bang theory.

Belgian men are the world's second tallest after the Dutch. The average Dutchman is now 183 cm tall, while Belgians are 182 cm tall.

In the country, same-sex marriages are legal. In fact, it was the second country in the world, after the Netherlands, to legalise same-sex marriages in 2003.

In the country, the practise of intentionally ending a life (Euthanasia) to relieve pain and suffering is also legal. It became legal in 2002.

The Law Courts of Brussels are also the world's largest court of justice. It was built on a 26,000m2 plot of land from 1866 to 1883. It is said to be the largest building built in the nineteenth century.

Belgium is also well-known for its inventions, which include plastic, the saxophone (invented by Adolphe Sax in 1840), the Body Mass Index (BMI) (invented by mathematician Lambert Adolphe Quetelet), and significant contributions to the World Wide Web, contraception pills, Imodium, and inline skates.

Former world number one tennis player Justine Henin is Belgian.

Belgium has high tax rates. People earning more than €38,830 are taxed at a rate of 50%.

The divorce rate in Belgium is the highest in Western Europe.

The Belgian Coast Tram, or Kusttram, is the world's longest tram line. It is 68 kilometres long and connects cities and towns along the entire Belgian coast (West Flanders), from De Panne near the French border to Knokke-Heist.

Belgium has the world's most densely populated urban area. Cities and urban areas are home to nearly 98% of the country's population.

The term "spa" comes from the Belgian town of Spa.

Belgium has the second-highest number of Tour de France winners.

Belgium has more castles per square kilometre than any other country on the planet. They are thought to have 3,000 castles.

The country began producing chocolate in 1635. The country now has over 2,000 chocolate shops and produces over 173,000 tonnes of chocolate each year.

Antwerp has been known as the world's diamond capital since 1447, when the diamond trade began there.

Belgium is also the leading exporter of billiard balls in the world.

Education is compulsory in the country until the age of 18.

In 1605 in Antwerp, Belgium, the world's first printed newspaper was published. Relation was the name of the newspaper. The newspaper's publisher was Johann Carolus (1575-1634).

Anheuser-Busch Belgium's InBev is the world's largest beer brewery. The country produced over 1100 different types of beer.

French fries can be traced back to Belgium rather than France. In addition, French fries are known as Belgian fries in the country.

Brussels National Airport, the world's largest chocolate selling point, is also located in Belgium.

Belgium's and Germany's flags share the same colour scheme of black, yellow, and red. The colours, however, are oriented differently.

Belgium is also one of the world's top diamond exporters. Antwerp World Diamond Centre is located in Antwerp and is one of the largest diamond districts in the world.

Belgium is the European Union's fifth-smallest country.

Belgians enjoy cycling and use bicycles for most short-distance trips.

Belgium is also well-known for its peeing boy statue, the Manneken Pis (which translates as "Little Man Pee" in Dutch).

In 1921, Belgium became the world's first country to have a female parliamentarian.

In Belgium, voting is compulsory.

Belgium is also a world leader in the processing of cobalt, radium, copper, zinc, and lead.

The world's second deepest swimming pool is the Nemo 33 (maximum depth is 34.5 metres; opened on May 1, 2004), an indoor non-chlorinated freshwater facility in Brussels, Belgium, after the Y-40 Deep Joy (maximum depth is 40 metres; opened on 5 June 2014).

The country's households also have the world's highest percentage of cable TV, at 97%.

Every year, over 5,000 meetings are held at NATO's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.

For the first time in the world, electronic identity cards were introduced in Belgium.

Belgians adore pets, which is why the majority of Belgian families own one.

In comparison to other European countries, Belgians have the fewest fast food restaurants.

Because of its dense highway network, the country shines brighter than any other country.

Belgium has a high road and railway density, and the country's transportation system is well developed.

Belgian gasoline prices are also among the highest in the world.

There are over 1000 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and over 120 international governmental organisations in Brussels.

Waffles, fries, chocolate, and beer are all famous in Belgium.

When a baby is born in Ghent, Belgium, the streetlights in the Sint-Veerleplein city square flicker on and off to commemorate the event.

Belgium's main crops are sugar beets, chicory, flax, cereal grains, and potatoes.

Coal was once one of Belgium's most important natural resources. Belgium's easily extractable coal reserves had been depleted by the 1960s. By 1992, the coal mining industry had come to a halt. Belgian coal is now imported for use in the steel industry and domestic heating.

The Rubicon, the world's longest subterranean river, is found in Belgium's Caves of Remouchamps.

Belgium also has the world's only museum dedicated to bookbinding and book arts, the Bibliotheca Wittockiana. The museum houses over 3,000 art bindings dating from the 16th to the 21st centuries. However, viewing the collection requires an appointment.

The Hallerbos, also known as the Blue Forest, is a forest in Belgium that spans 1,360 acres. Between late April and May, this massive forest is blanketed in bluebells.