Belgium: Land of Plenty
The Kingdom of Belgium is a country in the northwest of Europe. It is bordered by France, Luxembourg, Germany and the Netherlands. It is also a coastal country, at least for a small stretch of the North Sea. As one of the founding members of the European Union, Belgium serves as its headquarters. It is also the host of many international organizations including NATO.
With over ten million people in a small 11,700 square miles, Belgium is densely populated. It is also bilingual. Belgium is the dividing country in terms of Germanic and Latin Europe. In the Northern regions, known as Flanders, Dutch is spoken. 58% of Belgium’s population is housed in Flanders. The southern region of Belgium is called Wallonia. French is the language spoken here. A third area that comprises Belgium is the capital, Brussels. In Brussels, 85% of the people speak French as well.
Primarily because of the linguistic diversity, Belgium has developed a rather complex governmental system. Even so, Belgium is a country that exhibits one of the highest life-quality ratings on the planet. It rates excellent in terms of many essentials including: health care, housing, education, infrastructure, food and more. It is the world’s record holder in terms high national productivity and low poverty. It is also prided on rudiments such as pragmatism, food and drink, open-mindedness, compromise and personal privacy.
There are three classified geographical regions in Belgium: the coastal plains in the northwest, the central plateau, and the Ardennes uplands in the south-east. The coastal plains consist mainly of sand dunes and polders. Further inland, the central plateau is a smooth, easy-rising area with fertile valleys and irrigated waterways. The Ardennes is composed of thickly forested plateaus. They are rocky and do not promote farming well. In this region, one will find Belgium’s highest elevation point at Signal de Botrange. It tops out at 2277 ft (694 meters). Because of effectors such as its location in the center of Western Europe, high population density, and proposed inadequate political intervention, Belgium’s rivers have poor water quality. In 2003, Belgium ranked last of a 122 country river water quality study.
From the ages of six to eighteen, education is compulsory in Belgium. 98% of the adult population is literate. Belgium consistently ranks high in studies comparing international educational and literacy levels. Since its independence, both free-thought movements and Catholicism have played major defining roles in Belgium’s political structure. Catholicism remains the dominate religion in Belgium with Islam following in a distant second place. Small factions of Buddhists, Jews, and Protestants also exist.
When visiting Belgium, one can expect to find a plentitude of museums and free-flowing beer. Belgians love beer. It is said that wherever you may find yourself in Belgium, there is always a party going on. Beginning at 8 pm, people party all night long. Many nights are spent sleepless in exchange for jazz festivals, rock concerts, exotic nightclubs, traditional brown pubs and casinos. Brussels alone hosts over 80 pubs. Those 80 pubs serve as home to over 400 varieties of beer!
Whether you want to dance all night at a disco, drink as many of the 400 indigenous beers produced, gamble you’re your budget plus some, pub-hop the nights away, or enjoy the plethora of museums rich in cultural history, Belgium will be happy to accommodate you.