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Background: Belgium became independent from the
Netherlands in 1830 and was occupied by Germany during World Wars I and II. It has
prospered in the past half century as a modern, technologically advanced European
state and member of NATO and the EU.
Location: Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between France and the Netherlands
Area:
Total: 30,510 sq km
Land: 30,230 sq km
Water: 280 sq km
Land Boundaries:
Total: 1,385 km
Border Countries:
France 620 km,
Germany 167 km,
Luxembourg 148 km,
Netherlands 450 km
Coastline: 66 km
Elevation Extremes:
Lowest Point: North Sea 0 m
Highest Point: Signal de Botrange 694 m
Population: 10,241,506 (July 2000 est.)
Ethnic Groups: Fleming 58%, Walloon 31%, mixed or other 11%
Languages: Dutch 58%, French 32%, German 10%, legally bilingual
Information courtesy of the
CIA World Factbook.
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