PEOPLE
Geographically and culturally, Belgium
is at the crossroads of Europe, and during the past 2,000 years
has witnessed a constant ebb and flow of different races and cultures.
Consequently, Belgium is one of Europe's true melting pots with
Celtic, Roman, Germanic, French, Dutch, Spanish, and Austrian
cultures having made an imprint.
Belgium is divided ethnically into
the Dutch-speaking Flemings and French-speaking Walloons, the
70,000 residents of the eastern German cantons, and the bilingual
capital of Brussels representing the remainder. The population
density is the second highest in Europe, after the Netherlands.
Population (2006): 10,584,534.
Annual population growth rate (2006.): 0.7%.
Density: 861 per sq. mi. Linguistic regions--(Dutch-speaking) Flanders 57.9%; (French-speaking) Wallonia 31.7%; (legally bilingual) Brussels Capital Region 9.7%; German-speaking 0.7%.
Religions: Predominantly Roman Catholic, with Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, Anglican, Greek and Russian Orthodox, as well as secularism, "recognized" religions receiving government subsidies.
Languages: Dutch, French, German.
Education: Literacy--99%.
