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POPULATION STATISTICS: historical demography of all countries, their divisions and towns

About this siteFrequently Asked QuestionsLinks to other sitesRemarks on the dataSources used for the dataRecent updates of the data
map of Belgium; source WRBELGIUM

[Belgique = België = Belgien] :
general data of the country


 
General useful information
 
Note: some data are of constant value, while other are due to changes, fluctuations etc.
 
Nation and population
 
official name (short form): België ; or: Belgique ; or: Belgien
country code ISO: BE [BEL] //; - FIPS: BE
location: Western Europe
time zone: +1 UT* [*= applying daylight saving time]
surface (land) area: 30510 sq.km = 11783 sq.mi //; - area incl. inland waters: 32545 sq.km = 12566 sq.mi
geographical position in extreme co-ordinates: North: 51° N / South: 50° N / East: 6° E / West: 3° E
borders (land): Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, France
borders (coastline): North Sea
climate: moderate maritime
Government
independent since: 1830-10-04
type of government: constitutional monarchy
capital: Brussel = Bruxelles = Brüssel (Brussels)
administrative division: regio (3) // province (10) + capital district (1)
Population
population according to the latest census: (1991): 9978,681
total population according to the estimate of midyear 2000: 10241,506 //; or: 10252,000; 2001: 10263,000 ; 2002: 10333,000
population density: 336 per sq.km = 870 per sq.mi
population growth: 0,2% //; - doubling time: not applicable; exceeds 100 years
birth rate: 11 per 1000
death rate: 10 per 1000
fertility rate: 2 children per female
maternal mortality: 9 per 100,000
infant mortality (in the first year of life): 6 per 1000
infant mortality (from 1st - 4th year of life): 5 - 10 per 1000
life expectancy: 78 years (male: 75; female: 81)
age breakdown: 0-14 years: 18% //; - 15-59 years: 62% //; - 60+ years: 21%
urbanisation: 97% //; - urbanisation growth:0,4 %
percentage of urban population in the greatest city: 24%
Ethnic composition, language, religion
ethnic groups: Fleming 55%; Walloon 32%; Italian 3%; Morrocan 1%; French, Dutch, Turkish, German
languages: (all official): Flemish/Dutch 57%, Walloon/French 32%; German 1%
religious affiliation: Roman Catholic 72-88%; Protestant 11-25%; Muslim 2%
Health
daily food intake: 3606 calories per capita
population with access to safe water: virtually 100%
people per physician: 253 - 259
people per hospital bed: 131
Education, literacy
school enrolment: primary education 6-11 years: 100%
school enrolment: secondary education: 88%
school enrolment: tertiary education 20-24 years: 34%
adult literacy: 99% (male: %; female: %)
 
Economy and infrastructure
 
Economy and trade
currency: Euro = 100 cents (until 2002: Belgian Franc = 100 centimes)
annual inflation rate: 2%
population below poverty line: 12%
Gross Domestic Product: USD 23900 per capita
GNI USD 22940 - 24540 per capita //; - [ppp: 27470 - 28130]
GDP growth: 1,8%
income: USD 19300 - 24710 per capita
import: USD 150624 per capita //; - export: USD 165173 per capita
trade: USD 23500 - 24750 per capita //; - or 163% of GDP
trade partners: DE NL FR GB US IE
human development index: 0,935 //; - position of the country in the world no.: 5
female labour force: 41%
unemployment: 7 - 11%
tourism: 6,5 million
Economic activities in agriculture, fisheries, industry, mining, services, energy
land use: arable land: 23-25% //; - grass land: 20-21% //; - wooded area: 21% //; - arid land and desert: %
agriculture: labour force: 3% [1%] //; - part of agriculture in GDP: 2% [1%]
agricultural products: sugar beet, potatoes, livestock, timber, grain, fruits, vegetables
livestock (million): cattle: 3,1-3,4 / goats: 0,012 horses: 0,07 / pigs: 6,8-7,3 / poultry: 35-56 / sheep: 0,15
fish catch: 29876 - 31441 metric tonnes
industry: labour force: 20% [24%] //; - part of industry in GDP: 30% [27%]
industrial products: engineering, petrochemicals, food processing, chemicals, textiles, glassware, autos
mining products: coal, iron ore, sandstone, dolomite, marble, slate
CO2 emission per capita: 9,9
services: labour force: 78% [75%] //; - part of services in GDP: 68% [72%]
energy use (kg per capita): 5735
electricity use (per capita): 7286
annual water use (per capita): 917
Traffic, communication
road network: 142550 - 148216 km //; - of which paved: 78% //; - of which are motorways: 1727 km
vehicles: 398 - 457 per 1000 // international license plate: B
railways: 3368, 8400 km //; - railways passenger/km: 6757
navigable inland waterways: 1540 - 2043km
ownership telephone: 458 - 502 per 1000 // international dialling code: +32
ownership radio receivers: 500 - 792 per 1000
ownership tv-sets: 464 - 523 per 1000
newspaper circulation: 321 per 1000
persons per post office: 6200
personal computers: 345 per 1000
 
Some physical landmarks
 
mountains: Botrange 694 m, Baraque Michel 675
lowest point: some feet below sea level, in polders near the North Sea coast and the Schelde mouth under Antwerp
lakes (natural): unknown
lakes (artificial reservoirs): some small artificial lakes in the Gileppe and Vesdre rivers
lakes (deepest): unknown
rivers: Meuse/Maas, Sambre, Schelde, Leie, Ourthe, Semois, Dijle, Demer, Nete, Amblève, IJzer
canals: Albertkanaal, Schelde-Maaskanaal (which partly bears also some other names), Kanal van Willebroek
waterfalls: unknown
caves: longest system: Han-sur-Lesse / deepest:
islands: none
deserts: none
other natural features:
 
Additional remarks, especially on the statistical information
 
other important features:
apart from physical landmarks most of the above figures are changeable, in most cases they date from the 1990's
 
primary sources used for the general information:
BB CA DK EV FW PW WA WB WR, and some - local national or international - statistical yearbooks
particulars concerning population data:
 

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Latest modification of this page on 2004-12-21 by Jan Lahmeyer
© "Populstat" website: Jan Lahmeyer