Advertisement | ![]() Belgium ![]() (CBS) The country prospered in the past half century as a modern, technologically advanced European state and member of NATO and the EU. Tensions between the Dutch-speaking Flemings of the north and the French-speaking Walloons of the south have led in recent years to constitutional amendments granting these regions formal recognition and autonomy. Source: CIA World Fact Book ![]() (AP) Age structure: 0-14 years: 16.5% (male 873,130/female 836,785) 15-64 years: 66.1% (male 3,467,044/female 3,406,030) 65 years and over: 17.4% (male 746,969/female 1,062,268) (2007 est.) Median age: total: 41.1 years male: 39.9 years female: 42.4 years (2007 est.) Population growth rate: 0.12% (2007 est.) Birth rate: 10.29 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) Death rate: 10.32 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) Net migration rate: 1.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.043 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.018 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.703 male(s)/female total population: 0.959 male(s)/female (2007 est.) Infant mortality rate: total: 4.56 deaths/1,000 live births male: 5.13 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 78.92 years male: 75.75 years female: 82.24 years (2007 est.) Total fertility rate: 1.64 children born/woman (2007 est.) HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.2% (2003 est.) HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 10,000 (2003 est.) H IV/AIDS - deaths: less than 100 (2003 est.) Nationality: noun: Belgian(s) adjective: Belgian Ethnic groups: Fleming 58%, Walloon 31%, mixed or other 11% Religions: Roman Catholic 75%, other (includes Protestant) 25% Languages: Dutch (official) 60%, French (official) 40%, German (official) less than 1%, legally bilingual (Dutch and French) Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.) ![]() (AP) GDP (purchasing power parity): $342.8 billion (2006 est.) GDP (official exchange rate): $369.6 billion (2006 est.) GDP - real growth rate: 3% (2006 est.) GDP - per capita (PPP): $33,000 (2006 est.) GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 1% industry: 24% services: 74.9% (2005 est.) Labor force: 4.89 million (2006 est.) Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 1.3% industry: 24.5% services: 74.2% (2003 est.) Unemployment rate: 8.1% (2006 est.) Population below poverty line: 4% (1989 est.) Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 3.2% highest 10%: 23% (1996) Distribution of family income - Gini index: 25 (1996) Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.1% (2006 est.) Investment (gross fixed): 19.4% of GDP (2006 est.) Budget: revenues: $195.7 billion expenditures: $195.5 billion; including capital expenditures of $1.56 billion (2006 est.) Public debt: 90.3% of GDP (2006 est.) Agriculture - products: sugar beets, fresh vegetables, fruits, grain, tobacco; beef, veal, pork, milk Industries: engineering and metal products, motor vehicle assembly, transportation equipment, scientific instruments, processed food and beverages, chemicals, basic metals, textiles, glass, petroleum Industrial production growth rate: 3% (2006 est.) Electricity - production: 80.22 billion kWh (2004) Electricity - consumption: 82.41 billion kWh (2004) Electricity - exports: 6.8 billion kWh (2004) Electricity - imports: 14.6 billion kWh (2004) Oil - production: 10,690 bbl/day (2004) Oil - consumption: 641,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) Oil - exports: 523,400 bbl/day (2004) Oil - imports: 1.109 million bbl/day (2004) Oil - proved reserves: 0 bbl Natural gas - production: 0 cu m (2004 est.) Natural gas - consumption: 17.06 billion cu m (2004 est.) Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2004 est.) Natural gas - imports: 16.88 billion cu m (2004 est.) Current account balance: $6.925 billion (2006 est.) Exports: $335.3 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) Exports - commodities: machinery and equipment, chemicals, diamonds, metals and metal products, foodstuffs Exports - partners: Germany 19.9%, France 17%, Netherlands 12%, UK 7.9%, US 6.1%, Italy 5.2% (2006) Imports: $333.5 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, chemicals, diamonds, pharmaceuticals, foodstuffs, transportation equipment, oil products Imports - partners: Netherlands 18.4%, Germany 17.5%, France 11.3%, UK 6.6%, Ireland 5.9%, US 5.3% (2006) Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $9.626 billion (August 2006 est.) Debt - external: $1.053 trillion (30 June 2006 est.) Economic aid - donor: ODA, $1.072 billion (2002) Currency (code): euro (EUR) note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries Exchange rates: euros per US dollar - 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002) Fiscal year: calendar year Communications Belgium Top of Page Telephones - main lines in use: 4.719 million (2006) Telephones - mobile cellular: 9.66 million (2006) Telephone system: general assessment: highly developed, technologically advanced, and completely automated domestic and international telephone and telegraph facilities domestic: nationwide cellular telephone system; extensive cable network; limited microwave radio relay network international: country code - 32; submarine cables - 5; satellite earth stations - 7 (Intelsat - 3) (2005) Radio broadcast stations: AM 7, FM 79, shortwave 1 (1998) Television broadcast stations: 25 (plus 10 repeaters) (1997) Internet country code: .be Internet hosts: 2.871 million (2006) Internet users: 4.8 million (2005) europe headlines
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Electrical Problems Plague U.S. Iraq Bases