Country Profile

Capital: Bruxelles (pop. 954,460)

Local Time: UTC +1h

Other Cities:
Antwerp (pop. 445,570)
Brugge (pop. 116,559)
Charleroi (pop. 202,233)
Gent (pop. 224,685)
Liège (pop. 184,550)
Namur (pop. 105,248)
Verviers, Waterloo

Geography:
Location: Western Europe
Area: 30,553 square kilometers (12,566 sq. mi.)
Border countries: France, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands

Climate: Temperate; mild winters, cool summers; rainy, humid, cloudy

Government:
Federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarch
Independence: 1830 (from the Netherlands)


People:
Population: 10.3 million; urban--69%.
GNI per capita PPP: $ 31 549 (year) Religions: Predominantly Roman Catholic (although less than 20% practicing); Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Islamic, Anglican, Greek and Russian Orthodox recognized, as well as secularism. Languages: Dutch, French, German Linguistic regions: Dutch-speaking 58%; French-speaking 32%; legally bilingual (Brussels) 9.3%; German-speaking 0.7% Literacy: 98%.

Business

Currency: Euro (EUR)

Natural resources: Coal, natural gas, construction materials, silica sand, carbonates.

Agriculture products: Sugar beets, fresh vegetables, fruits, grain, tobacco; beef, veal, pork, milk.

Industries: Engineering and metal products, motor vehicle assembly, processed food and beverages, chemicals, basic metals, textiles, glass, petroleum.

Exports partners: Germany 19.5%, France 17.4%, Netherlands 11.7%, UK 9%, USA 6.7%, Italy 5.4% (2003)

Imports partners: Germany 17.7%, Netherlands 16.5%, France 13.2%, UK 7.5%, USA 5.9%, Ireland 5.7% (2003)

Federal Portal Belgium
Starting point to get to know Belgium.

Research.be
Belgian Portal for Research and Innovation in the fields of Science and Technology.


Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Belgium.

Diplomatic Missions
Permanent Mission of Belgium to the United Nations
The Belgian UN Mission.
Embassy of Belgium
Washington D.C.
Belgian Embassies Abroad
Addresses of Belgian Embassies Abroad.
Foreign Embassies in Belgium
Addresses of Foreign Embassies in Belgium.
Visa for Belgium
Visa information for Belgium.

Statistics
Statistics Belgium
The National Institute of Statistics.


Weather
Koninklijk Meteorologisch Instituut
The Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium.


Maps
Map of Belgium
Shaded Relief Map of Belgium.

News
News in Dutch
Gazet van Antwerpen
Daily newspaper.
Het Nieuwsblad
Dutch daily.
De Standaard
Daily news.

News in French
La Libre Belgique
Le Soir
National and international news.

Arts & Culture
Artsite Belgium
Artguide
Belgian Art Research Institute
We plan to publish definitive catalogues raisonnés for several major Belgian artists.
Hergé Foundation
Tintins Homepage.
Jacques Brel
Belgiums uber-most famous poet and singer - Music of Jacques Brel
L a nded i gel a nd
Think of unconventional fashion and you think of Antwerp.
Magritte
The official site, dedicated to the great Belgian painter.
De Munt/La Monnaie
La Monnaie Opera House.
Musée de Louvain-la-Neuve
University museum open to the public, part of the Department of Archeology and the History of Art, Louvain-la-Neuve.
Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts- Koninklijke Musea voor Schone Kunsten
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels.
Museum voor Sierkunst en Vormgeving
Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, Ghent.
Palais des Beaux-Arts de Charleroi
Fine Arts at Charleroi.
Principia Cybernetica
Principia Cybernetica tries to tackle age-old philosophical questions with the help of the most recent cybernetic theories and technologies.
Royal Museums of Art and History
(in French/Dutch)
Royal Museum for Central Africa
Part of the Belgian history.
Rubenshuis Antwerpen
Peter Paul Rubens home.

Business & Economy
Nationale Bank van België - Banque Nationale de Belgique
The Central Bank of Belgium

Belgian Foreign Trade Board (B.F.T.B.)
Trade Promotion Organization
Euronext Brussels
Stock Exchange Belgium

Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Belgium
The official site of the Belgian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
Brussels International MICE
The conventions department of Brussels International - a non-profit visitors bureau.
Invest Belgium
Information about investing in Belgium, part of Belgium's Information campaign about investing in Belgium

Golden Pages online
Belgian yellow pages

Belgian Products
The Atomium - Brusseles
Since its creation in 1958, the Atomium has become a symbol of the 20th Century.
Beer Paradise
Belgian Breweries
Belgian Lace
Belgian Lace Manufactory
COTE D'OR
Belgian Chocolate
Diamond High Council - HRD
More than half of the world's consumption of rough as well as polished and industrial diamonds is traded in Antwerp.
Godiva Chocolate
More Belgian Chocolate

Transportation
Airlines
SN Brussels Airlines
New Belgian airline, covering 43 European & 13 African destinations,
corporate profile, timetables, etc.
Virgin Express
Brussels-based low fare airline.

Rail
Eurostar
High-speed passenger train linking London, Paris and Brussels.
NMBS/SNCB
The Belgian Railways.

Destination Belgium - Travel and Tour Guides
Discover Belgium: Wallonia, Flanders, Brussels, Antwerp, Charleroi, Ghent, Namur, Waterloo
Accommodation, hotels, attractions, festivals, events, tourist boards, tours and much more.

Office de Promotion du Tourisme Wallonie
The Wallonia tourism guide.
Toerisme Vlaanderen
The Flanders tourism guide.
Belgian National Tourist Office
Official Site of the Belgian Tourist Office in The Americas.

City Guides
Brussels
Brussels
Brussels On Line.
Welcome to Brussels
A guide to Brussels.

Other Belgian Cities:
City of Antwerp
Digital Metropolis Antwerp.
Stad Brugge
The City of Bruges.
Ville de Charleroi
The City of Charleroi.
Gent
The City of Ghent.
Ville de Liège
The City of Liege.
Namur
The City of Namur, the capital of Wallonia.
Verviers
The Wallonian Capital of water.
Commune de Waterloo
The City of Waterloo

Hotel
BelgiumHospitality.com
Find and book hotels and venues in Brussels and others cities of Belgium.
Le Métropole
Brussels' legendary hotel.

Education
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
One of the best European universities
University of Ghent
Université Libre de Bruxelles
Founded in 1834
University of Liège
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Flemish university with a specific ideological basis, namely Free Inquiry, founded in 1970

Royal Library Belgium
Koninklijke Bibliotheek België; Bibliothèque royale Belgique (Dutch, French)

History
Belgium History and politics
Belgium - A potted history
Brief Belgian history

Genealogy
Genealogy: Belgium - The BELGIUM-ROOTS Project

Science & Research
Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium
(Dutch + French)
Royal Observatory of Belgium
Scientific and Technical Information Service (STIS)
Information brokerage and document delivery

Search
Tijdnet
Magazine and directory (Dutch).
Belgian WebGuide
Index of Belgian sites.
Webwatch
First Belgian Search Engine.

Newsgroup of Belgium
soc.culture.belgium
soc.genealogy.benelux

WWW

Wikipedia
Free Encyclopedia 

Get USA Management Education Online

Harvard Business School - MBA

Open Directory
Free Net Directory

UN School Bus
Human Education

MusicMoz
Everything Music

ChefMoz
Free Dinning Guide 

Open-Site
Open Encyclopedia

Las Vegas Web Design, Graphic Design & Online Marketing
foto.graphics.web

RJ
Royalty Jeweler

100 Most Beautiful Women
100 most beautiful arab women

Lasik
Lasik Las Vegas, USA, UK, Mexico

Natural Stone Veneer
Thin Natural Stone Veneer