Belgium is one of the developed country in the world. It is one of a country in Western Europe. It has a population of more than 11.4 million. The capital of Belgium is Brussels and there are four others major city such as Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi and Liege. Belgium also the smallest populated in European countries, as well as the richest country in terms of GDP per capita, since its independence in 1830.
Belgium had a unitary form of government in the beginning. However, steps were taken in the 1980 and 1990 to transform Belgium into a federal state with powers shared between Flanders, Wallonia, and the Brussels-Capital Region. This country also has two main linguistic groups which is the Dutch-speaking community, mostly Flemish, which makes up about 59% of the population, and the French-speaking community, which makes up about 40% of all Belgians. There is still a small German speaking group in the eastern regions, totals around in one percent.
The city of Brussels-Capital is fully bilingual (French and Netherlands), while French is the dominant language. Belgium’s language diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in its political history and complex monetary system, which shall consist of six different governments. Moreover, this Western Europe country has become one of the six founding countries of the European Union and holds the official seats of the European commission, the council of the European Union and the European Council, and also the European Parliament’s seat in Brussels, the capital of the country. This country also is a founding member of the Eurozone, NATO, OECD, WTO as well as the Benelux Union.
Belgium also is one of a developed country with an advanced high-income economy. It has very high living standards, quality of life, healthcare and education in the Human Development Index. It is also one of the safest or most peaceful countries in the world.
