The Kingdom of Belgium is a
country
in
northwest Europe
. It is a founding member of the
European Union
and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major
international organizations
, including
NATO
.
Belgium covers an area of ,
square kilometers
(, square miles) and has a population of about . million.
Straddling the cultural boundary between
Germanic
and
Latin Europe
, Belgium's two largest regions are the
Dutch
-speaking region of
Flanders
in the north, with % of the population, and the
French
-speaking southern region of
Wallonia
, inhabited by %. The
Brussels-Capital Region
, although officially bilingual, is a mostly French-speaking
enclave
within the
Flemish Region
and near the
Walloon Region
, and has % of the population.
A small
German-speaking Community
exists in eastern Wallonia.
Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political and cultural conflicts are reflected in the
political history
and a complex
system of government
.
The name 'Belgium' is derived from
Gallia Belgica
, a
Roman province
in the northernmost part of
Gaul
that was inhabited by the
Belgae
, a mix of
Celtic
and
Germanic
peoples.
Historically, Belgium,
the Netherlands
and
Luxembourg
were known as the
Low Countries
, which used to cover a somewhat larger area than the current
Benelux
group of states. From the end of the
Middle Ages
until the th century, it was a prosperous centre of commerce and culture. From the th century until the Belgian revolution in , many battles between European powers were fought in the area of Belgium, causing it to be dubbed "the battlefield of Europe"
and "the cockpit of Europe"
— a reputation strengthened by both World Wars. Upon its independence, Belgium eagerly participated in the
Industrial Revolution
,
generating wealth and also a demand for raw materials; the latter was a factor during
the era of its African colonies
.
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