Country Profile: Belgium

Geography

Borders on the North Sea between France and the Netherlands. Capital: Brussels.

Government and Alliances

The Kingdom of Belgium is a member of NATO and one of the founding members of the European Community, today the European Union.

Belgium has 30,370 square kilometers of land. Arable land is 28 percent of that.

Economy

Figures unless otherwise stated are from the CIA Factbook.

Estimated per capita GDP

2009: $36,600
2008: $38,000
2007: $37,600
(2009 U.S. dollars)

GDP annual real (not per capita) growth rate estimate

2008: 1.3%
2007: 2.6%
2006: 3%

Public debt

2009: 99% of GDP

Unemployment rate

2009: 8.3%
2008: 6.5%

Belgium has benefited from its central location, good ports, canals, railroads and highways.

Taxes

For a single worker without children, in the year 2001, including contributions to Social Security, a Belgian earning an average wage paid 55.6 percent of his or her income for taxes, the highest such taxes in the world. Apparently, much of it has been invested in infrastructure, subsidizing industries and paying off government debt. Belgium is also generous in giving out aid -- including to Palestinians. In 2003 it gave $74.25 in aid per Belgian. The United States that year gave 23.76 for each of its citizens. As for health care, Belgium spent only $2,137 per person, compared to $4,271 in the United States -- money perhaps more efficiently spent than in the United States.

Population

Living in an urban area: 97% (2008)

July 2009: 10.41 million. Growth rate: 0.094%
July 2008: 10.38 million

Belgium has 1,230 persons per square kilometer of arable land, compared to around 31 persons for Kansas and 34 for Alabama, the latter a median state in the U.S. for population density (from the U.S. 2000 census).

According to 2005 estimates, Belgium has 341 persons per square kilometer (883 per square mile). The median for the United States (2000 U.S. Census) is 34 persons per square kilometer (88 per square mile).

Migration

2009: More people arriving than leaving. A net gain of 1.22 migrants per 1,000 population.

Health estimates

Infant mortality (deaths before the age of one year per 1,000 live births)

2009: 4.4
2008: 4.5
2005: 4.68

Average life expectancy at birth

2009: 79.22 years
2008: 79.07

Living with HIV/AIDS, ages 15 to 49: 0.2 percent (2003)

Belgium's constitution guarantees "the right to health." Every Belgian patient pays only a small fee for care. The rest if paid by government. The elderly receive subsidized cab rides to and from hospitals.

Distribution of Wealth

The top 10 percent in household income in 1996 did 23 percent of the nation's consuming. For the lowest 10 percent of households this was 3.2 percent, a flatter distribution than in the United States, where these figures for 1997 were 30.5 percent and 1.8 percent.

Ethnicity and Religion

Belgium has French speakers and those who speak primarily a dialect of Dutch. It is 75 percent Roman Catholic. The French speakers are Walloons, descendants of the Franks and live primarily in the south and east of the country. The Dutch speakers are Flemings, who live primarily in the north and west. They are also descendants of the Franks.

Happiness

Nationmaster.com gives Belgium a net happiness rating of 86 percent, compared to 84 percent for people in the U.S. and a 2 percent rating for Russia.

SOURCES:
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/
http://www.nationmaster.com/index.php