The Guinness Encyclopedia

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Extensible Markup Language | 1995-06-15 | 6KB | 19 lines

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?> <!DOCTYPE card PUBLIC "-//Apple, Inc.//DTD card V 2.0//EN" "" > <card> <id>8175</id> <filler1>0</filler1> <cantDelete> <false /> </cantDelete> <showPict> <true /> </showPict> <dontSearch> <false /> </dontSearch> <owner>5472</owner> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="stylesheet_3106.css" /> <content> <layer>background</layer> <id>31</id> <text>BELGIUMOfficial names: Royaume de Belgique or Koninkrijk Belgi├½ (Kingdom of Belgium)Member of: UN, NATO, EU/EC, OSCE, WEU, OECDArea: 30 519 km2 (11783 sq mi)Population: 10 072 000 (1993 est)Capital: Brussels (Bruxelles or Brussel) 951000 (1992 est)Other major cities: Antwerp (Antwerpen or Anvers) 917000 (city 465000), Li├¿ge (Luik) 601000 (city 196000), Ghent (Gent or Gand) 485000 (city 230000), Charleroi 429000 (city 207000), Malines (Mechelen) 293000 (city 75000), Courtrai (Kortrijk) 275000 (city 76000), Namur (Namen) 264000 (city 104000), Bruges (Brugge) 260000, (city 117000) (1992 est)Languages: Flemish (58% as a first language), French (42% as a first language)Religion: Roman Catholic (86%)GOVERNMENTBelgium is a constitutional monarchy. The Chamber of Deputies (the lower house of Parliament) comprises 212 members elected by universal adult suffrage for four years under a system of proportional representation. The Senate (the upper house) has 182 members: 106 directly elected, 50 chosen by provincial councils, 25 co-opted, plus the heir to the throne. The King appoints a Prime Minister who commands a majority in the Chamber, and, upon the PMΓÇÖs advice, other members of the Cabinet. The directly elected regional councils of Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels have very considerable powers.GEOGRAPHYThe forested Ardennes plateau ΓÇô rising to Mount Botrange (694 m / 2272 ft) ΓÇô occupies the southeast. The plains of central Belgium, an important agricultural region, are covered in fertile loess. The flat, low-lying north contains the sandy Kempenland plateau in the east and the plain of Flanders in the west. Enclosed by dykes behind coastal sand dunes are polders, former marshes reclaimed from the sea. Principal rivers: Scheldt (Schelde or Escaut) 435 km (270 mi), Meuse (Maes) 950 km (590 mi). Climate: Belgium experiences relatively cool summers and mild winters, with ample rainfall throughout the year. Summers are hotter and winters colder inland.ECONOMYBelgium is a small, densely populated industrial country with few natural resources. In the center and the north, soils are generally fertile and the climate encourages high yields of wheat, sugar beet, grass and fodder crops. Metalworking ΓÇô originally based on small mineral deposits in the Ardennes ΓÇô is the most important industry. Textiles, chemicals, ceramics, glass and rubber are also important, but, apart from coal, most raw materials required by industry now have to be imported. Economic problems since the 1970s have mirrored BelgiumΓÇÖs linguistic divide, with high unemployment largely confined to the French-speaking (Walloon) south, while industry in the Flemish north has prospered. Banking, commerce and administration employ increasing numbers, and Brussels has benefited from its role as the unofficial ΓÇÿcapitalΓÇÖ of the EU/EC. Currency: Belgian franc.HISTORYBelgium has been fought over by neighboring powers for centuries. In the early Middle Ages, the area was divided into counties and duchies subject to the Holy Roman Emperor. In the 12thΓÇô14th centuries, Bruges, Ghent and other Flemish textile centers were among the most prosperous cities in Europe. From 1384, most of modern Belgium was controlled by the rulers of Burgundy, whose territories were inherited by the Spanish Habsburgs in 1504. After the Protestant Dutch United Provinces rebelled and gained independence in the late 16th century, the Catholic south of the Low Countries (ΓÇÿBelgiumΓÇÖ) remained under Spanish rule.By the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), the Spanish Netherlands passed to Austria. In the confusion of the French Revolutionary Wars, the Belgians expelled the Austrians (1791), but Belgium was annexed by France in 1793. After the Napoleonic Wars, which ended at Waterloo in Belgium, the Low Countries were reunited as the Kingdom of the Netherlands (1815). In 1830 the Belgians rebelled against Dutch rule and proclaimed their independence. Belgian neutrality was recognized by the Congress of London (1831) and the crown was offered to Leopold of Saxe-Coburg Gotha, Queen VictoriaΓÇÖs uncle.BelgiumΓÇÖs neutrality was broken by the German invasion in 1914 (which led to BritainΓÇÖs declaration of war under the 1831 treaty). The brave resistance of King Albert I in 1914ΓÇô18 earned international admiration; the capitulation of Leopold III when Belgium was again occupied by Germany (1940ΓÇô45) was severely criticized. The Belgian Congo (Za├»re), acquired as a personal possession by Leopold II (1879), was relinquished amidst scenes of chaos in 1960. Belgium is now the main center of administration of the EU/EC and of NATO, but it is troubled by acute rivalry between its Flemish and French speakers and has adopted a federal system based upon linguistic regions.</text> </content> <name>Belgium</name> <script></script> </card>