Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% (1980 est.)
male: NA%
female: NA%

@Belgium:Government

Country name:
conventional long form: Kingdom of Belgium
conventional short form: Belgium
local long form: Royaume de Belgique/Koninkrijk Belgie
local short form: Belgique/Belgie

Data code: BE

Government type: federal parliamentary democracy under a
constitutional monarch

National capital: Brussels

Administrative divisions: 9 provinces (French: provinces,
singular-province; Flemish: provincien, singular-provincie);
Antwerpen, Brabant, Hainaut, Liege, Limburg, Luxembourg, Namur,
Oost-Vlaanderen, West-Vlaanderen
note: constitutional reforms passed by Parliament in 1993
theoretically increased the number of provinces to 10 by splitting the
province of Brabant into two new provinces, Flemish Brabant and
Walloon Brabant, but this has not been confirmed by the US Government

Independence: 4 October 1830 (from the Netherlands)

National holiday: National Day, 21 July (ascension of King LEOPOLD to
the throne in 1831)

Constitution: 7 February 1831, last revised 14 July 1993; parliament
approved a constitutional package creating a federal state

Legal system: civil law system influenced by English constitutional
theory; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch:
chief of state: King ALBERT II (since 9 August 1993); Heir Apparent
Prince PHILIPPE, son of the king
head of government: Prime Minister Jean-Luc DEHAENE (since 6 March
1992)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the king and approved by
Parliament
elections: none; the king is a constitutional monarch; prime minister
appointed by the king and then approved by Parliament

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of a Senate or
Senaat in Flemish, Senat in French (71 seats; 40 members are directly
elected, 31 will be indirectly elected at a later date; members serve
four-year terms) and a Chamber of Deputies or Kamer van
Volksvertegenwoordigers in Flemish, Chambre des Representants in
French (150 seats; members are directly elected by proportional
representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate and Chamber of Deputies-last held 21 May 1995 (next
to be held by the end of 1999)
election results: Senate-percent of vote by party-NA; seats by
party-CVP 7, SP 6, VLD 6, VU 2