Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical
Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants

Geography - note:
crossroads of Western Europe; majority of West European capitals
within 1,000 km of Brussels, the seat of both the European Union and
NATO

People Belgium

Population:
10,379,067 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 16.7% (male 883,254/female 846,099)
15-64 years: 65.9% (male 3,450,879/female 3,389,565)
65 years and over: 17.4% (male 746,569/female 1,062,701) (2006 est.)

Median age:
total: 40.9 years
male: 39.6 years
female: 42.1 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.13% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
10.38 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
10.27 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
1.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 4.62 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.2 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4.01 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 78.77 years
male: 75.59 years
female: 82.09 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.64 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.2% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
10,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
less than 100 (2003 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Belgian(s)
adjective: Belgian

Ethnic groups:
Fleming 58%, Walloon 31%, mixed or other 11%

Religions:
Roman Catholic 75%, Protestant or other 25%

Languages:
Dutch (official) 60%, French (official) 40%, German (official) less
than 1%, legally bilingual (Dutch and French)

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99%
male: 99%
female: 99% (2003 est.)

Government Belgium

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

Government type:
federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy

Capital:
name: Brussels
geographic coordinates: 50 50 N, 4 20