Belgium, a small country in northwestern Europe. Belgium Today

Belgium, a small country in northwestern Europe, borders France, the Netherlands, and Germany. A narrow strip of the North Sea separates Belgium from Great Britain. Its geographical position helped Belgium become an important European industrial and trade center, but its location has also made it battleground for warring nations. Belgium suffered great destruction during World War 1(1914-1918) and World War II (1939-1945).

With about 844 persons per square mile (326 per square kilometer), Belgium is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Most of the people are divided into two major groups, the Flemings and the Walloons. The Flemings live in northern Belgium—Flanders—and speak Dutch; the Walloons live in southern Belgium—Wallonia—and speak French. Both Flemings and Walloons live in Brussels, the nation's capital. Dutch and French are both official languages of the country, but the differences in language and other cultural traditions have long caused friction between the two groups.

Despite its small size, Belgium has a varied landscape. Dunes and beaches line its northern coast, while forest-covered hills extend across much of the southeastern part of the country. The central region, which has Belgium's best soil, is also the site of many of the nation's largest cities, including Brussels and Liege. Several large rivers serve as transportation routes. The country has no large natural lakes, but engineers have created several lakes in the south by damming the rivers.

Belgium has a rich architectural and artistic heritage. Stately buildings and churches erected hundreds of years ago still stand in many towns and cities, and museums are filled with works by such outstanding Flemish artists as Jan van Eyck, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, and Peter Paul Rubens. In literature, too, Belgium has made contributions—both in French and Dutch. The Flemish writer Maurice Maeterlinck won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1911 for his plays, including The Blue Bird, written in French. The Flemish poet and novelist Hugo Claus is generally considered the leading Belgian writer in Dutch since the mid-1900's.

Since World War II, Belgium has played a leading role in European economics and politics. It is a member of Benelux—the economic union of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg—and is the headquarters for the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The futuristic sculpture called Atomium, symbol of the 1958 Belgian World's Fair, also represented Belgium's new position in the 1900's.

Belgium Today. Until it gained its independence from the Netherlands in 1830, Belgium was governed by many different foreign rulers, including the Romans, the Franks, the Spanish, the Austrians, the French, and the Dutch. The Belgians revolted against Dutch rule in August 1830 and declared their independence on October 4. In 1831, Belgium adopted a Constitution and chose Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg as its king. Leopold was the uncle of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.

Belgium is a constitutional monarchy, but the king has little real power. Executive power lies in the hands of the prime minister and the members of a cabinet called the Council of Ministers, which consists of equal numbers of Dutch-speaking and French-speaking members. The prime minister holds office as long as the support of Belgium's two-house parliament lasts.

The imposing Palais de Justice, or law courts building, is one of Brussels' most important landmarks. The broad Rue de Id Regence, in the foreground, runs northeast to- ward the Palais de Roi, the residence of Belgium's monarch.

Political and cultural regions. On the local level, Belgium is divided into 10 provinces, each of which is headed by a governor and a council. Belgium is also divided into three cultural communities—those of the Flemings, Germans, and Walloons—and three economic regions Flanders, Wallonia, and Brussels.

Efforts by the Flemings and Walloons to preserve their separate cultural identities have sometimes bordered on civil war. Their conflict not only divides the country culturally, but politically and economically as well. In an effort to seek a solution to the division between the language communities, the Belgian government granted both group, limited self-rule in 1980.

Land regions. Belgium's landscape varies greatly for so small a country. Belgium's four main land regions are the Coastal and Interior Lowlands, the Kempenland, the Central Low Plateaus, and the Ardennes.

The Coastal and Interior Lowlands extend across most of northern Belgium. Sandy beaches line the North Sea coast, while sea walls and drainage canals protect the nearby lowlands from flooding. The fertile inland region provides good farmland.

The Kempenland, also called the Campine, is a mining and industrial area in northeastern Belgium. Many of the birch forests that grew there until the early 1900's have been cleared and replanted with fast-growing evergreens for timber harvest.

The Central Low Plateaus in central Belgium have the country's richest soil. This region is also the site of many of the nation's largest cities.

Belgium is a small but densely populated country in northwestern Europe, bordering on France, Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. Belgium's moist, moderate climate benefits the country's farmland.

The Ardennes region, which covers southeastern Belgium, consists mainly of forested hills separated by winding rivers. Many deer and wild boars roam these forests.

Torrential rain led to severe floods in Belgium in January 1995.