About Belgium
The official name of Belgium is the Kingdom of Belgium, and it is located in Western Europe. The country is bordered by four countries namely France, the Netherlands, Germany, and Luxembourg. Belgium is famous for its medieval town and renaissance architecture. The capital of Belgium is the City of Brussels, and it’s also the largest city in the country. Belgium is a small and densely populated country. It has a total area of 30,528 square kilometres with a population of more than 10.5 million people which makes it one of the most densely populated countries in the world. The country derived its name from Gallia Belgica, a Roman province in the northernmost part of Gaul.
The city of Brussels has a population of 1.2 million people, and it serves as the capital of the European Union and is home to the NATO headquarters.
There are three official languages in Belgium. About 59% of the population speaks Dutch, mostly by the Flemish to the North in the Flanders area. About 40% speaks French, mostly Walloon population and there is also a small group of German speakers (1%) who live in the East Cantons. A large percentage of Belgium’s population (about 98%) lives in cities. The official currency in Belgium is Euro.
Belgium produced some great scientists in the 16th century including anatomist Andreas Vesalius and cartographer Gerardus Mercator. The word “spa” comes from the name of a town called Spa in Belgium. People as far back as ancient Roman times used to come to the town to bathe in the famed cold springs for health and healing purposes.
The highest point in Belgium is the Signal de Botrange on the High Fens plateau in far-east Belgium which stands at 694m. The first skyscraper in Europe was built in Belgium which is located in Antwerp. This building stands at 96m, and it is still the tallest building in Antwerp.
Many universities in Belgium have a strong international outlook and composition, as well as a strong position in the international rankings. A total of eight universities in Belgium are featured in the QS World University Rankings® 2018, all but one of which is ranked within the global top 350.