Provinces of Belgium

Last updated

Provinces of Belgium
Provincies van België (Dutch)
Provinces de Belgique (French)
Provinzen Belgiens (German)
CategoryDecentralised unit in a federal state
LocationFlag of Belgium (civil).svg  Kingdom of Belgium
Number10 provinces
Populations284,638 (Luxembourg) – 1,857,986 (Antwerp) [1]
Areas1,097 km2 (424 sq mi) (Walloon Brabant) – 4,459 km2 (1,722 sq mi) (Luxembourg) [2]
Government
Subdivisions

The Kingdom of Belgium is divided into three regions. Two of these regions, Flanders and Wallonia, are each subdivided into five provinces. The third region, Brussels, does not belong to any province and nor is it subdivided into provinces. Instead, it has amalgamated both regional and provincial functions into a single "Capital Region" administration.

Contents

Most of the provinces take their name from earlier duchies and counties of similar location, while their territory is mostly based on the departments installed during French annexation. At the time of the creation of Belgium in 1830, only nine provinces existed, including the province of Brabant, which held the City of Brussels. In 1995, Brabant was split into three areas: Flemish Brabant, which became a part of the region of Flanders; Walloon Brabant, which became part of the region of Wallonia; and the Brussels-Capital Region, which became a third region. These divisions reflected political tensions between the French-speaking Walloons and the Dutch-speaking Flemish; the Brussels-Capital Region is officially bilingual.

The division into provinces is fixed by Article 5 of the Belgian Constitution. The provinces and Brussels are subdivided into 43 administrative arrondissements, and further into 581 municipalities.

List

Provinces of Belgium (including the Brussels-Capital Region) by population as of 1 January 2019 Provinces of Belgium by population (2017).png
Provinces of Belgium (including the Brussels-Capital Region) by population as of 1 January 2019
Flag Arms ProvinceDutch nameFrench nameGerman nameCapitalGovernorArea [4] Population
(1 January 2019) [5]
DensityPostal codes [6] HASC [6] FIPS [6] ISO 3166-2:BE [6]
Flanders
Flag of Antwerp.svg Wapen van de provincie Antwerpen (klein).svg Antwerp AntwerpenAnversAntwerpen Antwerp Cathy Berx Since 20082,876 km2 (1,110 sq mi)1,857,986647/km2 (1,680/sq mi)2000–2999BE.ANBE01VAN
Flag of Oost-Vlaanderen.svg Wapen van Oost-Vlaanderen.svg East Flanders Oost-VlaanderenFlandre orientaleOstflandern Ghent Jan Briers Since 20133,007 km2 (1,161 sq mi)1,515,064504/km2 (1,310/sq mi)9000–9999BE.OVBE08VOV
Flag of Flemish-Brabant.svg Coat of arms of Flemish Brabant.svg Flemish Brabant Vlaams-BrabantBrabant flamandFlämisch-Brabant Leuven Jan Spooren Since 20202,118 km2 (818 sq mi)1,146,175542/km2 (1,400/sq mi)1500–1999, 3000–3499BE.VBBE12VBR
Flag of Limburg (Belgium).svg Blason Limburg province Belgique.svg Limburg LimburgLimbourgLimburg Hasselt Herman Reynders Since 20092,427 km2 (937 sq mi)874,048361/km2 (930/sq mi)3500–3999BE.LIBE05VLI
Flag of West Flanders.svg Klein wapen van West-Vlaanderen.svg West Flanders West-VlaanderenFlandre occidentaleWestflandern Bruges Carl Decaluwé Since 20123,197 km2 (1,234 sq mi)1,195,796375/km2 (970/sq mi)8000–8999BE.WVBE09VWV
Wallonia
Flag of Hainaut.svg Wapen van Henegouwen (provincie).svg Hainaut HenegouwenHainautHennegau Mons Tommy Leclercq Since 20133,813 km2 (1,472 sq mi)1,344,241353/km2 (910/sq mi)7000–7999 (West),
6000–6999 (East,
shared with Luxembourg)
BE.HTBE03WHT
Flag of the Province of Liege.svg Wapen van Luik (provincie).svg Liège LuikLiègeLüttich Liège Hervé Jamar Since 20153,857 km2 (1,489 sq mi)1,106,992288/km2 (750/sq mi)4000–4999BE.LGBE04WLG
Official flag of the Province of Luxembourg.svg Armoiries Luxembourg province.svg Luxembourg LuxemburgLuxembourgLuxemburg Arlon Olivier Schmitz Since 20164,459 km2 (1,722 sq mi)284,63864/km2 (170/sq mi)6000–6999
(shared with Eastern Hainaut)
BE.LXBE06WLX
Flag province namur.svg Wapen van Namen (provincie).svg Namur NamenNamurNamür Namur Denis Mathen Since 20073,675 km2 (1,419 sq mi)494,325135/km2 (350/sq mi)5000–5999BE.NABE07WNA
Drapeau Province BE Brabant Wallon.svg Coat of arms of Walloon Brabant.svg Walloon Brabant Waals-BrabantBrabant wallonWallonisch-Brabant Wavre Gilles Mahieu Since 20151,097 km2 (424 sq mi)403,599368/km2 (950/sq mi)1300–1499BE.BWBE10WBR
Brussels
Flag of the Brussels-Capital Region.svg Blason de Bruxelles-Capitale.svg Brussels Capital Region Brussels Hoofdstedelijk GewestRégion de Bruxelles-CapitaleRegion Brüssel-Hauptstadt Brussels City Rudi Vervoort Since 2013162.4 km2 (62.7 sq mi)1,208,5427,442/km2 (19,270/sq mi)1000–1299BE.BRBE02BBR
TotalBelgiëBelgiqueBelgien Brussels City 30,689 km2 (11,849 sq mi)11,431,406373/km2 (970/sq mi)

History

Map of the Seventeen Provinces, red showing the border between the independent (Northern) Netherlands and the Southern Netherlands. Map of the Habsburg Netherlands by Alexis-Marie Gochet.png
Map of the Seventeen Provinces, red showing the border between the independent (Northern) Netherlands and the Southern Netherlands.

The medieval Low Countries, including present-day Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, as well as parts of modern Germany and France, comprised a number of rival and independent feudal states of varying sizes. These each had their own identities and governments, though in the early modern period almost all the Belgian states became part of larger entities (the Seventeen Provinces (1549–1581) and the Southern Netherlands (after 1581)). Prominent early states in the area of modern Belgium included the Duchy of Brabant, the County of Flanders, the Prince-Bishopric of Liège and the Duchy of Luxembourg; smaller ones included the County of Hainaut, the Duchy of Limburg and the County of Namur, though there were other small states as well.

The First French Republic France Departement 1801.svg
The First French Republic

When these territories were annexed by France in 1795, they were reorganised into départments ; the borders were redrawn and the historical names were replaced by names of geographical features (generally the main river of the area).

Belgium at its independence in 1830 Belgique 1830.jpg
Belgium at its independence in 1830

At the end of French rule and the creation of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815, the departmental territories were generally retained but were renamed into provinces and the historical names returned. At the time of the independence of Belgium from the Netherlands in 1830, Belgium's territory simply consisted of the existing nine southern provinces. The first article of the Belgian Constitution said: "Belgium is divided into provinces. These provinces are Antwerp, Brabant, West Flanders, East Flanders, Hainaut, Liège, Limburg, Luxembourg, Namur, except for the relations of Luxembourg with the German Confederation." As such, each of the modern provinces of Belgium (with the exception of Antwerp) takes its name from one of the medieval predecessors, whereas the borders largely correspond to those of the French departments, which in most cases differ substantially from the historical entities.

In 1839, as part of the Treaty of London, half of the province of Limburg became part of the Netherlands, which consequently has its own province of Limburg.

In 1920, following the First World War, Belgium annexed the Eupen-Malmedy territory, which became part of Liège Province.

During the second half of the 20th century, Belgium transitioned from a unitary state to a federal state with three Communities and three Regions. As part of the state reforms, the (bilingual) province of Brabant was split in 1995 three ways: into two (unilingual) provinces (Flemish Brabant and Walloon Brabant) and into the (bilingual) Brussels-Capital Region. (The Brussels-Capital Region does not belong to any province, is not a province, and does not contain any provinces.) The two new Brabant provinces became part of the Flemish Region and the Walloon Region respectively. The remaining eight provinces became part of these regions as well, so the Flemish Region and the Walloon Region each contain five provinces.

Schematic overview

The following table presents a simplified overview of the evolution of the French departments into the present-day Belgian provinces.

Part of: French First Republic
First French Empire
Part of: United Kingdom
of the Netherlands
Kingdom of Belgium
1795–18151815–18301830–18391839–19951995–present
Meuse-Inférieure Limburg Limburg Limburg (NL)
Limburg
Lys West Flanders West Flanders
Escaut East Flanders East Flanders
Deux-Nèthes Antwerp Antwerp
Dyle South Brabant Brabant Flemish Brabant
Brussels-Capital Region
Walloon Brabant
Jemmape Hainaut Hainaut
Sambre-et-Meuse Namur Namur
Ourthe Liège Liège
Forêts Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
(in personal union)
Luxembourg Luxembourg
Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (LU)

Provincial governments

The provincial government consists of three main branches: the Provincial Council, which is the legislative body, the Deputation or Provincial College, which is the executive body, and the Governor, who is appointed by the regional government (i.e. the Flemish or Walloon Government).

The Provincial Councils (Dutch : Provincieraad; French : Conseil provincial) are the representative bodies of the population of the provinces. This is the equivalent of the States-Provincial in the Netherlands. The numbers of seats in the Provincial Councils are proportional to the population of the province; the numbers were reduced in both Flanders and Wallonia, starting 2013 (following the 2012 elections). They are directly elected each six years, at the same time of the municipal elections. Before 1994, the provincial elections instead coincided with the national elections. Until then, the provincial councils also appointed Provincial Senators to the Belgian Senate. The last elections were held on 14 October 2018.

The executive branch was previously called the Permanent Deputation. In the Flemish Region it is now simply called the Deputation (Dutch : Deputatie) and it consists of the Governor and six Deputies elected by the Provincial Council from among its members. Following the next 2018 election, there will be one Deputy less, i.e. five Deputies. In the Walloon Region it is called the Provincial College (French : Collège provincial) which consists of the Governor and four to five Deputies (depending on the number of inhabitants of the province) elected by the Provincial Council from among its members.

In Flemish Brabant, there is also a Deputy Governor (Dutch : Adjunct van de gouverneur). The Deputy Governor is appointed by the Flemish Government on the unanimous advice of the Federal Council of Ministers and must have a considerable knowledge of both the Dutch and the French language. He is responsible for ensuring that the language legislation is observed in the municipalities in the Brussels Periphery.

Following the Fifth State Reform, the responsibility for the provincial institutions was devolved to the Regions. The Regions have the power to amend or replace the existing legislation on the provincial institutions, most notably the Provincial Law of 30 April 1836. In the Flemish Region, the Provincial Decree of 9 December 2005 applies. In the Walloon Region, the Code of Local Democracy and Decentralisation applies. The legal framework in these Regions is still very similar, but that could change in the future. Although the Regions are responsible for the provincial institutions, the Federal State has retained its responsibility over the provinces in certain cases. For instance, the Regions are responsible for the appointment of the Provincial Governors, but only after the unanimous advice of the Federal Council of Ministers. Legislation regarding the Governor and Vice-Governor of Brussels-Capital, and the Deputy Governor of Flemish Brabant, has also remained a federal competency.

Absence of any province in the Brussels Capital Region

The Brussels Capital Region in Belgium. BelgiumBrussels.png
The Brussels Capital Region in Belgium.

The Brussels Capital Region does not belong to any province, nor does it contain any. The extraprovincial status of Brussels has existed since 1995, when the former province of Brabant, which had Brussels as its capital, was divided into the Dutch-speaking province of Flemish Brabant and the French-speaking province of Walloon Brabant.

Within this mainly French speaking region, nearly all former provincial competencies are assumed by its regional institutions and by the French Community Commission, the Flemish Community Commission or the Common Community Commission. However, the Arrondissement of Brussels-Capital has two commissioners of the Federal Government who are called "Governor of the Brussels-Capital Region" and "Vice-Governor". The Governor exercises most of the few remaining powers elsewhere exercised by a provincial governor, particularly in the field of public order, as far as no (federal) law, (regional) decree, ordinance or decision states otherwise. [7]

The Governor is appointed by the cabinet of the Brussels Capital Region on the unanimous advice of the Federal Council of Ministers. The regional government also appoints the Vice-Governor, who must have a considerable knowledge of both French and Dutch and who must ensure that the legislation regarding the use of the two languages is observed in Brussels. [8]

Proposed additional province

The German-speaking Community. Duitstalige GemeenschapLocatie.png
The German-speaking Community.

Because the German-speaking Community is located entirely within Liège Province, it has been proposed on multiple occasions to create an eleventh province, the province of Eupen-Sankt Vith, which would comprise the nine municipalities of the German-speaking Community. Most of the functions carried out by provincial organs would then be exercised by the organs of the German-speaking Community. [9] [10]

The community is however small in area (854 km2 or 330 sq mi) and has only about 76,000 inhabitants, which would make it the smallest and by far the least populated province.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flanders</span> Dutch-speaking northern region of Belgium

Flanders is the Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, language, politics, and history, and sometimes involving neighbouring countries. The demonym associated with Flanders is Fleming, while the corresponding adjective is Flemish, which can also refer to the collective of Dutch dialects spoken in that area. The official capital of Flanders is the City of Brussels, although the Brussels-Capital Region that includes it has an independent regional government. The powers of the government of Flanders consist, among others, of economic affairs in the Flemish Region and the community aspects of Flanders life in Brussels, such as Flemish culture and education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of Belgium</span>

The politics of Belgium take place in the framework of a federal, representative democratic, constitutional monarchy. The King of the Belgians is the head of state, and the prime minister of Belgium is the head of government, in a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Federal legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament, the Senate and the Chamber of Representatives. The federation is made up of (language-based) communities and (territorial) regions. Philippe is the seventh and current King of the Belgians, having ascended the throne on 21 July 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flemish Brabant</span> Province of Belgium

Flemish Brabant is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Hainaut and East Flanders. Flemish Brabant also surrounds the Brussels-Capital Region. Its capital is Leuven. It has an area of 2,118 km2 (818 sq mi) which is divided into two administrative districts containing 65 municipalities. As of January 2019, Flemish Brabant has a population of 1,146,175.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walloon Brabant</span> Province of Belgium

Walloon Brabant is a province located in Belgium's French-speaking region of Wallonia. It borders on the province of Flemish Brabant and the provinces of Liège, Namur and Hainaut. Walloon Brabant's capital and largest city is Wavre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liège Province</span> Province of Belgium

Liège is the easternmost province of the Wallonia region of Belgium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Communities, regions, and language areas of Belgium</span>

Belgium is a federal state comprising three communities and three regions that are based on four language areas. For each of these subdivision types, the subdivisions together make up the entire country; in other words, the types overlap.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hainaut Province</span> Province of Belgium

Hainaut, historically also known as Heynault in English, is a province of Wallonia and Belgium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Voeren</span> Municipality in Limburg Province, Belgium

Voeren is a Flemish Dutch-speaking municipality with facilities for the French-speaking minority, located in the Belgian province of Limburg. Bordering the Netherlands to the north and the Wallonia region's Liège Province to the south, it is geographically detached from the rest of Flanders, making Voeren an exclave of Flanders. Voeren's name is derived from that of a small right-bank tributary of the Meuse, the Voer, which flows through the municipality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flemish Region</span> Northernmost federal region of Belgium

The Flemish Region, usually simply referred to as Flanders, is one of the three regions of Belgium—alongside the Walloon Region and the Brussels-Capital Region. Covering the northern portion of the country, the Flemish Region is primarily Dutch-speaking. With an area of 13,522 km2 (5,221 sq mi), it accounts for only 45% of Belgium's territory, but 57% of its population. It is one of the most densely populated regions of Europe with around 490/km2 (1,300/sq mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde</span> Former constituency in Belgium

The area within Belgium known as Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde encompasses the bilingual—French and Dutch—Brussels-Capital Region, which coincides with the arrondissement of Brussels-Capital and the surrounding Dutch-speaking area of Halle-Vilvoorde, which in turn coincides with the arrondissement of Halle-Vilvoorde. Halle-Vilvoorde contains several municipalities with language facilities, i.e. municipalities where French-speaking people form a considerable part of the population and therefore have special language rights. This area forms the judicial arrondissement of Brussels, which is the location of a tribunal of first instance, enterprise tribunal and a labour tribunal. It was reformed in July 2012, as part of the sixth Belgian state reform.

Arrondissements of Belgium are subdivisions below the provinces of Belgium. There are administrative, judicial and electoral arrondissements. These may or may not relate to identical geographical areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Province of Brabant</span> Province of Belgium until its splitting in 1995

The Province of Brabant was a province in Belgium from 1830 to 1995. It was created in 1815 as South Brabant, part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. In 1995, it was split into the Dutch-speaking Flemish Brabant, the French-speaking Walloon Brabant and the bilingual Brussels-Capital Region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arrondissement of Brussels-Capital</span> Administrative Arrondissement in Brussels Capital Region, Belgium

The Arrondissement of Brussels-Capital is the only administrative arrondissement in the Brussels Capital Region in Belgium. Because it is the only administrative arrondissement in the Brussels Region, its territory coincides with that of the latter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State reform in Belgium</span> Revision of Constitution of Belgium to provide equality to both Dutch and French people

State reform, in the context of Belgium, is the ongoing process of seeking and finding constitutional and legal solutions to the problems and tensions in the different segments of the Belgian population, mostly between the Dutch-speakers of Flanders and the French-speakers of Wallonia. In general, Belgium has evolved from a unitary state to a federal state with communities, regions, and language areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">N3 road (Belgium)</span>

The N3 road in Belgium is a national road connecting the capital city Brussels to Aachen in Germany via Leuven, Tienen, Sint-Truiden and Liège. Its course is quite similar to that of European route E40 between Brussels and Aachen, which it intersects 3 times. The road runs through the 3 Belgian regions and the 3 communities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 Belgian local elections</span>

The Belgian provincial, municipal and district elections of 2012 took place on 14 October. As with the previous 2006 elections, these are no longer organised by the Belgian federal state but instead by the respective regions:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Belgian federal election</span>

Federal elections were held in Belgium on 25 May 2014. All 150 members of the Chamber of Representatives were elected, whereas the Senate was no longer directly elected following the 2011–2012 state reform. These were the first elections held under King Philippe's reign.

The NIS code is a numeric code for regional areas of Belgium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Belgian regional elections</span>

The 2019 Belgian regional elections took place on Sunday 26 May, the same day as the 2019 European Parliament election as well as the Belgian federal election.

The 2024 Belgian regional elections will take place on Sunday 9 June, the same day as the 2024 European Parliament election as well as the Belgian federal election.

References

  1. "Structuur van de bevolking | Statbel".
  2. "Be.STAT".
  3. "Structuur van de bevolking | Statbel".
  4. "Be.STAT".
  5. "Structuur van de bevolking | Statbel".
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Province of Belgium". statoids.com.
  7. Proposal for an ordinance, stating the Governor's powers for the "arrondissement Brussels", the latter should be seen as the part of the arrondissement Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde that is not part of the Flemish Brabant province.
  8. "Factsheet on the Provinces" (PDF). The Belgian Chamber of Representatives. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 22 June 2007.
  9. Ferdy Willems and Danny Pieters (21 March 2000). "Proposal of Law creating the Province of Eupen-Sankt Vith and a German-speaking electoral circle for the elections of the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate" (PDF) (in Dutch and French). The Belgian Chamber of Representatives . Retrieved 2 September 2007.
  10. Jan Loones (VU) (13 July 1995). "Proposal of Law granting all provincial competences to the organs of the German-speaking Community and on the representation of the German language area in the Legislative Chambers" (in Dutch). The Belgian Senate . Retrieved 2 September 2007.