Provinces of Belgium Provincies van België (Dutch) Provinces de Belgique (French) Provinzen Belgiens (German) | ||
---|---|---|
Category | Decentralised unit in a federal state | |
Location | Kingdom of Belgium | |
Number | 10 provinces | |
Populations | 295,146 (Luxembourg) – 1,926,522 (Antwerp) [1] | |
Areas | 1,097 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, nor is it subdivided into provinces. Instead, it has amalgamated both regional and provincial functions into a single "Capital Region" administration.
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.
Flag | Arms | Province | Dutch name | French name | German name | Capital | Governor | Area [2] | Population (1 January 2024) [1] | Density | Postal codes [3] | HASC [3] | FIPS [3] | ISO 3166-2:BE [3] | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Flanders | |||||||||||||||
Antwerp | Antwerpen | Anvers | Antwerpen | Antwerp | Cathy Berx | Since 2008 | 2,876 km2 (1,110 sq mi) | 1,926,522 | 670/km2 (1,700/sq mi) | 2000–2999 | BE.AN | BE01 | VAN | ||
East Flanders | Oost-Vlaanderen | Flandre orientale | Ostflandern | Ghent | Jan Briers | Since 2013 | 3,007 km2 (1,161 sq mi) | 1,572,002 | 520/km2 (1,300/sq mi) | 9000–9999 | BE.OV | BE08 | VOV | ||
Flemish Brabant | Vlaams-Brabant | Brabant flamand | Flämisch-Brabant | Leuven | Jan Spooren | Since 2020 | 2,118 km2 (818 sq mi) | 1,196,773 | 570/km2 (1,500/sq mi) | 1500–1999, 3000–3499 | BE.VB | BE12 | VBR | ||
Limburg | Limburg | Limbourg | Limburg | Hasselt | Herman Reynders | Since 2009 | 2,427 km2 (937 sq mi) | 900,098 | 370/km2 (960/sq mi) | 3500–3999 | BE.LI | BE05 | VLI | ||
West Flanders | West-Vlaanderen | Flandre occidentale | Westflandern | Bruges | Carl Decaluwé | Since 2012 | 3,197 km2 (1,234 sq mi) | 1,226,375 | 380/km2 (980/sq mi) | 8000–8999 | BE.WV | BE09 | VWV | ||
Wallonia | |||||||||||||||
Hainaut | Henegouwen | Hainaut | Hennegau | Mons | Tommy Leclercq | Since 2013 | 3,813 km2 (1,472 sq mi) | 1,360,074 | 360/km2 (930/sq mi) | 7000–7999 (West), 6000–6999 (East, shared with Luxembourg) | BE.HT | BE03 | WHT | ||
Liège | Luik | Liège | Lüttich | Liège | Hervé Jamar | Since 2015 | 3,857 km2 (1,489 sq mi) | 1,119,038 | 290/km2 (750/sq mi) | 4000–4999 | BE.LG | BE04 | WLG | ||
Luxembourg | Luxemburg | Luxembourg | Luxemburg | Arlon | Olivier Schmitz | Since 2016 | 4,459 km2 (1,722 sq mi) | 295,146 | 66/km2 (170/sq mi) | 6000–6999 (shared with Eastern Hainaut) | BE.LX | BE06 | WLX | ||
Namur | Namen | Namur | Namür | Namur | Denis Mathen | Since 2007 | 3,675 km2 (1,419 sq mi) | 503,895 | 140/km2 (360/sq mi) | 5000–5999 | BE.NA | BE07 | WNA | ||
Walloon Brabant | Waals-Brabant | Brabant wallon | Wallonisch-Brabant | Wavre | Gilles Mahieu | Since 2015 | 1,097 km2 (424 sq mi) | 414,130 | 380/km2 (980/sq mi) | 1300–1499 | BE.BW | BE10 | WBR | ||
Brussels | |||||||||||||||
Brussels Capital Region | Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest | Région de Bruxelles-Capitale | Region Brüssel-Hauptstadt | Brussels City | Rudi Vervoort | Since 2013 | 162 km2 (63 sq mi) | 1,249,597 | 7,700/km2 (20,000/sq mi) | 1000–1299 | BE.BR | BE02 | BBR | ||
Total | België | Belgique | Belgien | Brussels City | 30,689 km2 (11,849 sq mi) | 11,763,650 | 383/km2 (990/sq mi) |
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.
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).
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.
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 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1795–1815 | 1815–1830 | 1830–1839 | 1839–1995 | 1995–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) |
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.
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. [4]
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. [5]
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. [6] [7]
However, the community is 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.
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, or more generally the Belgian variant of Standard Dutch.
Walloons are a Gallo-Romance ethnic group native to Wallonia and the immediate adjacent regions of Flanders, France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Walloons primarily speak langues d'oïl such as Belgian French, Picard and Walloon. Walloons are primarily Roman Catholic, with a historical minority of Protestantism which dates back to the Reformation era.
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.
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 2024, Flemish Brabant had a population of over 1.19 million.
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.
Liège is the easternmost province of the Wallonia region of Belgium.
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.
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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.
Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde is a judicial arrondissement encompassing the bilingual—French and Dutch—Brussels-Capital Region, which coincides with the administrative arrondissement of Brussels-Capital and the surrounding Dutch-speaking area of Halle-Vilvoorde, which in turn coincides with the administrative 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. The arrondissment is the location of a tribunal of first instance, enterprise tribunal and a labour tribunal.
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.
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.
The Arrondissement of Brussels-Capital is the only administrative arrondissement in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. Because it is the only administrative arrondissement in the Brussels Region, its territory coincides with that of the latter.
The partition of Belgium is a hypothetical situation, which has been discussed by both Belgian and international media, envisioning a split of Belgium along linguistic divisions, with the Flemish Community (Flanders) and the French-speaking Community (Wallonia) becoming independent states. Alternatively, it is hypothesized that Flanders could join the Netherlands and Wallonia could join France or Luxembourg.
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.
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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.
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:
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.