Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the south, and the North Sea to the west. It covers an area of 30,689 km2 (11,849 sq mi) and has a population of more than 11.7 million. With 383/km2 (990/sq mi), Belgium's population density ranks 22nd in the world and 6th in Europe. Belgium is part of an area known as the Low Countries, historically a somewhat larger region than the Benelux group of states, as it also included parts of northern France. The capital and largest metropolitan region is Brussels; other major cities are Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi, Liège, Bruges, Namur, and Leuven.
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.
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.
Vlaams Blok was the name of a Belgian far-right and secessionist political party with an anti-immigration platform. Its ideologies embraced Flemish nationalism, calling for the independence of Flanders.
The New Flemish Alliance is a Flemish nationalist, conservative and Eurosceptic political party in Belgium. The party was established in 2001 by the right-leaning faction of the centrist-nationalist People's Union (VU).
Greater Netherlands is an irredentist concept which unites the Netherlands, Flanders, and sometimes Brussels. Additionally, a Greater Netherlands state may include the annexation of the French Westhoek, Suriname, formerly Dutch-speaking areas of Germany and France, or even the ethnically Dutch and/or Afrikaans-speaking parts of South Africa. A related proposal is the Pan-Netherlands concept, which includes Wallonia and potentially also Luxembourg.
Club Brugge Koninklijke Voetbalvereniging, known simply as Club Brugge, is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges, Belgium. It was founded in 1891 and its home ground is the Jan Breydel Stadium, which has a capacity of 29,042. They play in the Belgian Pro League, the top domestic league in Belgian football.
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 13,626 km2 (5,261 sq mi), it accounts for only 45% of Belgium's territory, but 58% of its population. It is one of the most densely populated regions of Europe with around 500/km2 (1,300/sq mi).
Vlaams Belang is a Flemish nationalist, Eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the Flemish Region and Brussels Capital Region of Belgium. It is widely considered by the media and political analysts to be on the political far-right, although it self-describes as right-nationalist and has tried to distance itself from the far-right label in recent years.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights in Belgium are regarded as some of the most progressive in Europe and the world. In 2023, ILGA-Europe ranked Belgium as second in the European Union for LGBT rights protection, behind Malta. In 2024, ILGA-Europe ranked Belgium the third highest after Malta and Iceland.
Bart Albert Liliane De Wever is a Belgian politician. Since 2004, De Wever has been the leader of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), a political party advocating for the transformation of Belgium into a confederal state. He is also a member of the Chamber of Representatives. De Wever presided over his party's victory in the 2010 federal elections when N-VA became the largest party in both Flanders and in Belgium as a whole. He accomplished this again in the subsequent 3 elections, eventually being tasked with forming a new government by King Philippe following the 2024 elections.
Jan Peter Peumans is a Belgian politician from the Flemish province of Limburg. Being part of the Flemish Movement, he was at a young age already member of the Volksunie. He seated for that party in the Limburgish provincial council and is since 2004, a Flemish Parliament member for the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA). In July 2004, he opposed, as Mayor of Riemst, the lengthening of the runway at Liège Airport. From 2007 until 2009, he was N-VA fraction leader in the Flemish Parliament. After the elections of 7 June 2009, he became President of the Flemish Parliament, succeeding Marleen Vanderpoorten.
Jan Jambon is a Belgian businessman and politician of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) who served as Minister-President of Flanders from 2019 to 2024. He replaced Kris Peeters as a member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives in 2007. The N-VA was, at that time, partnered with the Christian-Democratic and Flemish party. In June 2010 and May 2014 he was re-elected on an N-VA list.
Antwerp is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third largest city in Belgium by area at 204.51 km2 (78.96 sq mi) after Tournai and Couvin. With a population of 536,079, it is the most populous municipality in Belgium, and with a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million people, the country's second-largest metropolitan area after Brussels.
Jean Butez is a French professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Belgian Pro League club Antwerp.
Herman Frans Anna baron Van der Wee is a Belgian economic historian. He was a full professor of social and economic history at the KU Leuven from 1969 to 1993. The academic output of Van der Wee spans economic history, the history of banking, financial history. He has performed research on the period from the Middle Ages to the present time. Geographically he has performed broad research as well, looking into Antwerp, Belgium, the Low Countries, Europe and the world.
Bart Claes is a Belgian politician who has been a member of the Flemish parliament for the Flemish nationalist Vlaams Belang party since 2019.
Jinnih Beels is a Belgian politician and member of the Chamber of Representatives. A member of Vooruit, she has represented Antwerp since June 2024.
Jan Bertels is a Belgian politician and member of the Chamber of Representatives. A member of Vooruit, he has represented Antwerp since June 2024. He had previously been a member of the Chamber of Representatives from June 2019 to November 2020. He was a member of the Flemish Parliament from June 2014 to May 2019.
Joris Vandenbroucke is a Belgian politician and member of the Chamber of Representatives. A member of Vooruit, he has represented East Flanders since June 2019. He was a member of the Flemish Parliament from June 2005 to June 2009 and from June 2014 to May 2019.
