Belgium, Luxembourg, and Netherlands

Belgium Geography

Western Europe bordering the North Sea between France and Netherlands.

Area is 30,528 sq km Total. Coastline is 66.5 km Climate-mild winters, cool summers; rainy, humid,

cloudy. Terrain-flat coastal plains in the northwest, central

rolling hills, rugged mountains of Ardennes Forest in the southeast.

Flooding is a big threat along rivers. Pollution-urbanization, dense transportation

network, industry, extensive animal breeding, and crop cultivation.

Belgium Economics Conventional Long Form-Kingdom of Belgium Government Type-federal parliamentary

Democracy under a constitutional monarchy Capital-Brussels Belgium declared independence from the

Netherlands 4 October 1830. Belgium had their first king 21 July 1831 and his

name was King Leopold 1 and that is a national holiday.

Based on civil law system influenced by English constitutional theory; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations.

Suffrage- 18 years of age

Belgium People and Cultural Diversity

Population-10,414,336 Birth Rate-10.15 births/ 1000 population Death Rate- 10.44 deaths/ 1000 population 97% of total population is urban. Life Expectancy- Total: 79.22 years, Male: 76.06,

Female: 82.53 Total HIV/Aids related deaths: fewer than 100 Religions- Roman Catholic 75%, Other 25%. Years of going to school is 16 years for everybody. Ethnic Groups- Fleming 58%, Walloon 31%, mixed or

other 11%. Languages- Dutch 60%, French 40%, German less than

1%, legally bilingual (Dutch and French).

Belgium's Communications, Transportation, Military.

They have 4.457 million phones in use, and 11.822 million cell phones in use.

For TV they have 25 broadcast stations.

4.367 million internet hosts, and 7.292 million internet users.

They have 43 airports and only one heliports.

They have 3,233 KM

Belgium Conflict One big problem that they are having

is illegal drugs such as cocaine, heroin, hashish, and marijuana.

The country remains vulnerable to money laundering related to narcotics, automobiles, alcohol, and tobacco.

Luxembourg Geography Western Europe located between

France and Germany. Area- 2,586 sq km. Landlocked Slightly smaller than Rhode Island. Borders France, Belgium, and

Germany. Climate- modified continental with mild

winters, cool summers. Terrain- most gently rolling uplands

with broad, shallow valleys. Uplands to slightly mountainous in the north. Steep slope down to Moselle flood plain in the southeast.

Natural Resources are iron ore and arable land.

It is the only grand duchy in the world.

Luxembourg People and Diversity Population- 491,775 Birth Rate- 11.73 births/ 1000 population Death Rate- 8.44 Deaths/ 1000 Population 82% of population is urban population. 0.2% of the population die from HIV or AIDS and

fewer than 100 people died from it. Religions are Roman Catholic 87%,

others(Protestant, Jewish, or Muslim) 13%. Languages- Luxembourgish, German, and French. Males have to go to school for 13 years and

Females have to go to school for 14 years.

Luxembourg Economics There government type is

constitutional monarchy. The capital of Luxembourg is

Luxembourg. Has 3 administrative divisions-

Diekirch, Grevenmacher, Luxembourg. They got their independence on 1839

from the Netherlands. The constitution was made on 17

October, 1868, there has been occasional revisions since then.

18 years of age is the suffrage. The legal system is based on the civil

law system.

Luxembourg Communications, Transportation, Military

Telephones main line in use are 260,600.

Cell Phones in use are 707,000. There is only 5 TV broadcast stations,

and 387,000 internet users. They have only 2 airports and 1 heliport.