Interesting facts about Belgium

belgium flag

Belgium, a country in Western Europe, is known for its medieval old towns and Flemish Renaissance architecture.

The official name of Belgium is the Kingdom of Belgium.

Belgium shares a land border with France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

Belgium has three official languages: Dutch, French and German.

As of 1 January 2016, the population of Belgium was estimated to be 11,159,884 people.

With an area of 30,528 square kilometer (11,787 square miles), Belgium is one of the most densely populated countries in the world.

Brussels is Belgium’s capital and home to the headquarters of the European Union.

brussels

Almost all Belgians live in cities, the country has an urban population of over 97%.

The town of Spa in Belgium is where the word ‘spa‘ comes from.

The first stock exchange building was built in Bruges.

Antwerp, Belgium’s second largest city, is the diamond capital of the world.

diamonds

Belgium is a peaceful country where harmony with nature is present in the cities and countrysides.

Belgium is generally flat except for the hilly and forested southeast (Ardennes) region.

Signal de Botrange is the highest point in Belgium, located in the High Fens at 694 meters (2,277 feet).

Among mammals still found in Belgium are the boar, fox, badger, weasel, squirrel and marten.

There are more castles per square kilometer in Belgium than there are in any other country in the world.

belgium castle

Belgian waffles are world famous, and there are 3 main sorts : Liege waffles (the most common), Brussels waffles (bigger, lighter, rectangular, and eaten with toppings such as strawberries or ice cream), and galettes (thinner, softer, and typically eaten for breakfast, sometimes with jam).

belgian waffles

Belgium is world-famous for chocolate and produces over 220,000 tonnes of chocolate each year.

Belgium has been producing chocolate for almost 400 years, the first evidence of chocolate production in Belgium dates back to 1635.

Praline chocolates were invented by Jean Neuhaus in Brussels in 1912.

praline

Brussels International Airport is the world’s largest chocolate selling point.

The world’s first beer academy opened in Herk-de-Stad, in the Belgian province of Limburg, in 1999.

Belgium is world-famous for beer. There are over 1100 varieties of beers made in Belgium.

belgium beers

It is claimed that French fries originated in Belgium, and that the ongoing dispute between the French and Belgians about where they were invented is highly contentious, with both countries claiming ownership.

Belgium is the world’s leading exporter of billiard balls – nearly 80 percent of the world’s billiard balls are made in Belgium.

Belgium produces the greatest variety of bricks in the world.

Every year Blankenberge, Belgium hosts the Sand Sculpture Festival, the largest exhibition of its kind in the world.

sand sculpture

Tomorrowland is one of the biggest electronic music festivals held in the world, taking place in Belgium.

Three famous Belgian comics are Tintin, The Smurfs and Lucky Luke.

In 1846, Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax invented the saxophone.

One of a leader of the 19th-century Art Nouveau movement was Brussels architect Victor Horta.

Durbuy is a charming historical town in the Ardennes Forest. With less than 500 inhabitants, Durbuy like to dub itself the “smallest town in the world“, thanks to the town charter it obtained in the Middle Ages. This honourary status was maintained through the centuries to this day.

durbuy

Napoleon was defeated in Waterloo, a city south of Brussels.

Catholic priest Monseigneur Georges Lemaître, born in Charleroi in 1894, actually invented the Big Bang theory which was published in 1927 in the Annals of the Brussels Scientific Society.

Belgian households have the highest percentage of cable TV in the world, at 97%.

Education is compulsory in Belgium upto the age of 18, which is the highest in the world.