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| Belgium Facts - 68 Interesting Facts About Belgium |
Belgium Facts. Belgium is a country in Western Europe. The sovereign state is a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system. The nation is bordered by Germany toward the east, the Netherlands toward the north, France toward the southwest, Luxembourg toward the southeast, and the North Sea toward the northwest. It covers a total area of 30,688 km2 (11,849 sq mi) and the nation has a population of more than 11.4 million. Belgium is a developed nation, with a very high-income economy. The country has very high standards of living, quality of life. It also ranks as one of the most peaceful countries in the world. If you searching for amazing facts about Belgium? You have come to the right place. Check out the following interesting facts about Belgium.
Interesting Facts About Belgium
1. Belgium's official name is the Kingdom of Belgium.
2. King Philippe of the Belgians is the current monarch.
3. Belgium consists of three federal regions – Flanders, Wallonia, and Brussels.
4. The national flag of Belgium is a tricolor with black, yellow and red vertical stripes.
5. Belgium has three official languages: Dutch, French, and German.
6. The word “spa”, comes from the Belgian city Spa and that"s being used to talk about places to relax and get wellness treatments.
7. The capital and largest city of Belgium is Brussels.
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| The capital and largest city of Belgium is Brussels. |
8. Belgium has some of the highest income and social contribution tax rates in the world. For single people without kids, it has the highest income tax rates.
9. Cool interesting facts about Belgium, Brussels International Airport is the world's largest chocolate selling point.
10. Belgium is one of the few countries with compulsory voting in the world.
11. In 1953, Television was introduced in Belgium with two channels, one in Dutch and one in the French language.
12. Belgium grants the newest citizenships per capita in the world, after Canada.
13. After the Bible, Inspector Maigret by Georges Simenon from Liège is the most translated book in the world.
14. Nuclear reactors play a significant role in generating electricity for Belgium as they meet more than half of the country’s demand for electricity.
15. The headquarters of NATO, located in Brussels.
16. 50th Prime Minister of Belgium has the first openly gay Prime Minister in Europe. His name is Elio Di Rupo.
17. The world's diamond capital name is Antwerp, Belgium.
18. Same-sex marriages are legal in the country. In fact, it became the second country in the world to legalize same-sex marriages in 2003, after the Netherlands.
19. Luik/Liège was the first city in the world to get bombed from the sky by a German zeppelin.
20. Belgium is the largest urbanized population in the world. About 98% of the country’s population lives in cities and urban areas. Brussels, Antwerp, Charleroi, Bruges, Ghent, and Liege are among the most important urban areas in Belgium.
21. Belgium has the lowest salary gap between men and women in the Europe Union.
22. The world's largest beer producer, Anheuser-Busch is located in Belgium.
23. Belgian men are the second tallest in the world with a height of 181.7cm, the first tallest are Dutchmen (182.5cm).
24. Most interesting facts, Belgium has more comic bookmakers per square kilometer than any other country in the world.
25. Belgium total percentage of population religion: 61% Christianity, 32% no religion, 5% Islam and 22% others.
25. The Boerentoren was the first skyscraper in Europe. It has 26 floors and is 95.8 m high.
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| The Boerentoren, the first skyscraper in Europe. |
27. Belgium was the first country to ban cluster bombs in the world.
28. The word “spa” originated from the city of spa in Belgium.
29. Belgium is also among the top processors of cobalt, copper, radium, zinc, and lead in the world.
30. The longest subterranean river in the world, the Rubicon is located in Belgium in the Caves of Remouchamps.
31. Do you know? The royal palace of Brussels is 50% longer than Buckingham Palace but its floor area of 33,027 m2 is less than half of the Buckingham Palace floor area (77,000 m2).
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| The royal palace of Brussels |
Facts About Belgium History
32. In 1990, the Belgian king Baudouin was deposed for 36 hours. He was against the abortion law that the government wanted to pass, so they discrowned him, signed the law and made him king once again.
33. Napoleon was defeated in Waterloo, a city south of Brussels.
34. The longest tram line in the world, the Belgian coastal tram, being 68 km long. In 1885, It opened and operates between De Panne and Knokke-Heist, which is from the French border to the Dutch border.
35. The first casino in Europe was the city of Spa in Belgium.
36. Belgian first car was built in 1894, it was called the Vincke. The brand Vincke stopped existing in 1904.
37. Belgium provided the Americans with the uranium that was used for the atom bomb they threw on Hiroshima. It originated from Congo, at that time a colony of Belgium.
38. European first railroad opened in Belgium in 1835 and connected Brussels with Mechelen.
Amazing Facts About Belgium
39. Brussels has the highest number of diplomats and foreign press correspondents in the world, together with Washington D.C.
40. Belgium is that it's one of the rare nations where education is compulsory until you're 18 years old.
41. Durbuy dubs itself the smallest city in the world. Although it now has less than 500 inhabitants, it was granted the rank of a city in medieval times, which it hasn't lost since then.
42. The largest temple of the European continent is the Freemason temple in Brussels, Belgium.
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| The Freemason temple in Brussels |
43. Belgian famous three comics are Tintin, Lucky Luke, and The Smurfs.
44. The counterweighted lift of Strepy-Thieu (73.15 m high) in Hainaut, Belgian is the world's largest ship lift.
45. The tallest living horse is a Belgian Gelding Horse. His name is Big Jake and he's 210.19 cm tall.
46. The Law Courts of Brussels is the biggest court of justice in the world. It has a built land area of 26,000 m² at ground level, which makes it bigger than the Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome (21,000 m²).
47. Belgium is the sixth biggest importer of coffee and also import 4.3 million bags in year.
48. That's amazing facts, Belgium has the country with most castles per square kilometer in the world.
49. Belgian Pierre Minuit was the founder of New York City.
50. The lowest point of Belgium in the North Sea and the highest point of Belgium is Signal de Botrange (694 m).
51. 97 % of households in Belgium have cable TV, the highest percentage in the world.
52. Did you know that Brussels has more than 1000 NGOs and over 120 international governmental organizations?
53. Do you know? Belgium has 13 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
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| The Gravensteen is a medieval castle at Ghent, East Flanders in Belgium. |
Facts About Belgium Cultural
54. Belgium's city Ghent hosts the largest cultural festival in Europe, the Gentse Feesten.
55. The world's largest sand sculpture festival hosts Belgium.
56. Many street and music festivals all year round hosted in Belgium, there is no other country in Europe.
Facts About Belgium Food
57. The largest agricultural, agro-food and forestry fair in Europe, the Foire de Libramont, is held in Belgium.
58. Sugar beets, flax, chicory, cereal grains, and potatoes are the major crops of Belgium.
59. Chocolate is one of the most famous things made in Belgium and produces over 220,000 tonnes of chocolate each year. The world’s second-largest chocolate exporting, after Germany.
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| Chocolates and raspberries |
60. Belgium is famous for chocolate, waffles, fries, and beer.
61. In 1999, the world's first beer academy opened in Herk-de-Stad, Limburg, Belgium, The country made over 800 kinds of beers. Some claim it's over 1,000 kinds.
62. Haspengouw is the largest fruit region in the entire Europe, After South-Tyrol, Italy.
Facts About Belgium Sports
63. In 1904, The very first international football game was played in Brussels.
64. The Belgian circuit of Spa-Francorchamps is the second oldest and the longest F1 Grand Prix Circuit still in use.
65. Justine Henin, a former world number one tennis player, is a Belgian.
67. The only Belgian race car, the Vertigo, once held the Guinness World Record for fastest acceleration from 0-100km/h in 3.266 seconds.
68. 80% of billiard players use made in Belgium Aramith pool balls, also the world’s largest exporter of billiard balls.
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| Billiard balls |
I hope, you have enjoyed the interesting facts about Belgium. If you need more country facts, keep with this blog and share Belgium facts social media with your friends. Thanks for visiting this blog.