In the coastal region, the climate is mild and humid. There are marked temperature changes farther inland. In the high southeasterly districts, hot summers alternate with very cold winters. Except in the highlands, rainfall is seldom heavy. The average annual temperature is 8°C (46°F); in Brussels, the mean temperature is 10°C (50°F), ranging from 3°C (37°F) in January to 18°C (64°F) in July. Average annual rainfall is between 70 and 100 cm (28 to 40 in).
Belgium shares borders with France (620 km), Germany (167 km), Luxembourg (148 km) and the Netherlands (450 km). Its total area, including surface water area, is 33,990 square kilometres; land area alone is 30,528 km². Belgium has three main geographical regions: the coastal plain in the north-west and the central plateau both belong to the Anglo-Belgian Basin; the Ardennes uplands in the south-east are part of the Hercynian orogenic belt. The Paris Basin reaches a small fourth area at Belgium's southernmost tip, Belgian Lorraine.
The coastal plain consists mainly of sand dunes and polders. Further inland lies a smooth, slowly rising landscape irrigated by numerous waterways, with fertile valleys and the northeastern sandy plain of the Campine (Kempen). The thickly forested hills and plateaus of the Ardennes are more rugged and rocky with caves and small gorges, and offer much of Belgium's wildlife but little agricultural capability. Extending westward into France, this area is eastwardly connected to the Eifel in Germany by the High Fens plateau, on which the Signal de Botrange forms the country's highest point at 694 metres (2,277 ft)
The climate is maritime temperate, with significant precipitation in all seasons (Köppen climate classification: Cfb). The average temperature is lowest in January at 3 °C (37 °F), and highest in July at 18 °C (64 °F). The average precipitation per month varies between 54 millimetres (2.1 in) in February or April, to 78 millimetres (3.1 in) in July. Averages for the years 2000 to 2006 show daily temperature minimums of 7 °C (45 °F) and maximums of 14 °C (57 °F), and monthly rainfall of 74 millimetres (2.9 in); these are about 1 degree Celsius and nearly 10 millimetres above last century's normal values, respectively.
Phytogeographically, Belgium is shared between the Atlantic European and Central European provinces of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom. According to the WWF, the territory of Belgium belongs to the ecoregion of Atlantic mixed forests.
Because of its high population density, location in the centre of Western Europe, and inadequate political effort, Belgium faces serious environmental problems. A 2003 report suggested Belgian rivers to have the lowest water quality of the 122 countries studied. In the 2006 pilot Environmental Performance Index, Belgium scored 75.9% for overall environmental performance and was ranked lowest of the EU member countries , though it was only 39th of 133 countries.
The area of present-day Belgium has seen significant demographic, political and cultural upheavals over the course of two millennia. In the first century, the Romans, after defeating the local tribes, created the province of Gallia Belgica. A gradual immigration by Germanic Frankish tribes during the 5th century, brought the area under the rule of the Merovingian kingdom. A gradual shift of power during the 8th century evolved into the Carolingian Empire and culminated with the coronation of Charlemagne as ruler of The Holy Roman Empire. During the Middle Ages small feudal states emerged, many of which rejoined as the Burgundian Netherlands in the 14th and 15th centuries. Emperor Charles V completed the union of the Seventeen Provinces in the 1540s, and unofficially also controlled the Prince-Bishopric of Liège.
The Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) divided the area into the northern United Provinces ('federate' Belgica Foederata in Latin) and the Southern Netherlands ('royal' Belgica Regia). The latter were ruled successively by the Spanish and the Austrian Habsburgs and comprised most of modern Belgium. Until independence the area was sought after by numerous French conquerors and was the theatre of most Franco-Spanish and Franco-Austrian wars during the 17th and 18th centuries. Following the campaigns of 1794 in the French Revolutionary Wars, the Low Countries — including territories that were never nominally under Habsburg rule, such as the Prince-Bishopric of Liège — were annexed by the French First Republic, ending Spanish-Austrian rule in the region. The reunification of the Low Countries as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands occurred at the dissolution of the First French Empire in 1815. However, over the previous 350 years of shared connections as varied Low Country manifestations the two peoples had drifted apart, and after only 15 years, the forced "marriage" was over. The 1830 Belgian Revolution led to the establishment of an independent, Catholic, and neutral Belgium under a provisional government and a national congress. Since the installation of Leopold I as king in 1831, Belgium has been a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy. Initially an oligarchy ruled mainly by the Catholic Party and the Liberals, the country had evolved towards universal suffrage by World War II with the rise of the Belgian Labour Party and trade unions playing a strong role. French, once the single official language and adopted by the nobility and the bourgeoisie, had by then lost its overall importance as Dutch, the language of the majority of the population, had become recognized as well, be it only in 1898. However, it was not until 1967 that an official Dutch version of the Constitution was accepted.
The Berlin Conference of 1885 gave the Congo Free State to King Leopold II as his private possession. In 1908, it was ceded to Belgium as a colony, henceforth called the Belgian Congo. Belgian control of the Congolese population, particularly under Leopold II, was savage, and the country was plundered of resources such as ivory and rubber.
Germany invaded Belgium in 1914 as part of the Schlieffen Plan, and much of the Western Front fighting of World War I occurred in western parts of the country. Belgium took over the German colonies of Ruanda-Urundi (modern day Rwanda and Burundi) during the war, and they were mandated to Belgium in 1924 by the League of Nations, of which it was a founding member. The Treaty of Versailles had subjected several German border towns, most notably Eupen and Malmedy, to a controversial plebiscite, which led to their annexation by Belgium in 1925, thereby causing the presence of a small German community. Belgium was again invaded by Germany in 1940 during the Blitzkrieg offensive, and occupied until its liberation by Allied troops in the winter of 1944–1945. The Belgian Congo gained independence in 1960 during the Congo Crisis; Ruanda-Urundi followed two years later.
After World War II, Belgium joined NATO as a founder member, headquartered at Brussels, and formed the Benelux group of nations with the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Belgium became one of the six founding members of the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951, and of the European Atomic Energy Community and European Economic Community, established in 1957. The latter is now the European Union, for which Belgium hosts major administrations and institutions, including the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, and the extraordinary and committee sessions of the European Parliament.
domenica 1° gennaio: CAPODANNO
lunedì 17 aprile: LUNEDI' DELL'ANGELO
lunedì 1° maggio: FESTA DEL LAVORO
giovedì 25 maggio: ASCENSIONE
lunedì 5 giugno: LUNEDI' DI PENTECOSTE
venerdì 21 luglio: FESTA DELL'INDIPENDENZA
martedì 15 agosto: ASSUNZIONE
mercoledì 27 settembre: FESTA DELLA COMUNITA' FRANCOFONA
mercoledì 1° novembre: OGNISSANTI
giovedì 2 novembre : GIORNO DEI MORTI
sabato 11 novembre: ARMISTIZIO DEL 1918
mercoledì 15 novembre: FESTA DELLA DINASTIA
lunedì 25 dicembre: NATALE
martedì 26 dicembre: S. STEFANO (solo organi amministrativi)
The population of Belgium in 2003 was estimated by the United Nations at 10,318,000, which placed it as number 75 in population among the 193 nations of the world. In that year approximately 17% of the population was over 65 years of age, with another 18% of the population under 15 years of age. There were 96 males for every 100 females in the country in 2003. According to the UN, the annual population growth rate for 2000–2005 is 0.21%, with the projected population for the year 2015 at 10,470,000. The population density in 2002 was 337 per sq km (874 per sq mi), making it one of the most densely populated countries in the worldIt was estimated by the Population Reference Bureau that 97% of the population lived in urban areas in 2001, up from 95% in 1980. The capital city, Brussels, had a population of 1,121,000 in that year. Other major urban areas are located within 100 km (60 mi) of Brussels. The largest cities include Antwerp (Antwerpen, Anvers), 470,349; Gent (Ghent, Gand), 230,543; Charleroi, 206,779; Liège (Luik), 196,825; Brugge (Bruges), 117,460; and Namur (Namen), 103,466. According to the United Nations, the urban population growth rate for 2000–2005 was 0.1%.The government has conducted a census every 10 years since 1848. Since 1984 the registration of births and deaths has been delegated to the Flemish and Walloon language communities. Belgium's population has distinctive language and ethnic divisions. The Ardennes region in the south is the least densely populated region.
Capitale: BRUXELLES
Popolazione: 10.417.000
Superficie: 30.518 Km²
Fuso orario: Stessa ora rispetto all'Italia
Lingue:francese, fiammingo e tedesco, l'inglese è molto diffuso.
Religione:la religione principale è quella cristiana cattolica;sono presenti anche le religioni ebraica,islamica e cristiana protestante.
Moneta: euro
Prefisso dall'Italia: 0032 anche per i telefoni cellulari seguito dal prefisso della località desiderata senza lo zero.
Prefisso per l’Italia: 0039 seguito dal prefisso per la località desiderata con lo zero.
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