Belgium

Belgium

Made by: Diego Bazán, Joaquin Arana and Eduardo Yamada.

Geography

Location

Belgium is located in Western Europe. It´s surrounded by France, Luxembourg, Germany, The Netherlands and the North Sea.

Total area

It has an area of 30,510 square kilometers.

Natural recourses

Some natural resources are construction minerals, silica sand and carbonates.

Climate

Its climate is mostly temperate and sometimes rainy. Its average temperature is 10°C.

Elevation extremes

The lowest point is the North Sea with 0 m and the highest point is Botrange with 694 m.

People

Population

Belgium´s population is approximately 10 million.

Different people

Apart from people born in Belgium there are a lot of people that immigrated from many places, some of them came from Southern Europe, others from Northern Africa and from Turkey.

Religions

  Catholics (58%)   Other Christians (7%)   Muslims (5%)   Other Religions (2%)   Non-religious (27%)   Not stated (1%)

Languages

The three most important languages of Belgium are Dutch, French and German.

Government

Type of Government

Its government is a federal parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarchy. The head of government is the Prime Minister.

Royal Family The Royal Family is

composed by the King Philippe, his wife the Queen Matilda and they have four children, Princess Elisabeth, Prince Gabriel, Prince Emmanuel and Princess Eléonore.

Capital

The capital of Belgium is Brussels, it is full of fantastic buldings and monuments that transport us to the 11th century. It has approximately 1 million inhabitants. Also there are little shops and museums.

Administrative divisions

Major cities

Brugge

Gent

Antwerp

Brussels

Mons

Namur

Hasselt

Liège

Arlon

History

Belgian Revolution

In 1815, Northern and Southern Netherlands joined and became very powerful.

After that, Netherlands that was comanded by the King William I, defeated Napoleon from France and they ruled Europe.

King William had favorable policy with Belgians but they protested because their different thoughts related to religion and different economic level.

So in 1830 Belgium defeated King William and they established their independence.

Food Belgium is a rich country in food because it has influence of

other cultures. Well Belgium is not very famous for its food , but the

Belgians have a lot of passion and knowledge of cuisine. Belgium cuisine is based on the elaboration of beer and

chocolates.

Animals

Belgian Blue

Belgian Sheepdog

Belgian Draft Horse

Okapi

Monuments

Atomium (Brussels)

Anglo-Belgian Memorial (Brussels)

Congreszuil (Colonne du Congrès) (Brussels)

St. Michael and Gudula Cathedral (Brussels)

Festivals

Carnival de Binche (15-17 of February)

Stavelot (March)

Zinneke Parade (9 of May)

Ommegang Festival (1-3 of July)

Independence Day (21 of July)

Tomorrowland (24-26 of July)

Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPrVEBm6qNg

Sources

http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Europe/Belgium.html

http://www.everyculture.com/A-Bo/Belgium.html

http://www.belgium.be/en/about_belgium/country/history/belgium_from_1830/