Brussels-Capital Region

Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the south, and the North Sea to the west. Belgium covers an area of 30,689 km (11,849 sq mi) and has a population of more than 11.8 million; its population density of 383/km (990/sq mi) ranks 22nd in the world and sixth in Europe. The capital and largest metropolitan region is Brussels; other major cities are Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi, Liège, Bruges, Namur, and Leuven.

Belgium is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy with a complex federal system structured on regional and linguistic grounds. The country is divided into three highly autonomous regions: the Flemish Region (Flanders) in the north, the Walloon Region (Wallonia) in the south, and the Brussels-Capital Region in the middle. Belgium is also home to two main linguistic communities: the Dutch-speaking Flemish Community, which constitutes about 60 percent of the population, and the French-speaking French Community, which constitutes about 40 percent of the population; a small German-speaking Community, comprising around one percent of the population, exists in the East Cantons. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in its complex system of governance, made up of six different governments. Belgium is a developed country with an advanced high-income economy. It is one of the six founding members of the European Union, with its capital of Brussels serving as the de facto capital of the EU, hosting the official seats of the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, the European Council, and one of two seats of the European Parliament (the other being Strasbourg). Brussels also hosts the headquarters of many major international organizations, such as NATO.

Wallonia (/wɒˈloʊniə/ wol-OH-nee-ə; French: Wallonie [walɔni] ; German: Wallonien [vaˈloːni̯ən] or Wallonie [valoˈniː] ), officially the Walloon Region (French: Région wallonne [ʁeʒjɔ̃ walɔn]; German: Wallonische Region [vaˈloːnɪʃə ʁeˈɡi̯oːn]), is one of the three regions of Belgium—along with Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the country, Wallonia is primarily French-speaking. It accounts for 55% of Belgium's territory, but only 31% of its population. The Walloon Region and the French Community of Belgium, which is the political entity responsible for matters related mainly to culture and education, are independent concepts, because the French Community of Belgium encompasses both Wallonia and the bilingual Brussels-Capital Region but not the German-speaking Community of Belgium, which administers nine municipalities in Eastern Wallonia.

During the Industrial Revolution, Wallonia was second only to the United Kingdom in industrialization, capitalizing on its extensive deposits of coal and iron. This brought the region wealth, and from the beginning of the 19th to the middle of the 20th century, Wallonia was the more prosperous half of Belgium. Since World War II, the importance of heavy industry has greatly diminished, and the Flemish Region has exceeded Wallonia in wealth as Wallonia has declined economically. Wallonia now suffers from high unemployment and has a significantly lower GDP per capita than Flanders. The economic inequalities and linguistic divide between the two are major sources of political conflicts in Belgium and a major factor in Flemish separatism.

The Flemish Diamond (Dutch: Vlaamse Ruit) is the Flemish reference to a network of four metropolitan areas in Belgium, three of which are in the central provinces of Flanders, together with the Brussels-Capital Region.It consists of four agglomerations which form the four corners of an abstract diamond shape: Brussels, Ghent, Antwerp and Leuven.

In 2007, approximately 5 million people lived in this area, with a population density of about 820 per square kilometer which accounted for roughly 47% of the total population of the country (c. 10.5 million).

The 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region are the political subdivisions of Belgium's central region. The government of each municipality is responsible for the handling of local level duties, such as law enforcement and the upkeep of schools and roads within its borders. Municipal administration is also conducted by a mayor, a council, and an executive.

In 1831, Belgium was divided into 2,739 municipalities, including 20 within the current Brussels-Capital Region (which at that time did not exist). In 1841, a 21st and 22nd municipality were created when Berchem-Sainte-Agathe formally separated from neighbouring Koekelberg and Jette-Ganshoren split into Jette and Ganshoren. Since then, three municipalities have been merged with the City of Brussels: Laeken, Haren, and Neder-Over-Heembeek, in 1921. Unlike most of the municipalities in Belgium, the ones located in the Brussels-Capital Region were not merged with others during mergers occurring in 1964, 1970, and 1975. However, many territorial changes have occurred, predominantly between the City of Brussels and its neighbouring municipalities.

Anderlecht (French: [ɑ̃dœʁlɛkt] ; Dutch: [ˈɑndərlɛxt] ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the Flemish municipalities of Dilbeek and Sint-Pieters-Leeuw. In common with all of Brussels' municipalities, it is legally bilingual (French–Dutch).

There are several historically and architecturally distinct districts within Anderlecht. As of 1 January 2024, the municipality had a population of 126,581 inhabitants. The total area is 17.91 km (6.92 sq mi), which gives a population density of 7,066/km (18,300/sq mi). Its upper area is greener and less densely populated.

Flemish (Vlaams [vlaːms] ) is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (Vlaams-Nederlands), Belgian Dutch (Belgisch-Nederlands [ˈbɛlɣis ˈneːdərlɑnts] ), or Southern Dutch (Zuid-Nederlands). Flemish is native to the region known as Flanders in northern Belgium; it is spoken by Flemings, the dominant ethnic group of the region. Outside of Belgium Flanders, it is also spoken to some extent in French Flanders and the Dutch Zeelandic Flanders.

Haren (French: [aʁœn] ; Dutch: [ˈɦaːrə(n)] ; sometimes written Haeren in French) is a former municipality of Brussels, Belgium, that was merged into the City of Brussels in 1921. It is an outlying part of the municipality and is situated at the north-eastern edge of the Brussels-Capital Region, bordering Machelen outside the boundary. Haren's postal code is 1130.

In contrast to most of Brussels, Haren has maintained nearly as many Dutch-speakers as French-speakers and has preserved a somewhat rural appearance.

Laeken (French, pronounced [lakœn] ) or Laken (Dutch, pronounced [ˈlaːkə(n)] ) is a residential suburb in the north-western part of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. It belongs to the municipality of the City of Brussels and is mostly identified by the Belgian postal code: 1020. Prior to 1921, it was a separate municipality.

The Bois de la Cambre (French, pronounced [bwa d(ə) la kɑ̃bʁ]) or Ter Kamerenbos (Dutch, pronounced [tɛr ˈkaːmərə(m)bɔs]) is an urban public park in Brussels, Belgium. It lies in the south of the Brussels-Capital Region, in the City of Brussels, and covers an area of 1.23 km (0.47 sq mi), forming a natural offshoot of the Sonian Forest, which penetrates deep into the city in the south-east of Brussels. It is linked to the rest of the municipality by the Avenue Louise/Louizalaan, which was built in 1861, at the same time the park was laid out.

The park consists of two large, slightly oval parts. The northern part is the most wooded and is home to some 19th-century buildings. The southern part comprises a 6-hectare-large (15-acre) artificial lake with an island in its centre, called Robinson Island, home to the Chalet Robinson.

The Parliament of Wallonia (French: Parlement de Wallonie, pronounced [paʁləmɑ̃ də walɔni]), or the Walloon Parliament (Parlement wallon, [paʁləmɑ̃ walɔ̃]) in the decrees, is the legislative body of Wallonia, one of the three self-governing regions of Belgium (the other two being Flanders and the Brussels-Capital Region). The parliament building, the former Hospice Saint-Gilles, is situated in Namur, the capital of Wallonia, at the symbolic confluence of the Meuse and the Sambre, the two main rivers of the most inhabited parts of Wallonia, the Sillon industriel. On the other side of the Meuse, facing the Parliament, is the Élysette, the seat of the Government of Wallonia.

Flemish Brabant (Dutch: Vlaams-Brabant [ˌvlaːmz ˈbraːbɑnt] ; French: Brabant flamand [bʁabɑ̃ flamɑ̃] ) is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on (clockwise from the North) the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Hainaut and East Flanders. Flemish Brabant also surrounds the Brussels-Capital Region. Its capital is Leuven. It has an area of 2,118 km (818 sq mi) which is divided into two administrative districts (arrondissementen in Dutch) containing 65 municipalities. As of January 2024, Flemish Brabant had a population of over 1.19 million.

Flemish Brabant was created in 1995 by the splitting of the former province of Brabant into three parts: two new provinces, Flemish Brabant and Walloon Brabant; and the Brussels-Capital Region, which no longer belongs to any province. The split was made to accommodate the eventual division of Belgium in three regions (Flanders, Wallonia and the Brussels-Capital Region).

The Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region (French: Parlement de la Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; Dutch: Parlement van het Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest) is the governing body of the Brussels-Capital Region, one of the three federated regions of Belgium. It is also known as the Brussels Regional Parliament (French: Parlement régional bruxellois; Dutch: Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Parlement), or simply the Brussels Parliament (French: Parlement bruxellois; Dutch: Brussels Parlement).

Brabantian or Brabantish, also Brabantic or Brabantine (Dutch: Brabants, Standard Dutch pronunciation: [ˈbraːbɑnts] , Brabantian pronunciation: [ˈbrɑːbans]), is a dialect group of the Dutch language. It is named after the historical Duchy of Brabant, which corresponded mainly to the Dutch province of North Brabant, the Belgian provinces of Antwerp and Flemish Brabant as well as the Brussels-Capital Region (Brusselian; where its native speakers have become a minority) and the province of Walloon Brabant. Brabantian expands into small parts in the west of Limburg, and its strong influence on the Flemish dialects in East Flanders weakens toward the west. In a small area in the northwest of North Brabant (Willemstad), Hollandic is spoken. Conventionally, the Kleverlandish dialects are distinguished from Brabantian, but for no reason other than geography.

Over the relatively-large area in which it is spoken, Brabantian can be roughly divided into three subdialects, all of which differ in some aspects:

The Province of Brabant (/brəˈbænt/, US also /brəˈbɑːnt, ˈbrɑːbənt/; Dutch: [ˈbraːbɑnt] ) was a province in Belgium from 1830 to 1995. It was created in 1815 as South Brabant, part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. In 1995, it was split into the Dutch-speaking Flemish Brabant, the French-speaking Walloon Brabant and the bilingual Brussels-Capital Region.