int: North Sea 0 m
highest point: Signal de Botrange 694 m

Natural resources: coal, natural gas

Land use:
arable land: 24%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 20%
forests and woodland: 21%
other: 34%

Irrigated land: 10 sq km including Luxembourg (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: flooding is a threat in areas of reclaimed coastal
land, protected from the sea by concrete dikes

Environment-current issues: Meuse River, a major source of drinking
water, polluted from steel production wastes; other rivers polluted by
animal wastes and fertilizers; industrial air pollution contributes to
acid rain in neighboring countries

Environment-international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85,
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental
Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life
Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Law of
the Sea

Geography-note: crossroads of Western Europe; majority of West
European capitals within 1,000 km of Brussels which is the seat of
both the EU and NATO

@Belgium:People

Population: 10,174,922 (July 1998 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 17% (male 903,954; female 860,940)
15-64 years: 66% (male 3,387,329; female 3,318,221)
65 years and over: 17% (male 693,519; female 1,010,959) (July 1998
est.)

Population growth rate: 0.09% (1998 est.)

Birth rate: 10.21 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Death rate: 10.41 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Net migration rate: 1.05 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female (1998 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 6.27 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 77.35 years
male: 74.13 years
female: 80.74 years (1998 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.49 children born/woman (1998 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Belgian(s)
adjective: Belgian

Ethnic groups: Fleming 55%, Walloon 33%, mixed or other 12%

Religions: Roman Catholic 75%, Protestant or other 25%

Languages: Flemish 56%, French 32%, German 1%, legally bilingual 11%