Belgium
Belgium is not a homogeneous country with one national identity. As such, it is therefore difficult to give a general overview that applies to all Belgians.
Belgium is greatly attached to democratic values, and in 1994 a revised constitution made it a federal state, giving political representation to its Dutch, French, and German cultures.
There are three regions in the federal state: Flanders in the north (with 5.8 million people) where the official language is Dutch; Wallonia in the south (with 3.3 million people) where French is the official language; and Brussels-Capital region 950,000 people) where both languages are used.
Belgium is famous for its chocolate, waffles and its cuisine in general. Did you know that Flanders has more Michelin star restaurants per capita than France?
It is the Flemish Benedictine monks that we have to thank for inventing beer.
Belgium is a member of the European Union (EU) and as such has strong trading ties with its EU partners, as well as an historic economic partnership with Luxembourg (BLEU).
Belgium also maintains close economic and cultural ties with its former African colony, the Republic of the Congo, devoting about 30 per cent of its aid budget to it.
Belgium is well equipped with clean and efficient public transportation. Metro, trams, and buses all are part of the same system at the same cost for a single ticket.
Belgium is a country divided historically, linguistically, culturally and economically. It straddles the fault-line between northern (Germanic) and southern (Latin) ethnic and cultural sub-continents in Europe.
Belgium is one of the few hereditary monarchies remaining in the Western world, ruled by King Albert II since 1993, with the help of a constitutional parliament not unlike England's. Belgium is one of the founding members of the European Community and is the seat of NATO and its capital, Brussels, is also the capital of the EU.
It is a federal state, with 3 relatively autonomous regions: Flanders in the north, where the language is Dutch "Flemish", Wallonia in the south, where the language is French, and the centrally located Brussels, which is officially bilingual.
The Council of Ministers (Cabinet), headed by the Prime Minister, holds office as long as it retains the confidence of the lower house of the bicameral Parliament.
The majority of indigenous producers are small companies and only a handful of multinationals have made Belgium a key manufacturing site.