Belgium is a small country, highly developed and populated, in Western Europe. The name 'Belgium' is derived from Gallia Belgica, a Roman province in northern Gaul, which was inhabited by the Belgae, a mix of German and Celtic people.
This country is a federal state with three relatively autonomous regions: Flanders in the north, where the spoken language is Dutch, in the south the French Wallonia, and Brussels is the center, which is officially a bilingual city.
From the late Middle Ages until the seventeenth century, Belgium was a prosperous center of commerce and culture.
Belgium is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, and other important international organizations including NATO.
Official name: Kingdom of Belgium
International Code: BE
Geographic location: Western Europe
Area: 30,528 km ²
Capital: Brussels
Climate: Moderate
Time zone: UTC + 1 hour