Population: 10,258,762 (July 2001 est.)

Languages: Dutch 58%, French 32%, German 10%, legally bilingual (Dutch and French)

Background: Belgium became independent from the Netherlands in 1830 and was occupied by Germany during World Wars I and II. It has prospered in the past half century as a modern, technologically advanced European state and member of NATO and the EU. Tensions...

Currency: Euro (EUR, EUR (€0.75 = US$1))

Data from CIA World Factbook. Click on CIA link for more. Click on map or flag for larger images.