Belgium

== Belgium ==
Belgium (i/ˈbɛldʒəm/; Dutch: België  [ˈbɛlɣijə]; French: Belgique  [bɛlʒik]; German: Belgien  [ˈbɛlɡiən]), officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a sovereign state in western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters as well as those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.[nb 1] Belgium covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres (11,787 sq mi) and has a population of about 11 million people.
Straddling the cultural boundary between Germanic and Latin Europe, Belgium is home to two main linguistic groups: the Dutch-speaking, mostly Flemish community, which constitutes about 59% of the population, and the French-speaking, mostly Walloon population, which comprises 41% of all Belgians. Additionally, there is a small group of German-speakers who are officially recognized.
Belgium is a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. Its two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region, officially bilingual, is a mostly French-speaking enclave within the Flemish Region.[6] A German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia.[7][8] Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in its political history and complex system of government.[9][10]
Historically, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg were known as the Low Countries; it once covered a somewhat larger area than the current Benelux group of states. The region was called Belgica in Latin, after the Roman province of Gallia Belgica, which covered more or less the same area. From the end of the Middle Ages
 until the 17th century, the area of Belgium was a prosperous and 
cosmopolitan centre of commerce and culture. From the 16th century until
 the Belgian Revolution in 1830, when Belgium seceded from the Netherlands,
 the area of Belgium served as the battleground between many European 
powers, causing it to be dubbed the "Battlefield of Europe,"[11] a reputation strengthened by both World Wars.
Upon its independence, Belgium participated in the Industrial Revolution[12][13] and, during the course of the 20th century, possessed a number of colonies in Africa.[14]
 The second half of the 20th century was marked by rising tensions 
between the Dutch-speaking and the French-speaking citizens fueled by differences in language and the unequal economic development of Flanders and Wallonia. This continuing antagonism has led to several far-reaching reforms,
 resulting in a transition from a unitary to a federal arrangement 
during the period from 1970 to 1993. Despite the reforms, tensions 
between the groups remain; the formation of a coalition government took 
18 months following the June 2010 federal election.[15]
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