Kingdom of Belgium (A New World)

Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Western Europe. It is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the southwest, and the North Sea to the northwest. It covers an area of 30,689 km2 (11,849 sq mi) and has a population of more than 9.5 million, making it the 6th most densely populated country in Europe.
Legally, Belgium is a sovereign state and a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system. Its institutional organization is complex and is structured on both regional and linguistic grounds. It is divided into three highly autonomous regions: the Flemish Region in the north, Wallonia in the south, and the Brussels-Capital Region. Brussels is the smallest and most densely populated region, as well as the richest region in terms of GDP per capita.
Belgium is home to two main linguistic groups or communities: the Dutch-speaking Flemish Community, which constitutes about 60 percent of the population, and the French-speaking Community, which comprises about 40 percent of all Belgians. A small German-speaking Community, numbering around one percent, exists in the East Cantons. The Brussels-Capital Region is officially bilingual (French and Dutch), although French is the dominant language. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in its political history and complex system of governance, made up of six different governments.
Belgium is one of the founding members of the Reformed NATO and it's successor, the United Defense Coalition (UDC), Brussels hosted one of the UDC Headquarters, the former NATO headquarters building.
== Politics ==
Belgium is a constitutional, popular monarchy and a federal parliamentary democracy. The bicameral federal parliament is composed of a Senate and a Chamber of Representatives. The former is made up of 50 senators appointed by the parliaments of the communities and regions and 10 co-opted senators. The Chamber's 150 representatives are elected under a proportional voting system from 11 electoral districts. Belgium has compulsory voting and thus maintains one of the highest rates of voter turnout in the world.
the Queen of the Belgians, Elisabeth (which is the first Queen of Belgium), are the head of state. She appoints ministers, including a Prime Minister, that have the confidence of the Chamber of Representatives to form the federal government. The Council of Ministers is composed of no more than fifteen members. With the possible exception of the Prime Minister, the Council of Ministers is composed of an equal number of Dutch-speaking members and French-speaking members. The judicial system is based on civil law and originates from the Napoleonic code. The Court of Cassation is the court of last resort, with the courts of appeal one level below.
since 2028, no political parties take form in Belgium, since the country became Non-Partisan Democracy as the result of Authoritarian Regime supported by Russia and China for 3 years.
=== Communities and regions ===
Following a usage which can be traced back to the Burgundian and Habsburg courts, in the 19th century it was necessary to speak French to belong to the governing upper class, and those who could only speak Dutch were effectively second-class citizens. Late that century, and continuing into the 20th century, Flemish movements evolved to counter this situation.
While the people in Southern Belgium spoke French or dialects of French, and most Brusselers adopted French as their first language, the Flemings refused to do so and succeeded progressively in making Dutch an equal language in the education system. Following World War II, Belgian politics became increasingly dominated by the autonomy of its two main linguistic communities. Intercommunal tensions rose and the constitution was amended to minimize the potential for conflict, the tension furthered worsen when an Pro-Russian Flemish Nationalist Political Party rose to the government.
however, following an leaked document that shows the connection between the governing party and Russia are shown to the public, known to be known in Belgium as "Vlaams schandaal" or "Flemish Scandal" in English, the Flemish Community, who supported the government party, became disillusioned, and joined forces with French and German Community along with Discriminated Minorities to protests the Current Government, Demanding Democratisation and the Prime Minister to step down, after few months of protests, and defections from government officials into the Democratic Faction, and King Philippe who publicly support the Democratic Faction, the Prime Minister of the Pro-Russia Party were forced to step down, and the Authoritarian Government was dissolved by the King, as part of the result of the European Democratic Protests, as the result, Russia deployed the Valkyur Bioweapon through Europe, Belgium Included. following the aftermath, Neo-Human was born in Belgium, and entire Western, Mediterranian, and Northern Europe as a whole. afterward, people in Belgium were considered themselves "Belgians" rather than identified themselves as "Flemish" or French and German Communities.
there are three regions in Belgium:
* the Flemish Region, subdivided into five provinces;
* the Walloon Region, subdivided into five provinces;
* the Brussels-Capital Region.
=== Foreign Relation ===
Because of its location at the crossroads of Western Europe, Belgium has historically been the route of invading armies from its larger neighbors. With virtually defenseless borders, Belgium has traditionally sought to avoid domination by the more powerful nations which surround it through a policy of mediation. in WWIII, Belgium was part of the NATO Multinational Forces that fought against Russia and China in Europe and Pacific Theater. one of the UDC Headquarters are in Belgium.
=== Armed Forces ===
Main Article: Belgian Armed Forces (A New World)
The Belgian Armed Forces have about 52,000 active troops in 2110. They are organized into one unified structure which consists of four main components: Land Component, or the Army; Air Component, or the Air Force; Marine Component, or the Navy; Medical Component. The operational commands of the four components are subordinate to the Staff Department for Operations and Training of the Ministry of Defense, which is headed by the Assistant Chief of Staff Operations and Training, and to the Chief of Defense.
The effects of the Second World War made collective security a priority for Belgian foreign policy. In March 1948 Belgium signed the Treaty of Brussels and then joined NATO in 1948. However, the integration of the armed forces into NATO did not begin until after the Korean War. The Belgians, along with the Luxembourg government, sent a detachment of battalion strength to fight in Korea known as the Belgian United Nations Command. This mission was the first in a long line of UN missions which the Belgians supported. in 2029, NATO was reformed, and Belgium once again became one of it's members. and it's military have been closely working together with NATO Militaries and fought in Poland, Belarus, Baltic, Russia, Japan, Korea, and China. currently, it's members are part of UDC peacekeeping forces in Japan and Korea.
== Economy ==
Belgium adopt the same economy system as in America Federation days after the reestablishment. Its location at the heart of a highly industrialized region helped make it one of the largest trading nations in Europe. the economy is characterized by a highly productive work force, high GNP and high exports per capita. Belgium's main imports are raw materials, machinery and equipment, chemicals, raw diamonds, pharmaceuticals, foodstuffs, transportation equipment, and oil products. Its main exports are machinery and equipment, chemicals, finished diamonds, metals and metal products, and foodstuffs.
Like in most small European countries, more than 80% of the airways traffic is handled by a single airport, the Brussels Airport. The ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge (Bruges) share more than 80% of Belgian maritime traffic.
There is once a large economic gap between Flanders and Wallonia. Wallonia was historically wealthy compared to Flanders, mostly due to its heavy industries, but the decline of the steel industry post-World War II led to the region's rapid decline, whereas Flanders rose swiftly. Since then, Flanders has been prosperous, among the wealthiest regions in Europe, whereas Wallonia has been languishing. however, the gap was sharply narrow into none after both regions experienced post-WWIII economic growth, fueled by the rise of Coil Industry. now both Flanders and Wallonia region make up of 80% of Coil Production in Belgium, became one of the largest coil producers in Europe.
=== Science and technology ===
Contributions to the development of science and technology have appeared throughout the country's history. The 16th century Early Modern flourishing of Western Europe included cartographer Gerardus Mercator, anatomist Andreas Vesalius, herbalist Rembert Dodoens and mathematician Simon Stevin among the most influential scientists.
Chemist Ernest Solvay and engineer Zenobe Gramme (École industrielle de Liège) gave their names to the Solvay process and the Gramme dynamo, respectively, in the 1860s. Bakelite was developed in 1907–1909 by Leo Baekeland. Ernest Solvay also acted as a major philanthropist and gave its name to the Solvay Institute of Sociology, the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management and the International Solvay Institutes for Physics and Chemistry which are now part of the Université libre de Bruxelles. In 1911, he started a series of conferences, the Solvay Conferences on Physics and Chemistry, which have had a deep impact on the evolution of quantum physics and chemistry. A major contribution to fundamental science was also due to a Belgian, Monsignor Georges Lemaître (Catholic University of Louvain), who is credited with proposing the Big Bang theory of the origin of the universe in 1927.
== Demographics ==
as of 2110, the total population of Belgium according to its population register was 9.678.120. The most densely populated province is Antwerp, the least densely populated province is Luxembourg. average total fertility rate is very stable after experiencing Post-WWIII Baby Boom.
=== Ethnic Groups ===
The country Neo-Human Population is split ethnically into 3, Flemish, French, and Germans. others such as Italians, Dutch, Portuguese, Spaniard, Poles and others are make up the rest of the population.
as the consequence of the Bioweapon Attack, ethnic groups such as Moroccans, Turks, Kurds, Greeks, Algerians, Congolese, Vietnamese, Indians, and Guineans suffered massive population drop, thus making Belgium one of the hardest hit nations in Europe by Valkyur Bioweapon Attack.
=== Languages ===
Belgium has three official languages: Dutch, French and German. Both Belgian Dutch and Belgian French have minor differences in vocabulary and semantic nuances from the varieties spoken respectively in the Netherlands and France. Many Flemish people still speak dialects of Dutch in their local environment. Walloon, considered either as a dialect of French or a distinct Romance language, is now only understood and spoken occasionally. Walloon is divided into four dialects, which along with those of Picard, are rarely used in public life and have largely been replaced by French.
=== Religion ===
Belgium is an Atheist Nations, religions such as Christianity began to decline in numbers, with only Human Minority still adhered it.
=== Health ===
Life expectancy in Belgium were 122,6 years. Healthcare in Belgium is financed through both social security contributions and taxation. Health insurance is compulsory. Health care is delivered by a mixed public and private system of independent medical practitioners and public, university and semi-private hospitals.
The Belgian health care system is supervised and financed by the federal government, the Flemish and Walloon Regional governments; and the German Community also has (indirect) oversight and responsibilities.
Historically, Belgium has the highest suicide rate in Western Europe and one of the highest suicide rates in the developed world. but after 2028, the suicide rate are sharply dropped to non-existant, shortly after the knowledges about Neo-Human came to light for Belgium Citizens.
=== Education ===
Education is compulsory from 6 to 18 years of age for Belgians. Education in Belgium is regulated and for the most part financed by one of the three communities: Flemish, French and German-speaking. Each community has its own school system, with small differences among them. The federal government plays a very small role: it decides directly the age for mandatory schooling and indirectly the financing of the communities.
== Culture ==
Despite its political and linguistic divisions, the region corresponding to today's Belgium has seen the flourishing of major artistic movements that have had tremendous influence on European art and culture. Nowadays, to a certain extent, cultural life is concentrated within each language Community, and a variety of barriers have made a shared cultural sphere less pronounced. Since the 1970s, there are no bilingual universities or colleges in the country except the Royal Military Academy and the Antwerp Maritime Academy.
=== Folklore ===
Folklore plays a major role in Belgium's cultural life: the country has a comparatively high number of processions, cavalcades, parades, 'ommegangs' and 'ducasses', 'kermesse' and other local festivals, nearly always with an originally religious or mythological background. The Carnival of Binche with its famous Gilles and the 'Processional Giants and Dragons' of Ath, Brussels, Dendermonde, Mechelen and Mons are recognized by UDC.
Other examples are the Carnival of Aalst; the still very religious processions of the Holy Blood in Bruges, Virga Jesse Basilica in Hasselt and Basilica of Our Lady of Hanswijk in Mechelen; 15 August festival in Liège; and the Walloon festival in Namur. Originated in 1832 and revived in the 1960s, the Gentse Feesten have become a modern tradition. A major non-official holiday is the Saint Nicholas Day, a festivity for children and, in Liège, for students
=== Cuisine ===
Many highly ranked Belgian restaurants can be found in the most influential restaurant guides, such as the Michelin Guide. Belgium is famous for beer, chocolate, waffles and french fries with mayonnaise. Contrary to their name, french fries are claimed to have originated in Belgium, although their exact place of origin is uncertain. The national dishes are "steak and fries with salad", and "mussels with fries".
Brands of Belgian chocolate and pralines, like Côte d'Or, Neuhaus, Leonidas and Godiva are famous, as well as independent producers such as Burie and Del Rey in Antwerp and Mary's in Brussels. Belgium produces over 1100 varieties of beer. The Trappist beer of the Abbey of Westvleteren has repeatedly been rated the world's best beer. The biggest brewer in the world by volume is Anheuser-Busch InBev, based in Leuven.
=== Sports ===
Since the 1970s, sports clubs and federations are organized separately within each language community. Association football is the most popular sport in both parts of Belgium; also very popular are cycling, tennis, swimming, judo and basketball.
Belgians hold the most Tour de France victories of any country except France. They have also the most victories on the UCI Road World Championships. Philippe Gilbert is the 2012 world champion. Another modern well-known Belgian cyclist is Tom Boonen. With five victories in the Tour de France and numerous other cycling records, Belgian cyclist Eddy Merckx is regarded as one of the greatest cyclists of all time. Jean-Marie Pfaff, a former Belgian goalkeeper, is considered one of the greatest in the history of association football.
The Spa-Francorchamps motor-racing circuit hosts the Formula One World Championship Belgian Grand Prix.
Category:A New World
Category:Belgium
Category:Nations