The Country of Belgium Research Paper

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Belgium

The following will take a look at the location known as Belgium.

Location

(Britannica: Belgium)

Belgium, located in European continent, covers 250 sq. kilometer of water and 30, 278 sq. kilometer of land, which makes it 142nd nation with an area of 30,528 sq. kilometers (Where is Belgium? / Where is Belgium Located in The World? / Belgium Map - WorldAtlas.com, n.d). The land border of Belgium is shared with four countries, which are Netherlands, Luxembourg, France and Germany. The capital of Belgium is Brussels and the total population is almost 1,019,022. The country is located on the longitude of 4.35 and latitude of 50.85. Brussels is considered to be the political center of the country and also a constitutional monarchy as well as home to the state head.

Physiography

Belgium's climate is stated to be cloudy, humid, rainy with cool summers and mild winters, which is considered a C, according to the Koppen Climate Classification System (KCCS) (The Koppen climate classification system, n.d). The environment of Belgium faces extreme pressures from the activities of the people there like cultivation, high level animal crop and breeding, urbanization, industry and dense network of transportation. The neighboring countries of Belgium also face consequences for water and air pollution and apprehensions in the regional and federal responsibilities (which have now been resolved) have previously slowed the progress in overcoming the environmental issues (Geography and Map of Belgium, n.d). One of the major threats facing Belgium is flooding in the coastal land, which is protected by concrete dikes form the sea and along the rivers. The terrain of Belgium in the North West is explained as flat coastal plain, with rugged mountains and central rolling hills of the Ardennes Forest in the south.

Culture

(Brussels Belgium)

Belgium's streets have a lot of examples of its traditional architecture, including a classic like Romanesque Collegiale Saint Gertrude de Nivelles, which has been standing since the year 1046. Some other traditional architectures of the country are Baroque Brussels Grand Place and Cathedrale Notre Dame de Tourni. Belgium consists of a very rich legacy of art that can be clearly seen in the architecture standing throughout the country as well as in the museums (Belgian Culture, 2010). Some of the most important regional museums are the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, and Groeninge Museum in Antwerp and PlantinMoretus, and Bruges, which showcase a true picture of Belgian arts.

Belgium is considered as one of the most densely populated and urbanized countries around the world where in 2000 ninety seven percent of the total ten million people live in the cities. Brussels, which is the capital of Belgium, has a population of almost one million people and Antwerp has a population of 1/2 million people. The northern and central parts of Belgium are home to small and medium sized dense cities where people might live in one city and work in another city. Ten percent of the population of Belgium lives in Brussels, thirty five percent in Wallonia and fifty five percent lives in Flanders (Culture of Belgium - history, people, women, beliefs, food, customs, family, social, marriage, n.d). The cultural diversity of the nation is rich with local and international immigrants. There is a high amount of people named Walloon in the north and Flemish in the south, while in almost a century, the major number of immigrants comprise of the Jew community, especially Poles and Antwerp. The Jews migrated to these cities in the 1930s after communism fell. In the 1930s and the 1950s, the Italians arrived in the country, while in the 1960s Turks and North Africans migrated to the country. Recently, many other migrants from the EU have come to Belgium and working in NATO HQs and EU institutions. The noncitizens of Belgium have a population of twenty eight percent in Brussels and fifteen percent in the entire country (Culture of Belgium - history, people, women, beliefs, food, customs, family, social, marriage, n.d).

Belgium's official and main languages are French and Dutch, but German is also widely recognized in the country, however, it is not used in the country's administration. The feudal lords belonging to the French origin introduced French as the language of the elite, especially the Dukes of Burgundy. They chose Belgium as their home country and resided there. The Bourgeoisie adopted French in the 18th century and it was taken to be the official language in 1830 (Culture of Belgium - history, people, women, beliefs, food, customs, family, social, marriage, n.d). French took over in Brussels and Wallonia through social promotion and education, however, Flanders did not adopt it completely.

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Romance dialects in Wallonia were used, but they were not provided with the official status. Brussels had a strong influence of French even though it was at first a Flemish city, while Dutch is spoken by only 10th of the population. Flemish, commonly known as Dutch, is spoken in Flanders and the official unity of this language is also guaranteed by Taalunie (an official institute). Flemish dialects are diverse and provide different pronunciation and vocabulary. French is spoken by the upper middle and upper class in Flanders (Culture of Belgium - history, people, women, beliefs, food, customs, family, social, marriage, n.d).

Foreign trade plays a huge role in Belgium and the country is highly dependent on it. In the 1960s, the coal mines in Belgium closed down so the country has to import fuel even though it is not considered to be a nuclear producer. Agriculture also plays an important role in the country where almost three percent of the population is working in that sector, while farm production is very extreme. Belgium is still not over its closing of coal mines and steel plants and the economy of the north which is traditionally based on textile and trade has done a lot better. Diamond is high in Belgium where the yearly turnover in 1996 was twenty three billion American dollars and contributed around three billion American dollars to the country. The country also produced minerals, marble, silica sand, sulfate, sodium, whiting, dolomite and limestone. Belgian agriculture has livestock raising which accounts for sixty percent of the country's source of income (Culture of Belgium - history, people, women, beliefs, food, customs, family, social, marriage, n.d). There were around 22, 000 horses, 147, 000 sheep, 7.4 million hogs, and 3.2 million cattle heads in 1998. Some of the very fine horse breeds are drafted by Belgium farmers, including Percherons. The country depends on trade with the countries in Europe where it has 71% imports and 76% exports. Nuclear produces more than half of the energy of the country, so it depends less on the fossil fuel imports. Trade is mostly done in machinery, metal products and chemicals. In the previous years, there has been an increase in university spin offs, which reinforced the export of high technology products in Belgium.

Belgium is a state with three languages and has control of education and culture among which its 3 regions have a duty of controlling the environment, infrastructure and economic development. The institutions in Flanders of Flemish and Dutch region have merged, leaving the country with six parliaments and governments (Culture of Belgium - history, people, women, beliefs, food, customs, family, social, marriage, n.d). This structure of Belgium has increased the country's federalization that has resulted in demands for autonomy in culture and language, including economic and local establishments. The main political parties of Belgium are Christian Democrats, Socialists and Liberals, which have the support of regional parties like Vlaams Blok and VolksUnie in Flanders. However, in some communes, especially in the linguistic borders, Flemish, Francophone and Brussels parties form Samenor Union des Franophones, which are cross political unions.

( Belgium -- Tourist Destinations)

Current Events

The country is the center of scientific development, both in medical equipment and in biotechnology. Fleurus is a major project recently in which MDS Nordion opened an intuition for producing F18 FDG radiopharmaceutical to be used in PET imaging (positron emission tomography). This new institution is being used in hospitals in Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, France and Belgium (Belgium: Well Connected: Belgium advances key sectors by virtue of its literal and collaborative links to other nations, n.d). Belgium was ranked ninth globally by the World Bank Logistics Performance Index and the study was on the global survey of ground operators (express carriers and global freight forwarders), which provided friendly feedback on the logistics of the country. A report by Cushman and Wakefield also reported that Wallonia is Europe's top logistics. The report also included a very good access to the markets in Europe, labour and warehouses, low prices of land, and top infrastructure of transportation. In 2010, the KOF Index of Globalization also named Belgium as a globalized nation for 4th year in a row.

Belgium's environment is degrading with years because of dense population where the quality of the water is not good because of sewage treatment. Air pollution like traffic and house heating has affected the….....

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