About Belgium & its Regions

The Kingdom of Belgium is a federal state organised into three regions (Brussels-Capital, Wallonia and Flanders) and three communities (French, Dutch and German-speaking), each with their own legislative and executive power, government and parliament.

Regions are responsible for the economy, employment, agriculture, water policy, housing, public works, energy, public transport, environment, country planning, nature conservation, rural renovation credit and foreign trade. They are also responsible for scientific research and international relations in the above-mentioned categories.

The population of Belgium is just above 10 million over a territory of 32,545 km². The main city and capital of the country is Brussels with a population of about 1 million. Other main cities are Antwerp, Liege, Ghent, Namur and Charleroi.

Belgium is a crossroads of several cultures and its central location within Europe is a strong asset, along with its well-developed infrastructure.

About Brussels
Brussels is a region on its own covering a territory of 162 km² for a population of about 1 million inhabitants. Brussels has the same powers as the two other Belgian regions, with its own government and own parliament.
The region is well known for being very international, with more than 1,500 international organisations and 2,000 international companies. It is a major decisions centre and approximately 10,000 people are actively involved in lobbying.

But local businesses are also very important, as more than 40,000 companies are active in the Brussels-Capital region. Brussels has very diversified business activities: finance, ICT, health industries, services, food, graphic and audiovisual, fashion, design and environment technologies.

Foreign trade is a capital part of Brussels’ economic life as more than 50% of the products manufactured in Brussels are exported. More than 2,200 Brussels-based companies are regular exporters and 70% of them are small to medium companies. The main products exported from Brussels are vehicles, mineral products, electrical equipment, chemicals and plastics.

Numerous congresses are held in the city and it is also an important financial hub.
Brussels has a good communication system, with the Brussels-National airport located close to the city centre, three main train stations, a good network of motorways and a seaport.
Brussels is also a scientific research centre with more than 6,000 teachers and researchers active in its 3 Universities.

Last but not least, Brussels is a major tourism and cultural place in Europe with more than 90 museums and probably one of the most beautiful squares in the world, the Grand-Place. The region has more than 3,000 restaurants and a wide-range of hotel accommodation possibilities. On top of that the city is very easy to visit with a good underground and tramway system even though almost everything is within walking distance from the city centre.

About Wallonia
Wallonia has a territory of 16,844 km² with a population of 3,358,560 inhabitants.

The region is a real European crossroads, sharing boundaries with The Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and France. The communication network is a strong asset for the region with a dense network of roads, rail and waterways. This allows the Region to be a major logistics centre and distribution hub for the European market. Another asset of Wallonia in this field is the port of Liege, Europe’s third inland port. On top of that Wallonia has two regional airports, Brussels South Charleroi Airport, connected to Ireland with Ryan Air flights to and from Dublin and Shannon, and Liège-Bierset Airport, the 11th European Airport for freight transport.

Traditionally, the region’s economy has been based on its natural resources: coal, stone, iron, water and timber. Apart from these traditional sectors and the food sector internationally known for its quality products (beers, chocolates, etc.) other sectors have been strongly developing over the last decades: aerospace and aeronautics, audiovisual, pharmaceutical, chemicals, glass and high-tech textiles, microelectronics, petrochemical, biotechnologies, ICT, etc.

Innovation and research in Wallonia are very important with 9 Universities, 300 research centres, 5 scientific parks and more than 11,000 researchers.

Small to medium-sized companies make up 95% of the economic base.