Belgium

Facts

Population:  10,258,762 (July 2001 est.)
Age structure:  0-14 years:  17.48% (male 916,957; female 876,029) 15-64 years:  65.57% (male 3,390,145; female 3,336,908) 65 years and over:  16.95% (male 709,212; female 1,029,511) (2001 est.)
Population growth rate:  0.16% (2001 est.)
Birth rate:  10.74 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Death rate:  10.1 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Net migration rate:  0.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Sex ratio:  at birth:  1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years:  1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years:  1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over:  0.69 male(s)/female total population:  0.96 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Infant mortality rate:  4.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:  total population:  77.96 years male:  74.63 years female:  81.46 years (2001 est.)
Total fertility rate:  1.61 children born/woman (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:  0.15% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:  7,700 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:  less than 100 (1999 est.)
Nationality:  noun:  Belgian(s) adjective:  Belgian
Ethnic groups:  Fleming 58%, Walloon 31%, mixed or other 11%
Religions:  Roman Catholic 75%, Protestant or other 25%
Languages:  Dutch 58%, French 32%, German 10%, legally bilingual (Dutch and French)
Literacy:  definition:  age 15 and over can read and write total population:  98% male:  NA% female:  NA%
GDP:  purchasing power parity - $259.2 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:  4.1% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita:  purchasing power parity - $25,300 (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:  agriculture:  1.4% industry:  26% services:  72.6% (2000 est.)
Population below poverty line:  4%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:  lowest 10%:  3.7% highest 10%:  20.2% (1992)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):  2.2% (2000 est.)
Labor force:  4.34 million (1999)
Labor force - by occupation:  services 73%, industry 25%, agriculture 2% (1999 est.)
Unemployment rate:  8.4% (2000 est.)
Budget:  revenues:  $114.8 billion expenditures:  $117 billion, including capital expenditures of $7.6 billion (1999)
Industries:  engineering and metal products, motor vehicle assembly, processed food and beverages, chemicals, basic metals, textiles, glass, petroleum, coal
Industrial production growth rate:  5.5% (2000 est.)
Electricity - production:  79.829 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - production by source:  fossil fuel:  40.01% hydro:  0.42% nuclear:  58.33% other:  1.24% (1999)
Electricity - consumption:  75.089 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - exports:  8.207 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - imports:  9.055 billion kWh (1999)
Agriculture - products:  sugar beets, fresh vegetables, fruits, grain, tobacco; beef, veal, pork, milk
Exports:  $181.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000)
Exports - commodities:  machinery and equipment, chemicals, diamonds, metals and metal products
Exports - partners:  EU 76% (Germany 18%, France 18%, Netherlands 12%, UK 10%) (1999)
Imports:  $166 billion (c.i.f., 2000)
Imports - commodities:  machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals and metal products
Imports - partners:  EU 71% (Germany 18%, Netherlands 17%, France 14%, UK 9%) (1999)
Debt - external:  $28.3 billion (1999 est.) Economic aid - donor: ODA, $764 million (1997)
Currency:  Belgian franc (BEF); euro (EUR) note:  on 1 January 1999, the EU introduced the euro as a common currency that is now being used by financial institutions in Belgium at a fixed rate of 40.3399 Belgian francs per euro and will replace the local currency for all transactions in 2002
Currency code:  BEF; EUR
Exchange rates:  euros per US dollar - 1.0659 (January 2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); Belgian francs per US dollar - 34.77 (January 1999), 36.229 (1998), 35.774 (1997), 30.962 (1996)
Fiscal year:  calendar year

Statistics: CIA World Factbook.

Press

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