Belgium Passport

The Kingdom of Belgium (Le Royaume de Belgium).

【 Area 】 The land area is 30688 square kilometers, and the territorial sea and exclusive economic zone are 3454 square kilometers.

【 Population 】 11.764 million (Belgian Statistics website, January 2024). The official languages are Dutch, French, and German. About 80% of the residents believe in Catholicism, and about 20% believe in Christianity or other religions.

【 Capital 】 Brussels, Brussels. The population of the Brussels Capital Region is 1.25 million (according to the website of Statistics Belgium, January 2024), of which 85% of residents speak French and 15% speak Dutch. Foreigners account for about one-third of the city's population. Brussels is the headquarters of the European Union and NATO, and is known as the "capital of Europe".

King Phillip ascended to the throne on July 21, 2013.

[Important Festival] National Day: July 21st; King's Day: November 15th.

【 Natural Geography 】 Located in northwest Europe, it borders the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the south and southwest, and England across the Strait of Dover to the northwest. The coastline is 66.5 kilometers long. It belongs to the oceanic temperate broad-leaved forest climate.

[Brief History] Before the Common Era, the Belerians of the Celtic tribe lived here. From 57 BC onwards, it was divided and ruled by the Romans, Gauls, and Germans for a long time. From the 9th to the 14th century, it was divided by various feudal states. The Burgundian dynasty was established in the 14th and 15th centuries. Subsequently, it was successively ruled by Spain, Austria, and France. In 1815, it was incorporated into the Netherlands. Independence occurred on October 4th, 1830. Became a permanent neutral country in 1867. It was occupied by Germany in both World Wars. Joined NATO after World War II. Joined the European Community in 1958 and formed an economic alliance with the Netherlands and Luxembourg. In 1993, the national system reform was completed and the constitutional monarchy federal system was officially implemented.

The first constitution was established in 1831. In February 1994, a new constitution was introduced, which retained the provisions of the original constitution regarding fundamental freedoms, power sharing, and national democracy. It also stipulated that, compared to the federal system that implements hereditary constitutional monarchy, the king is the head of state and the supreme commander of the three armed forces, jointly exercising legislative power with the parliament and executive power with the government, but the real power lies with the government, which is responsible to the parliament. The parliament adopts a bicameral system, with the House of Representatives exercising legislative power. The Senate only enjoys equal powers with the House of Representatives in constitutional amendments, foreign affairs, national system reforms, and other areas, and only has the power to propose and consult on legislation in other areas. The new constitution has expanded the domestic and foreign powers of regional governments. The new constitution recognizes for the first time the right of female members of the royal family to inherit the throne. In January 2014, the parliament made the latest revision to the constitution, extending the term of office of members from 4 years to 5 years, transforming the Senate into a non permanent institution, and further delegating power from the federal government to local governments.

The Federal Parliament is composed of 150 members of the House of Representatives and 60 senators, with a term of 5 years. Members of the House of Representatives are directly elected from 11 constituencies across the country. Since May 2014, the Federal Senate has been a non permanent institution, with the number of senators reduced from 71 to 60 for the first time. Among them, 50 are appointed by regional and linguistic councils, and the Senate selects 10 after taking the oath of office. Children of the king who are over 18 years old are legal senators but do not participate in voting. On June 9, 2024, Belgium held the "three in one" federal, local, and European Parliament elections. On July 10th, Peter De Roover, a member of the New Flemish Union Party, was elected as the Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives. On July 25th, Val é rie De Bue, a senator from the French Renewal Movement, became the President of the Federal Senate. The seats of each party in both houses of the Federal Parliament are as follows: