Belgium is a Western European country that is still a kingdom today. The federal state is one of the six founding member of the European Union. Belgium consists of three regions Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels-Capital Region, which is home to the capital, which also serves as the headquarters of the European Union.
Belgium has a population of just over 11 million, borders France, the Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg and the country has access to the North Sea. Together with Luxembourg and the Netherlands, Belgium forms the Benelux Union.
Internationally, Belgium is probably best known for three food products: fries, waffles and chocolate.
The European state is also notorious for its beer culture, which was added to the list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity by UNESCO in 2016.
The 224 active Belgian breweries produce well over 1000 different beers. In 2016, 20,616,000 hl of beer was produced in Belgium. The quantity corresponds approximately to the production volume of France and the Czech Republic and is only slightly below that of the Netherlands. For comparison, the largest beer producer, Germany, produced 94,957,000 hl in the same year.
More than two thirds of the beer produced in Belgium is exported. Belgium is also the second largest exporter of chocolate and processed potatoes.
The three regions all have their own cultural background, as can be seen from their surnames. Flanders is influenced by the Dutch language, Wallonia is more French. The most common surname in Flanders is Peeters, in Wallonia it is Dubois and in the Brussels-Capital region it is the name Janssens.
