| |
| |
Belgium |
 | | Belgium is at a cultural crossroad between the Germanic Europe (with Dutch speakers in the North, the Flemings) and the Romance Europe (with French speakers in the South, the Walloons), which is reflected in its complex institutions and political history. |
 | | Belgium is divided into three communities, the Flemish community, the French-speaking community and the German-speaking community, and in three regions: Brussels (mainly Dutch- and French-speaking, with a population of 960,000), Flanders (mainly Dutch-speaking, with a population of 6,000,000), and Wallonia (mainly French-speaking, with a population of 3,300,000). |
 | | Belgium was one of the first countries to adopt the euro, the single European currency, in January 1999 and the Belgian franc was completely replaced by euro coins and banknotes in early 2002. |
| publicliterature.org /en/wikipedia/b/be/belgium.html (2913 words) |
|