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Belgium: capital, population, area and flag

Belgium is a country in Western Europe (Europe). Its capital is Brussels. The population is about 11.9M (#81 of 193) and the area is about 30,689 km² (#136 of 193).

Key facts

Capital
Brussels
Region
Europe / Western Europe
Population
11,941,781 (2025) #81 of 193
Total area
30,689 km² (2024) #136 of 193
Population density
388.9 people/km² (2024) #20 of 193
GDP (total)
$725B (2025) #22 of 189
GDP per capita
$60,750 (2025) #16 of 189
Life expectancy
82.3 years (2024) #25 of 193
Distance from Japan
9,449 km #106 of 192
Area compared with Japan
about 1/12 that of Japan
Population compared with Japan
about 1/10 that of Japan
Main languages
Dutch, French, German
Currency
Euro (EUR)
Calling code
+32
Time zone (capital)
UTC+1 (observes daylight saving time)
Time difference from Japan (standard time)
8 h behind Japan
Driving side
Right
Capital location
50.85°N 4.35°E

Population of Belgium, 1950–2100 (Japanese)
See past estimates, future projections and the population pyramid in the World Population Time Machine.

Map of Belgium

Map of Belgium

Capital: Brussels

Belgium: in the world’s top 10 for food & farming

Belgium ranks among the world’s top 10 for these crops, animals, seafood and farm products (latest FAO data).

Neighbors by land

Top rankings

Belgium is in the top 10 for:

Belgium in world rankings

How Belgium compares with other countries, indicator by indicator. Click an indicator to see the full ranking.

IndicatorValueYearRank
Geography & nature
Total area30,689 km²2024#136 of 193
Number of land borders4#56 of 193 tied
Latitude of the capital50.8°#17 of 193
Distance from Japan9,449 km#106 of 192
Forest area (share of land)22.0%2024#118 of 193
Arable land (share of land)28.3%2024#32 of 190
Protected land (share of land)16.4%2025#105 of 192 tied
Agricultural land (share of land)44.4%2024#79 of 192
Average annual rainfall847 mm2022#102 of 180
Freshwater resources per person1,027 m³2022#124 of 181
Forest area6,705 km²2025#135 of 193
Marine protected areas (share of territorial waters)38.3%2025#10 of 153
People & population
Population11,941,7812025#81 of 193
Population density388.9 people/km²2024#20 of 193
Population growth rate0.70%2025#114 of 193
Urban population (share of people)87.7%2025#28 of 193
Life expectancy82.3 years2024#25 of 193
Fertility rate1.44 births per woman2024#150 of 193 tied
Infant mortality rate3.1 per 1,000 births2024#165 of 192 tied
Birth rate9.2 per 1,000 people2024#155 of 193 tied
Share of people aged 65 and over21.0%2025#23 of 193
Share of children aged 0–1415.7%2025#155 of 193
Life expectancy of women84.4 years2024#24 of 193 tied
Life expectancy of men80.3 years2024#26 of 193
Maternal mortality ratio4 per 100,000 births2023#171 of 192 tied
City dwellers living in the largest city (share)20.5%2025#111 of 149
Death rate (per 1,000 people)9.5 per 1,000 people2024#46 of 193 tied
Under-5 mortality (per 1,000 births)3.7 per 1,000 births2024#165 of 192 tied
Population aged 15–64 (share of population)63.3%2025#111 of 193
Economy
GDP (total)$725B2025#22 of 189
GDP per capita$60,7502025#16 of 189
GDP per capita (PPP)$74,6762025#18 of 185
Economic growth rate1.0%2025#160 of 188
Inflation rate2.5%2025#104 of 179
Unemployment rate5.9%2025#75 of 178
Exports (share of GDP)75.5%2025#18 of 168
Imports (share of GDP)77.5%2025#20 of 168
Agriculture (share of GDP)0.7%2025#172 of 184
Industry (share of GDP)18.6%2025#132 of 185
Services (share of GDP)71.2%2025#21 of 185
Military spending (share of GDP)2.0%2025#64 of 155
Income inequality (Gini index)26.8 (0–100)2023#136 of 149 tied
Goods exports (total)$568B2025#11 of 190
Money sent home by workers abroad (share of GDP)2.3%2025#87 of 170
Women in the labor force (share of women)49.8%2025#115 of 178
Youth unemployment rate17.8%2025#60 of 178
Cereal production1,932,850 t2024#91 of 177
Cereal yield (per hectare of farmland)6,856 kg/ha2024#12 of 175
Fish and seafood production (catch + farmed)17,371 t2024#140 of 193
Fish catch (from sea, rivers and lakes)17,068 t2024#130 of 193
Aquaculture (farmed fish and seafood)303 t2024#142 of 193
Livestock production growth (2014–16 = 100)104.9 (2014–16 average = 100)2024#114 of 187
Fertilizer use (per hectare of arable land)214 kg/ha2024#33 of 187
Manufacturing (share of GDP)11.2%2025#85 of 178
Employment in agriculture (share of jobs)1.0%2025#171 of 178
High-technology exports (share of manufactured exports)19.8%2024#32 of 168
Foreign direct investment, inflows (share of GDP)-4.0%2025#184 of 187
Labor force (number of people)5,463,4722025#82 of 178
Reserves of foreign currency and gold$56.4B2025#45 of 169
Extreme poverty (share living on less than $3.00 a day)0.1%2023#111 of 132 tied
Daily life & technology
Internet users (share of people)95.8%2024#20 of 186
Mobile phone subscriptions103.9 per 100 people2024#125 of 193
Access to electricity (share of people)100.0%2024#1 of 193 tied
Health spending (share of GDP)10.8%2023#19 of 192
Education spending (share of GDP)6.3%2022#23 of 179
Hospital beds5.4 per 1,000 people2023#24 of 157
Doctors3.57 per 1,000 people2022#44 of 188
Research spending (share of GDP)3.27%2023#7 of 130
Women in parliament (share of seats)41.3%2025#24 of 192
University and college enrollment82.1%2023#22 of 163
Fixed broadband subscriptions44.2 per 100 people2024#14 of 192
Air passengers carried11,390,6652023#45 of 152
Safe drinking water (share of people)99.5%2024#21 of 136
Safe sanitation (share of people)94.9%2024#25 of 136
Undernourishment (share of people)2.5%2024#102 of 165 tied
Clean cooking fuels (share of people)100.0%2024#1 of 192 tied
Road traffic deaths5.8 per 100,000 people2019#153 of 183 tied
Measles vaccination (share of children)96.0%2024#46 of 192 tied
Secondary school enrollment (gross)143.0%2023#2 of 180
Nurses and midwives (per 1,000 people)12.89 per 1,000 people2021#10 of 190
Tuberculosis cases (per 100,000 people)3 per 100,000 people2024#179 of 191
Health spending per person$5,9312023#16 of 192
Container port traffic (TEU)12,395,047 TEU2024#16 of 150
Environment
Renewable electricity (share of power)23.5%2021#97 of 187
CO₂ emissions per person7.3 t CO₂e per person2024#28 of 186
CO₂ emissions (total)86.6 Mt CO₂e2024#43 of 186
Air pollution (PM2.5)8.4 µg/m³2023#165 of 192
Energy use per person4,077 kg oil eq. per person2024#21 of 146
Renewable energy (share of final energy use)11.7%2021#135 of 191
Electricity consumption per person6,963 kWh per person2025#25 of 146
Electricity from nuclear power (share of total)32.6%2025#10 of 190
Electricity from hydropower (share of total)1.7%2025#129 of 190
Greenhouse gas emissions (total)107.8 Mt CO₂e2024#49 of 186
Freshwater withdrawal (share of internal resources)35.8%2022#43 of 175
Food & farming
Wheat: production1,090,040 t2024#51 of 120
Maize (corn): production501,790 t2024#78 of 160
Barley: production300,910 t2024#46 of 100
Oats: production14,080 t2024#48 of 74
Rye: production2,850 t2024#46 of 62
Potatoes: production3,977,850 t2024#20 of 150
Rapeseed (canola): production35,750 t2024#44 of 63
Dry peas: production2,200 t2024#69 of 95
Tomatoes: production283,860 t2024#59 of 164
Onions: production232,580 t2024#54 of 139
Cabbages: production126,900 t2024#44 of 143
Carrots (with turnips): production323,550 t2024#26 of 129
Cucumbers (with gherkins): production29,740 t2024#70 of 130
Lettuce (with chicory): production501,790 t2024#10 of 102
Cauliflower (with broccoli): production148,770 t2024#19 of 95
Eggplants (aubergines): production10,860 t2024#55 of 94
Green chilies and sweet peppers: production32,680 t2024#61 of 124
Mushrooms (with truffles): production28,000 t2024#22 of 63
Apples: production160,380 t2024#47 of 92
Strawberries: production51,450 t2024#24 of 80
Pears: production268,770 t2024#9 of 85
Plums (with sloes): production230 t2024#82 of 87 tied
Cherries: production4,530 t2024#44 of 65
Sugar beet: production4,411,990 t2024#15 of 57
Beef (cattle meat): production249,440 t2024#44 of 181
Pork (pig meat): production945,240 t2024#19 of 164
Chicken meat: production531,510 t2024#42 of 183
Cow’s milk: production4,597,000 t2024#31 of 178
Sheep meat (mutton and lamb): production1,590 t2024#109 of 172
Goat meat: production430 t2024#111 of 164
Goat’s milk: production57,000 t2024#43 of 108
Butter (with ghee): production119,860 t2023#16 of 124
Cheese (all kinds): production161,073 t2023#28 of 105
Common carp: production10 t2024#82 of 97 tied
Rainbow trout: production20 t2024#72 of 79
European seabass: production27 t2024#22 of 29
Atlantic herring: production14 t2024#18 of 19
Atlantic mackerel: production60 t2024#22 of 29
Atlantic cod: production283 t2024#18 of 20
Haddock: production358 t2024#14 of 17
European sprat: production1 t2024#22 of 24
Shrimps and prawns: production508 t2024#79 of 114
Crabs: production195 t2024#60 of 97 tied
Lobsters: production603 t2024#36 of 91
Scallops: production544 t2024#17 of 31
Mussels: production50 t2024#43 of 52
Squids, cuttlefish and octopuses: production3,088 t2024#43 of 102
Carps and other cyprinids: production75 t2024#91 of 115
Herrings, sardines and anchovies: production15 t2024#100 of 108
Cods, hakes and haddocks: production1,275 t2024#40 of 65
Flatfishes (flounders, halibuts, soles): production5,984 t2024#25 of 91
Freshwater eels: production30 t2024#23 of 41
Sharks and rays: production1,573 t2024#46 of 127
Cattle: number of animals2,153,430 animals2024#84 of 183
Pigs: number of animals5,375,200 animals2024#27 of 165
Chickens: number of animals48,754,000 birds2023#62 of 181
Sheep: number of animals110,120 animals2022#134 of 173
Goats: number of animals75,360 animals2022#127 of 180

Questions about Belgium

What is the capital of Belgium?

The capital of Belgium is Brussels.

What is the population of Belgium?

Belgium has a population of about 11.9M (2025), #81 of 193 among countries.

How big is Belgium?

Belgium covers about 30,689 km², #136 of 193 among countries.

Which continent is Belgium in?

Belgium is in Europe, in the region of Western Europe.

What currency and languages are used in Belgium?

The currency is the Euro. Main languages: Dutch, French, German.

How does Belgium compare with Japan in size and population?

The area of Belgium is about 1/12 that of Japan, and its population is about 1/10 that of Japan.

How far is Belgium from Japan?

The capital, Brussels, is about 9,449 km from Tokyo, the capital of Japan, in a straight line.

What is the time difference between Belgium and Japan?

The capital, Brussels, is on UTC+1 in standard time: 8 h behind Japan. The difference changes by one hour during daylight saving time.

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