The 2008 CIA World Factbook. United States. Central Intelligence Agency
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obligation - 18 months (2005)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16–49: 2,491,643 females age 16–49: 2,528,779 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16–49: 1,727,974 females age 16–49: 2,093,106 (2008 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 64,232 female: 60,788 (2008 est.)
Military expenditures:
1.4% of GDP (2005 est.)
Transnational Issues
Belarus
Disputes - international:
Boundary demarcated with Latvia and Lithuania in 2006; 1997 boundary delimitation treaty with Ukraine remains unratified over unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and diminishing border security
Illicit drugs:
limited cultivation of opium poppy and cannabis, mostly for the domestic market; transshipment point for illicit drugs to and via Russia, and to the Baltics and Western Europe; a small and lightly regulated financial center; new anti-money-laundering legislation does not meet international standards; few investigations or prosecutions of money-laundering activities
This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008
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@Belgium
Introduction
Belgium
Background:
Belgium became independent from the Netherlands in 1830; it was occupied by Germany during World Wars I and II. The country prospered in the past half century as a modern, technologically advanced European state and member of NATO and the EU. Tensions between the Dutch-speaking Flemings of the north and the French-speaking Walloons of the south have led in recent years to constitutional amendments granting these regions formal recognition and autonomy.
Geography
Belgium
Location:
Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between France and the
Netherlands
Geographic coordinates:
50 50 N, 4 00 E
Map references:
Europe
Area:
total: 30,528 sq km land: 30,278 sq km water: 250 sq km
Area - comparative:
about the size of Maryland
Land boundaries:
total: 1,385 km border countries: France 620 km, Germany 167 km, Luxembourg 148 km, Netherlands 450 km
Coastline:
66.5 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: geographic coordinates define outer limit continental shelf: median line with neighbors
Climate:
temperate; mild winters, cool summers; rainy, humid, cloudy
Terrain:
flat coastal plains in northwest, central rolling hills, rugged mountains of Ardennes Forest in southeast
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: North Sea 0 m highest point: Signal de Botrange 694 m
Natural resources:
construction materials, silica sand, carbonates
Land use:
arable land: 27.42% permanent crops: 0.69% other: 71.89% note: includes Luxembourg (2005)
Irrigated land:
400 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
20.8 cu km (2005)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 7.44 cu km/yr (13%/85%/1%) per capita: 714 cu m/yr (1998)
Natural hazards:
flooding is a threat along rivers and in areas of reclaimed coastal land, protected from the sea by concrete dikes
Environment - current issues:
the environment is exposed to intense pressures from human activities: urbanization, dense transportation network, industry, extensive animal breeding and crop cultivation; air and water pollution also have repercussions for neighboring countries; uncertainties regarding federal and regional responsibilities (now resolved) had slowed progress in tackling environmental challenges
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85,
Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds,
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources,
Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine
Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
crossroads of Western Europe; most West European capitals within 1,000 km of Brussels, the seat of both the European Union and NATO
People
Belgium
Population:
10,403,951 (July 2008 est.)
Age structure:
0–14 years: 16.3% (male 864,287/female 828,435) 15–64 years: 66.3% (male 3,476,802/female 3,416,383) 65 years and over: 17.5% (male 751,745/female 1,066,299) (2008 est.)
Median age:
total: 41.4 years male: 40.2 years female: 42.7 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.106% (2008 est.)
Birth rate:
10.22 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death rate:
10.38 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net migration rate:
1.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15–64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2008 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 4.5 deaths/1,000 live births male: 5.06 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 79.07 years male: 75.9 years female: 82.38 years (2008 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.65