什麼是比利時

法語作Belgique

法蘭德斯語作Belgi?

歐洲西北部王國。面積30,528平方公里。人口約10,268,000（2001）。首都︰布魯塞爾。居民大部分是法蘭德斯人和瓦隆人。北半部操法蘭德斯語（通行於比利時的荷蘭語）的法蘭德斯人占人口一半以上，住在南半部操法語的瓦隆人略超過1/3。語言︰荷蘭語、法語和德語（官方語）。宗教：天主教（90%）、伊斯蘭教和新教。貨幣︰歐元。比利時可劃分為幾個地理區，東南部是森林密佈的亞耳丁高地，延伸到默茲河以南，包括比利時最高點波特倫奇山（海拔694公尺）。中比利時是個肥沃地區，須耳德河的支流穿越其間。下比利時包括西北部低平的法蘭德斯平原以及多條運河。濱海法蘭德斯濱臨北海，農業欣欣向榮。主要的北海港口是奧斯坦德（Oostende），但是靠近須耳德河河口的安特衞普貿易量更大。天然資源稀少，所以從進口的原料製造商品在經濟上扮演重要的角色，該國也高度工業化。政府形式是聯邦君主立憲制，兩院制。國家元首是國王，政府首腦為總理。

古時比利其人（塞爾特人一支）已在該地定居。西元前57年凱撒征服該區，在奧古斯都時代設為羅馬帝國的貝爾吉卡行省。後來被法蘭克人征服，分裂為幾個半獨立的公國，包括布拉班特和盧森堡。15世紀末，尼德蘭領土（未來的比利時是其一部分）逐漸統一併落入哈布斯堡王室手中。16世紀成為歐洲商業中心。現代比利時的基礎是建立在1579年的烏得勒支聯盟之後南部信奉天主教的各省與北部諸省分裂。1801年政府被法國人推翻和吞併。1815年再被併入荷蘭王國，1815年成為獨立的尼德蘭王國。1830年公民暴動過後，成立獨立的比利時王國。在利奧波德二世統治下在非洲取得大片土地。第一次和第二次世界大戰時都曾被德軍佔領，曾是突圍之役的發生地。內部不和導致在1970年代和1980年代制定許多法令，根據語言分佈情況創立三個幾乎自治的區域：法蘭德斯（法蘭德斯語）、瓦隆（法語）和布魯塞爾（雙語）。1993年這三個自治區組成聯邦。現為歐洲聯盟的一員。

Belgium

FlemishBelgi?Kingdom, northwestern Europe. Area: 11,787 sq mi (30,528 sq km). Population (2000 est.): 10,249,000. Capital: Brussels. The population consists mostly of Flemings and Walloons. The Flemings, more than half the population, speak Flemish (Dutch) and live in the northern half of the country; the Walloons, about one-third of the population, speak French and inhabit the southern half. Languages: Dutch, French, German (all official). Religions: Roman Catholicism (90%), Islam, Protestantism. Monetary unit: euro. Belgium can be divided into several geographic regions. The southeast consists of the forested Ardennes highland, which extends south of the Meuse River valley and includes Belgium's highest point, Mount Botrange (2,277 ft, or 694 m). Middle Belgium is a fertile region crossed by tributaries of the Schelde River. Lower Belgium comprises the flat plains of Flanders in the northwest with their many canals. Maritime Flanders borders the North Sea and is agriculturally prosperous; the chief North Sea port is Oostende, but Antwerp, near the mouth of the Schelde, has much greater trade. Belgium has minimal natural resources, so the manufacture of goods from imported raw materials plays a major role in the economy, and the country is highly industrialized. It is a monarchy with a parliament composed of two legislative houses; the chief of state is the monarch, and the head of government is the prime minister. Inhabited in ancient times by the Belgae, a Celtic people, the area was conquered by Caesar in 57 BC; under Augustus it became the Roman province of Belgica. Conquered by the Franks, it later broke up into semi-independent territories, including Brabant and Luxembourg. By the late 15th century the territories of the Netherlands, of which the future Belgium was a part, gradually united and passed to the Habsburgs. In the 16th century it was a center for European commerce. The basis of modern Belgium was laid in the southern Catholic provinces that split from the northern provinces after the Union of Utrecht in 1579 (see Netherlands). Overrun by the French and incorporated into France in 1801, it was reunited to Holland and with it became the independent kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815. After the revolt of its citizens in 1830, it became the independent kingdom of Belgium. Under Leopold II, it acquired vast lands in Africa. Overrun by the Germans in World Wars I and II, it was the scene of the Battle of the Bulge. Internal discord led to legislation in the 1970s and 1980s that created three nearly autonomous regions in accordance with language distribution: Flemish Flanders, French Wallonia, and bilingual Brussels. In 1993 it became a federation comprising the three regions. It is a member of the European Union.