BELGIUM

NİHAL ALPERALPER TUNÇ

CAPITOL : BRUSSELS

OFFICIAL LANGUAGES : DUTCH , FRENCH , GERMAN

POPULATION : 11,787,635

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal monarchy in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters as well as those of several other major international organization such as NATO. Belgium covers an area of 30,528 square kilometers and has a population of about 11 million people.

Belgian : 92%Italian : 171.918French : 125,061Dutch : 116,970Moroccan : 80,579Spanish : 42,765Turkish : 39,419German : 37,621

LANGUAGE : Belgium is home to two main linguistic groups: the Dutch-speaking , mostly Flemish community, which constitutes about 59% of the population, and the French-speaking , mostly Walloon population and Brussels inhabitants, which comprises 41% of all Belgians. Additionally, there is a small group of German-speakers who are officially recognized

RELIGION : Christianity, in particular Catholicism, is the largest religion in Belgium with about 57% of the population adhering to the Catholic Church, 1.7% to Protestantism, and 0.3% to Orthodox Christian Churches in the 2000’s.Belgium has a separation between the Church and State, and freedom of religion. Consequently, the State cannot force someone to adhere to a certain religion nor can it ask someone to which he or she adheres. The second largest religion is Islam with 6%.

Catholics : 58%

Other Christians : 7%

Muslims : 5%

Other Religions : 2%

Non Religious : 27%

Not Stated : 1%

EDUCATION : Education in Belgium is regulated and for the larger part financed by one of the three communities: Flemish , French and German-speaking. All three communities have a unified school system with small differences from one community to another. The federal government plays a very small role. It decides directly the age for mandatory schooling and indirectly the financing of the communities. The schools can be divided in three groups :Literacy in Belgium is %991-Schools owned by the communities2-Subsidized public schools (Organized by provinces and municipalities)

3-Subsidized free schools (Mainly organized by an organization affiliated to the Catholic church)

BEHAVIOURS AND BODY LANGUAGE : Belgians are not fussy people but they do expect a certain standard of decorous behaviour:

Cracking the fingers of both hands is perceived as vulgar, even obscene;

Patting someone on the back is not acceptable

Yawning in public is considered rude;

Using toothpicks in public is socially unacceptable;

Using just the forefinger to point at something is considered rude (You should use your whole hand)

Chewing gum is perceived as vulgar

Blowing your nose in public is also considered unacceptable.

TRADITIONAL DAYS

Belgian National Day on July 21

FESTIVALS

Ommegang Festival

Carnival De Binche

Tomorrowland

TV CHANNELS

Native channels

The two main Belgian public TV networks, VRT in the Flemish Community and RTBF in the French Community of Belgium, broadcast their channels via operators using cable, satellite, IPTV and terrestrial television. The Belgian commercial TV stations are currently only available on cable, satellite and IPTV. Terrestrial broadcasting is limited to public service TV stations because of the high adoption rate of cable (95%) in Belgium which makes it unnecessary to broadcast commercially.

RADIO STATIONS

Public : (VRT)

Radio 1Radio 1 Classics (digital only, starting on January 27, 2009)

Radio 2Radio 2 Topcollectie XL' (digital only, starting on January 27, 2009)

KlaraKlara Continuo (digital only)Klara Jazz (digital only, starting on January 27, 2009)

Studio BrusselStuBru Alternative Rock' (digital only, starting on January 27, 2009)

MNMMNM Hits (digital only)

Radio Vlaanderen InternationaalService closed on 31 December 2011.

Nationwide :

Q-Music

JOE fm

Nostalgie Vlaanderen

Networks Of Local Stations :

EXQI FM

Topradio

Club FM

Hit FM

NEWSPAPERS

Average Daily Distribution1-Het Laatste Nieuws 288.898

2-Het Nieuwsblad 264.961

3-Gazet van Antwerpen 101.559

4-Het Belang van Nimburg 100.113

5-De Standaard 95.746

National Monuments

Manneke PisAtomium

Belgian National Football Team

TİN TİN (Created By Herge)

Famous Belgian Chocolate