Communities, regions and linguistic regions of Belgium

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Belgium

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Belgium is a federal state and is composed of three communities, three regions, and four linguistic regions.

Contents 1 Country subdivisions 2 Communities 3 Regions 3.1 Flemish Region 3.1.1 Provinces 3.2 Brussels-Capital Region 3.3 Walloon Region 3.3.1 Provinces

[edit] Country subdivisions

The Flemish Region (Flanders) and the Walloon Region (Wallonia) each comprise five provinces; the third region, Brussels-Capital Region, is neither a province, nor does it contain any.

Together, these comprise 589 municipalities, which in general consist of several sub-municipalities (which were independent municipalities before the municipal merger operation mainly in 1977).

The communities, regions and provinces, and linguistic regions are the four most important subnational entities of Belgium, as laid out into the Belgian constitution and the municipalities are defined by law.

Other less important subnational entities include for instance the intra-municipal districts, the administrative, the electoral and the judicial arrondissements, police districts, as well as the new inter-municipal police zones (lower level than the police districts).

All these entities have geographical boundaries: the regions, the linguistic regions, the communities, the provinces and the municipalities. The division by communities is equally geographically delimited: The Flemish government has legal authority (for its Community competencies) only within the areas of the Flemish and Brussels region; the French-speaking Community analogously has powers only within the areas of the Walloon and Brussels region. Belgian Communities do not officially refer directly to groups of people – there is indeed no subnationality in Brussels – but rather to the political, linguistic and cultural competencies of the country.

All Communities thus have a precise and legally established area where they can exert their competencies: the Flemish Community is competent in the Flemish and Brussels regions; the French-speaking Community in the Walloon (French linguistic region) and Brussels regions, and the German Community only in a small part of the province of Liège (in the Walloon region), bordering with Germany, which is the German linguistic region.

The three regions are:

• the Flemish Region
• the Brussels-Capital Region
• the Walloon Region

The three communities are:

• the Dutch-speaking Vlaamse Gemeenschap ("Flemish Community")
• the French-speaking Communauté Française ("French Community")
• the German-speaking Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft ("Germanophone Community").

It should be noted that the Flemish Region was officially merged into the Flemish Community, with one parliament, one government and one administration, exerting both regional and community competencies, although Flemish parliamentarians from the Brussels-Capital Region cannot vote on competencies of the Flemish Region.

The four linguistic regions are:

• the Dutch-language region
• the bilingual region of Brussels-Capital
• the French language region
• the German-language region (which has language facilities for French-speakers).

[edit] Communities

For an explanation on communities and regions in Belgium, see the introduction of this article.

Communities	Flemish Community	French Community	German-speaking Community
Dutch name	Vlaamse Gemeenschap	(Franse Gemeenschap)	(Duitstalige Gemeenschap)
French name	(Communauté flamande)	Communauté française	(Communauté germanophone)
German name	(Flämische Gemeinschaft)	(Französische Gemeinschaft)	Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft
Location
Flag
Capital	Brussels (joint with Flemish region)	Brussels	Eupen
Minister President	Yves Leterme (joint with Flemish region)	Marie Arena	Karl-Heinz Lambertz
Web site	www.flanders.be	www.cfwb.be	www.dglive.be

[edit] Regions

For an explanation on communities and regions in Belgium, see the introduction of this article.

Region	Flemish Region	Brussels-Capital Region	Walloon Region
Dutch name	Vlaams Gewest	Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest	(Waals Gewest)
French name	(Région flamande)	Région de Bruxelles-Capitale	Région wallonne
German name	(Flämische Region)	(Region Brüssel-Hauptstadt)	Wallonische Region
Location
Flag
Capital	Brussels	Brussels	Namur
ISO 3166-2:BE		BE-BRU
Area	13522 km² (44.29% of Belgium)	161 km² (0.53% of Belgium)	16844 km² (55.18% of Belgium)
Provinces	Antwerp Limburg Flemish Brabant East Flanders West Flanders	none	Hainaut Walloon Brabant Namur Liège Luxembourg
Municipalities	308	19	262
Population	6,043,161 (58% of Belgium)	1,006,749 (10% of Belgium)	3,358,560 (32% of Belgium)
Population density	442/km²	6238/km²	199/km²
Minister-President	Yves Leterme (list)	Charles Picqué (list)	Elio Di Rupo (list)
Web site	www.flanders.be	www.brussels.irisnet.be	www.wallonie.be

[edit] Flemish Region

Main article: Flanders

The Flemish Region or Flanders (Vlaams Gewest or Vlaanderen in Dutch) occupies the northern part of Belgium. It has a surface area of 13522 km² (44.29% of Belgium) and is divided into 5 provinces which contain a total of 308 municipalities.

The official language is Dutch, often referred to by its inhabitants as Flemish. French may be used for certain administrative purposes in a limited number of the so-called "municipalities with linguistic facilities" around the Brussels Capital Region and on the border with Wallonia.

Brussels is part of Flanders, but only for all its Flemish inhabitants and local institutions (which indeed live in both the Flemish Region and the Brussels Region). It is also the official capital of Flanders. The Flemish Region has no institutions on its own. Its competencies were transferred to the unified Flemish institutions that combine both regional and community competencies. As a result, the Flemish region (nor the Flemish Community) has not a single civil servant of its own, no legislative council etc. Since, the unified institutions exert all their power and competencies (see also: Flemish Parliament and Flemish Government).

[edit] Provinces

Main article: Provinces of Belgium

• Flanders contains five provinces: West Flanders, East Flanders, Antwerp, Flemish Brabant, Limburg

[edit] Brussels-Capital Region

Main article: Brussels-Capital Region

The Brussels-Capital Region (Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest in Dutch, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale in French, Die Region Brüssel-Hauptstadt in German) or Brussels Region is centrally located and completely surrounded by the province of Flemish Brabant and thus by the Flemish Region. With a surface area of 162 km² (0.53% of Belgium) it is the smallest of the three regions. It contains Brussels, which acts both as federal and regional capital, and in total 19 municipalities. The population breakdown in the region is as follows: ±85% French-speaking, ±15% Flemish. Its official languages are both Dutch and French. The Brussels Capital Region contains only one administrative district, the Brussels Capital District. However, for many administrative and juridical purposes (e.g. electoral purpose), it forms a district with surrounding Flemish areas (something considered by competent judicial authorities as contrary to the Belgian Constitution). However, this often creates disfunctions in the public service, e.g. whenever mono-lingual French-speaking civil servants or policemen operate in the mono-lingual Flemish municipalities.

Although many believe that the capital of Belgium is the City of Brussels municipality, the Belgian Constitution makes it clear that the capital of Belgium is Brussels in the broad meaning of the term (cf. Art. 194 and 166 of the Constitution). In practice, the functions, buildings and civil servants of all national Belgian institutions can be found all over the Brussels region and not only in the city of Brussels. Following the same logic, the significant dedicated national funds for those capital functions are shared between all 19 municipalities of the Brussels region. Among the national institutions outside the city of Brussels, one can find many buildings of national ministeries, including the main building of the ministry of pensions, the military headquarters (in Evere), the national telecommunications company. Finally, also the particular name of the Brussels region, with the explicit 'capital' in it, is a very symbolic proof of the ambitions from the main local politicians, and of the recognition for that capital function in Belgian legislation.

The Brussels Region does not belong to any of the provinces. Within the Region, 99% of the provincial competencies are assumed by the Brussels regional institutions. Remaining is only the governor of Brussels-Capital and some aides.

Within Brussels, the two Communities have their own institutions that act as "intermediary levels" of government and public service, sitting below the Community institutions, and above the municipal institutions:

• Vlaamse gemeenschapscommissie (VGC) and its administration;
• Commission Communautaire Française (COCOF) and its executive commission and its administration.

[edit] Walloon Region

Main article: Wallonia

The Walloon Region or Wallonia (Région Wallonne or Wallonie in French) occupies the southern part of Belgium. It has a surface area of 16844 km² (55.18% of Belgium) and is also divided into 5 provinces which contain a total of 262 municipalities. Its capital is Namur.

The official languages are French and German (only in nine eastern municipalities near the German border, which were "given" to Belgium after WWI), though Dutch may be used for administrative purpose in the so-called municipalities with linguistic facilities on the border with Flanders.

[edit] Provinces

Main article: Provinces of Belgium

• Wallonia contains five provinces: Hainaut, Walloon Brabant, Namur, Luxembourg, Liège