World Countries Info > Belgium > Antwerp, Brussels
Belgium became independent from the Netherlands in 1830 and was occupied by
Germany during World Wars I and II. It has 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 of Belgium
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Location:
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Western Europe, bordering
the North Sea, between France and the Netherlands |
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Geographic coordinates:
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50 50 N, 4 00 E |
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Area:
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total: 30,510 sq km
land: 30,230 sq km
water: 280 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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about the size of Maryland |
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Land boundaries:
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total: 1,385 km
border countries: France 620 km, Germany 167 km, Luxembourg 148
km, Netherlands 450 km |
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Coastline:
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66 km |
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Maritime claims:
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continental shelf:
median line with neighbors
territorial sea: 12 NM
exclusive economic zone: median line with neighbors (extends
about 68 km from coast) |
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Climate:
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temperate; mild winters,
cool summers; rainy, humid, cloudy |
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Terrain:
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flat coastal plains in
northwest, central rolling hills, rugged mountains of Ardennes Forest in
southeast |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: North
Sea 0 m
highest point: Signal de Botrange 694 m |
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Natural resources:
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coal, natural gas |
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Land use:
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arable land: 25%
permanent crops: 0%
note: includes Luxembourg (1998 est.)
other: 75% |
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Irrigated land:
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40 sq km (includes
Luxembourg) (1998 est.) |
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Natural hazards:
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flooding is a threat in
areas of reclaimed coastal land, protected from the sea by concrete
dikes |
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Environment - current issues:
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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) have slowed progress in tackling
environmental challenges |
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Geography - note:
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crossroads of Western
Europe; majority of West European capitals within 1,000 km of Brussels,
the seat of both the European Union and NATO
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Population of Belgium
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Population:
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10,348,276 (July 2004 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 17.1% (male 901,486;
female 863,092)
15-64 years: 65.6% (male 3,424,438; female 3,364,057)
65 years and over: 17.3% (male 739,479; female 1,055,724) (2004 est.) |
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Median age:
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total: 40.2 years
male: 38.9 years
female: 41.5 years (2004 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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0.16% (2004 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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10.59 births/1,000 |
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Death rate:
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10.2 deaths/1,000 |
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Net migration rate:
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1.23 migrant(s)/1,000 |
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Infant mortality rate:
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total: 4.76 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4.12 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 5.36 deaths/1,000 live births |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population: 78.44 years
male: 75.26 years
female: 81.75 years (2004 est.) |
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Total fertility rate:
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1.64 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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0.2% (2001 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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8,500 (2001 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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less than 100 (2001 est.) |
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Nationality:
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noun: Belgian(s)
adjective: Belgian |
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Ethnic groups:
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Fleming 58%, Walloon 31%, mixed or other
11% |
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Religions:
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Roman Catholic 75%, Protestant or other 25% |
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Languages:
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Dutch (official) 60%, French (official)
40%, German (official) less than 1%, legally bilingual (Dutch and French) |
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read
and write
total population: 98%
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Government
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Country name:
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conventional long form: Kingdom of
Belgium
conventional short form: Belgium
local short form: Belgique/Belgie
local long form: Royaume de Belgique/Koninkrijk Belgie |
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Government type:
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federal parliamentary democracy under a
constitutional monarch |
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Capital:
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Brussels |
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Administrative divisions:
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10 provinces (French: provinces, singular -
province; Dutch: provincies, singular - provincie) and 3 regions* (French: regions; Dutch:
gewesten); Antwerpen, Brabant Wallon, Brussels* (Bruxelles), Flanders*, Hainaut, Liege,
Limburg, Luxembourg, Namur, Oost-Vlaanderen, Vlaams-Brabant, Wallonia*, West-Vlaanderen
note: as a result of the 1993 constitutional revision that furthered devolution
into a federal state, there are now three levels of government (federal, regional, and
linguistic community) with a complex division of responsibilities |
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Independence:
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4 October 1830 a provisional government
declared independence from the Netherlands; 21 July 1831 the ascension of King Leopold I
to the throne |
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National holiday:
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21 July (1831) ascension to the Throne of
King Leopold I |
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Constitution:
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7 February 1831, last revised 14 July 1993;
parliament approved a constitutional package creating a federal state |
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Legal system:
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civil law system influenced by English
constitutional theory; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction, with reservations |
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Suffrage:
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18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
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Executive branch:
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chief of state: King ALBERT II
(since 9 August 1993); Heir Apparent Prince PHILIPPE, son of the monarch
head of government: Prime Minister Guy VERHOFSTADT (since 13 July 1999)
cabinet: Council of Ministers formally appointed by the monarch
note: government coalition - VLD, MR, PS, SP.A-Spirit
elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the
leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed
prime minister by the monarch and then approved by Parliament |
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Legislative branch:
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bicameral Parliament consists of a Senate
or Senaat in Dutch, Senat in French (71 seats; 40 members are directly elected by popular
vote, 31 are indirectly elected; members serve four-year terms) and a Chamber of Deputies
or Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers in Dutch, Chambre des Representants in French (150
seats; members are directly elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional
representation to serve four-year terms)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - SP.A-Spirit 15.5%, VLD 15.4%,
CD & V 12.7%, PS 12.8%, MR 12.1%, VB 9.4%, CDH 5.6%; seats by party - SP.A-Spirit 7,
VLD 7, CD & V 6, PS 6, MR 5, VB 5, CDH 2, other 2 (note - there are also 31 indirectly
elected senators); Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - VLD 15.4%, SP.A-Spirit
14.9%, CD & V 13.3%, PS 13.0%, VB 11.6%, MR 11.4%, CDH 5.5%, Ecolo 3.1%; seats by
party - VLD 25, SP.A-Spirit 23, CD & V 21, PS 25, VB 18, MR 24, CDH 8 Ecolo 4, other 2
note: as a result of the 1993 constitutional revision that furthered devolution
into a federal state, there are now three levels of government (federal, regional, and
linguistic community) with a complex division of responsibilities; this reality leaves six
governments each with its own legislative assembly; for other acronyms of the listed
parties see the Political parties and leaders entry
elections: Senate and Chamber of Deputies - last held 18 May 2003 (next to be held
no later than May 2007) |
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Judicial branch:
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Supreme Court of Justice or Hof van
Cassatie (in Dutch) or Cour de Cassation (in French) (judges are appointed for life by the
Government; candidacies have to be submitted by the High Justice Council) |
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Political parties and leaders:
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Christian Democrats and Flemish or CD &
V [Yves LETERME]; Ecolo (Francophone Greens) [Jean-Michel JAVAUX, Evelyne HUYTEBROECK,
Claude BROUIR]; Flemish Liberal Democrats or VLD [Dirk STERCKX]; Flemish Socialist
Party.Alternative or SP.A [Steve STEVAERT]; Francophone Humanist and Democratic Center of
CDH [Joelle MILQUET]; Francophone Reformist Movement or MR [Antoine DUQUESNE]; Francophone
Socialist Party or PS [Elio DI RUPO]; GROEN! (formerly AGALEV, Flemish Greens) [Vera DUA];
National Front or FN [Daniel FERET]; New Flemish Alliance or NVA [Geert BOURGEOIS]; Spirit
[Els VAN WEERT]; note - new party now associated with SP.A; Vlaams Blok or VB [Frank
VANHECKE]; other minor parties |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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Christian, Socialist, and Liberal Trade
Unions; Federation of Belgian Industries; numerous other associations representing
bankers, manufacturers, middle-class artisans, and the legal and medical professions;
various organizations represent the cultural interests of Flanders and Wallonia; various
peace groups such as Pax Christi and groups representing immigrants |
Economy
This modern private enterprise economy has capitalized on its central geographic
location, highly developed transport network, and diversified industrial and commercial
base. Industry is concentrated mainly in the populous Flemish area in the north. With
few natural resources, Belgium must import substantial quantities of raw materials and
export a large volume of manufactures, making its economy unusually dependent on the
state of world markets. Roughly three-quarters of its trade is with other EU countries.
Public debt is about 100% of GDP, and the government has succeeded in balancing its
budget. Belgium, together with 11 of its EU partners, began circulating the euro
currency in January 2002. Economic growth in 2001-03 dropped sharply because of the
global economic slowdown. Prospects for 2004 again depend largely on recovery in the EU
and the US.
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GDP:
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purchasing power parity - $298.2 billion
(2003 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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0.8% (2003 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power parity - $29,000 (2003
est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 1.6%
industry: 26.8%
services: 71.6% (2002) |
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Population below poverty line:
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4% (1989 est.) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest 10%: 3.2%
highest 10%: 23% (1996) |
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Distribution of family income - Gini index:
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28.7 (1996) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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1.4% (2003 est.) |
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Labor force:
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4.44 million (2001) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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services 73%, industry 25%, agriculture 2%
(1999 est.) |
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Unemployment rate:
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8.1% (2003 est.) |
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Budget:
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revenues: $113.4 billion
expenditures: $106 billion, including capital expenditures of $7.17 billion (2000) |
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Industries:
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engineering and metal products, motor
vehicle assembly, processed food and beverages, chemicals, basic metals, textiles, glass,
petroleum, tourism |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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4.5% (2000 est.) |
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Electricity - production:
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74.28 billion kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel: 38.4%
hydro: 0.6%
other: 1.8% (2001)
nuclear: 59.3% |
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Electricity - consumption:
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78.18 billion kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - exports:
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6.712 billion kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - imports:
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15.82 billion kWh (2001) |
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Oil - production:
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0 bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Oil - consumption:
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595,100 bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Oil - exports:
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450,000 bbl/day (2001) |
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Oil - imports:
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1.042 million bbl/day (2001) |
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Natural gas - production:
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0 cu m (2001 est.) |
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Natural gas - consumption:
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15.5 billion cu m (2001 est.) |
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Natural gas - exports:
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0 cu m (2001 est.) |
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Natural gas - imports:
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15.4 billion cu m (2001 est.) |
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Agriculture - products:
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sugar beets, fresh vegetables, fruits,
grain, tobacco; beef, veal, pork, milk |
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Exports:
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$182.9 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
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Exports - commodities:
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machinery and equipment, chemicals,
diamonds, metals and metal products, foodstuffs |
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Exports - partners:
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Germany 18.6%, France 16.3%, Netherlands
11.6%, UK 9.6%, US 7.9%, Italy 5.4% (2002) |
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Imports:
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$173 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
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Imports - commodities:
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machinery and equipment, chemicals,
diamonds, pharmaceuticals, foodstuffs, transportation equipment, oil products |
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Imports - partners:
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Germany 17.2%, Netherlands 15.6%, France
12.8%, UK 7.3%, Ireland 7%, US 6.4%, Italy 4% (2002) |
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Debt - external:
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$28.3 billion (1999 est.) |
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Economic aid - donor:
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ODA, $1.072 billion (2002) |
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Currency:
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euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a
common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January
2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member
countries |
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Currency code:
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EUR |
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Exchange rates:
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euros per US dollar - 0.89 (2003), 1.06
(2002), 1.12 (2001), 1.09 (2000), 0.94 (1999) |
SOURCES: The CIA World Factbook, U.S. Department of State, Area Handbook of the US Library of Congress
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