FACTS

Location: Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between France and the Netherlands

Area (only Total) total: 30,528 sq km

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

Population: 10,403,951 (July 2008 est.)

Main Language (only first): Dutch

Government type: federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy

Capital (Name): Brussels

Capital (Time Difference): UTC+1

Independence: 4 October 1830 (a provisional government declared independence from the Netherlands); 21 July 1831 (King LEOPOLD I ascended to the throne)

National holiday: 21 July (1831) ascension to the Throne of King LEOPOLD I