King: Albert II Prime Minister-designate: Elio di Rupo
President : Dalia Grybauskaite
Population
10,438,353
3,525,761
Life Expectancy
79.650 years
75.550 years
Capital City
Brussels
Vilnius
Largest city
Brussels (population: 1,019,020)
Vilnius (population: 542,366)
Human Development Index
0.948
0.869
GDP per capita
$38,200 US
$19,100 US
Literacy Rate
99%
99.6%
Corruption Perception Index
7.3
4.6
Percentage of Women in Parliament
36.2%
17.7%
Wealthiest Citizens
Albert Frere ($2.4bn US)
NA
Unemployment Rate
7.700%
15.400%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Abolished
Political System
federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy
parliamentary democracy
Independence date
4 October 1830 (a provisional government declared independence from the Netherlands); 21 July 1831 (King LEOPOLD I ascended to the throne)
11 March 1990 (declared); 6 September 1991 (recognized by Soviet Union)
Religions
Roman Catholic 75%, other (includes Protestant) 25%
Roman Catholic 79%, Russian Orthodox 4.1%, Protestant (including Lutheran and Evangelical Christian Baptist) 1.9%, other or unspecified 5.5%, none 9.5% (2001 census)
Languages
Dutch (official) 60%, French (official) 40%, German (official) less than 1%, legally bilingual (Dutch and French)
Lithuanian (official) 82%, Russian 8%, Polish 5.6%, other and unspecified 4.4% (2001 census)
Exports
machinery and equipment, chemicals, diamonds, metals and metal products, foodstuffs
mineral products 23%, textiles and clothing 16%, machinery and equipment 11%, chemicals 6%, wood and wood products 5%, foodstuffs 5% (2001)
External Debt
$1,399,000,000,000 $
$31,030,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6802 (2008), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
litai (LTL) per US dollar - 2.3251 (2008 est.), 2.5362 (2007), 2.7498 (2006), 2.774 (2005), 2.7806 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.300%
0.900%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
2
5
Location
Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between France and the Netherlands
Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Latvia and Russia
