King: Albert II Prime Minister-designate: Elio di Rupo
President: Yoweri Museveni
Population
10,438,353
33,640,833
Life Expectancy
79.650 years
53.450 years
Capital City
Brussels
Largest city
Brussels (population: 1,019,020)
Kampala (population: 1,353,190)
Human Development Index
0.948
0.493
GDP per capita
$38,200 US
Literacy Rate
99%
66.8%
Corruption Perception Index
7.3
2.6
Percentage of Women in Parliament
36.2%
30.7%
Wealthiest Citizens
Albert Frere ($2.4bn US)
NA
Unemployment Rate
7.700%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Legal
Political System
federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy
republic
Independence date
4 October 1830 (a provisional government declared independence from the Netherlands); 21 July 1831 (King LEOPOLD I ascended to the throne)
Religions
Roman Catholic 75%, other (includes Protestant) 25%
Roman Catholic 41.9%, Protestant 42% (Anglican 35.9%, Pentecostal 4.6%, Seventh Day Adventist 1.5%), Muslim 12.1%, other 3.1%, none 0.9% (2002 census)
Languages
Dutch (official) 60%, French (official) 40%, German (official) less than 1%, legally bilingual (Dutch and French)
English (official national language, taught in grade schools, used in courts of law and by most newspapers and some radio broadcasts), Ganda or Luganda (most widely used of the Niger-Congo languages, preferred for native language publications in the capital and may be taught in school), other Niger-Congo languages, Nilo-Saharan languages, Swahili, Arabic
Exports
machinery and equipment, chemicals, diamonds, metals and metal products, foodstuffs
External Debt
$1,399,000,000,000 $
Exchange Rate
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6802 (2008), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.300%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
2
0
Location
Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between France and the Netherlands
