About Belgium

Offcially known as the Kingdom of Belgium, it combines a hereditary constitutional Monarchy with a federal parliamentary democracy.

Belgium has a particular form of government state structure based on areas defined by language and/or geographical location. In 1993, a constitutional revision established a unique federal state with segregated political power into three levels:

  1. The federal government, based in Brussels.
  2. The three regions:
    1. the Flemish Region, subdivided into five provinces;
    2. the Walloon Region, subdivided into five provinces;
    3. the Brussels-Capital Region.
  3. The three language communities:
    1. the Flemish Community (Dutch-speaking);
    2. the French Community (French-speaking);
    3. the German-speaking Community.


Voting in Belgium is compulsory for everyone over 18, and citizens can be fined for not participating. This is one reason why Belgium has 90% voter turnout among an electorate of over 8.17 million people (May 2019). Approximately 49% of Belgians vote electronically.