World Factbook
Belgium
Royaume de Belgique (French)/Koninkrijk Belgie (Dutch)/Koenigreich Belgien (German)
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Area
land
30,278 sq km
water
250 sq km
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
Land use
other
33.6% (2023 est.)
forest
22% (2023 est.)
agricultural land
44.4% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: arable land
arable land: 28.3% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent crops
permanent crops: 0.8% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent pasture
permanent pasture: 15.3% (2023 est.)
Location
Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between France and the Netherlands
Coastline
66.5 km
Elevation
lowest point
North Sea 0 m
highest point
Botrange 694 m
mean elevation
181 m
Irrigated land
57 sq km (2013)
Map references
Europe
Land boundaries
total
1,297 km
border countries
France 556 km; Germany 133 km; Luxembourg 130 km; Netherlands 478 km
Maritime claims
contiguous zone
24 nm
territorial sea
12 nm
continental shelf
median line with neighbors
exclusive economic zone
geographic coordinates define outer limit
Natural hazards
flooding is a threat along rivers and in areas of reclaimed coastal land, protected from the sea by concrete dikes
Geography - note
crossroads of Western Europe; most West European capitals are within 1,000 km of Brussels, the seat of both the EU and NATO
Natural resources
construction materials, silica sand, carbonates, arable land
Area - comparative
about the size of Maryland
Geographic coordinates
50 50 N, 4 00 E
Population distribution
most of the population is concentrated in the northern two thirds of the country; the southeast is more thinly populated; considered to have one of the highest population densities in the world, with approximately 97% living in urban areas
Major watersheds (area sq km)
Atlantic Ocean drainage
Seine (78,919 sq km), Rhine-Maas (198,735 sq km)