Belgium

Belgium

1. Belgium is a cultural region; people share a language/ culture

2. There is a divide between the Flemish(Flanders/North) and Walloon(Wallonian/ South)

3. In Flanders they speak Flemish- a dialect of Dutch from the Netherlands.. They are strongly Catholic

4. In the 20th C the Flemish were the minority of the Belgian pop. They were regarded as socially inferior by the walloons

5. Now the Flemish are a majority (60%) of the population and Flanders is the industrial core of Belgium

6. The discovery of oil and gas in the North Sea in the 1960s assisted the development. Oil and gas account for 87% Belgian GDP.

7. The Walloon population are of Celtic origin and speak French. In the past they made up the majority of Belgium and were the cultural elite

8. Wallonia was territory received from Germany following WW1. People speak German long the border of Germany in the South- East

9. Wallonia used to be Belgium's industrial core due to coal and steel found in the Sambre Meuse Valley. France and Germany provided a market.

10. The Industries of coal and steal decline in the 1950s as a result of newer cheaper sources of energy like oil and gas or new technologies

11. As coal declined, so too did the region of Wallonia. Unemployment levels soared. Today out migration from the south to the North is a major problem!

12. An official 'language line' divides the two regions today. it acts as a cultural border. Both sides of the line do not visit each other's regions. They choose shops, schools, universities and marriage partners on language.

13. The gov. has set up seperate administrations in each region which are responsible for education, social and cultural affairs.

    • Even Tv stations and newspapers are different.

14. Brussels is the only bilingual region. It is situated in flanders and is the HQ of the EU