Flemish Region

Administrative divisions

The Flemish Region comprises five provinces, each consisting of administrative arrondissements that, in turn, contain municipalities (in total 285 municipalities in Flanders).

The seat of the Flemish parliament is located in Brussels, which is an enclave within – but not part of – the Flemish region, being specified that the Brussels-Capital Region is established as an administrative region of Belgium in its own right. In contrast, the Walloon parliament has established its parliament in the territory of Wallonia, specifically in the city of Namur, Namur Province.

Economy

Flanders is home to a diversified modern economy, with emphasis put on research and development. Many enterprises work closely with local knowledge and research centres to develop new products and services. The Gross domestic product (GDP) of the region was €270 billion in 2018, accounting for 59% of Belgium's economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was €36,300 or 136% of the EU27 average in the same year.

Transport

"De Lijn" serves as the main public transport company, run by the Flemish government. It consists of buses and trams. TEC is the equivalent company in Wallonia, and MIVB-STIB in Brussels. The railway network run by the NMBS, however, is a federal responsibility.

The Flemish government is also responsible for all the highways (900 kilometers) and the 500 kilometers of other regional roads (Dutch: gewestwegen) in the territory of the region. Other types of roads are municipal roads.

The network of bicycle highways (Dutch: fietssnelweg) in Flanders is being expanded under the responsibility of the provinces. Combined with the Brussels Region, this network has 2,700 kilometres of bicycle highways.

The region is served by these airports:

• Brussels Airport
• Antwerp International Airport
• Ostend–Bruges International Airport

Demographics

Cities

Largest cities in the region include (with population figures as of 1 January 2018):

• Antwerp (523,248)
• Ghent (260,341)
• Bruges (118,284)
• Leuven (101,396)
• Mechelen (86,304)
• Aalst (85,715)
• Hasselt (77,651)
• Sint-Niklaas (76,756)
• Kortrijk (76,265)
• Ostend (71,332)
• Genk (66,110)
• Roeselare (62,301)

The Flemish Diamond (Dutch: Vlaamse Ruit) is the name of the central, populous area in Flanders and consists of several of these cities, such as Antwerp, Ghent, Leuven and Mechelen. Approximately 5.5 million people live in the area.

Language

The official language of the Flemish Region is Dutch. The dialect cluster spoken in the region is sometimes colloquially referred to as Flemish (Vlaams), Flemish Dutch (Vlaams-Nederlands), Belgian Dutch (Belgisch-Nederlands), or Southern Dutch (Zuid-Nederlands). Spelling and grammar are regulated by a single authority, the Dutch Language Union (Nederlandse Taalunie), comprising a committee of ministers of the Flemish and Dutch governments, their advisory council of appointed experts, a controlling commission of 22 parliamentarians, and a secretariat. The term Flemish can be applied to the Dutch spoken in Flanders; it shows many regional and local variations. The main dialect groups include West Flemish, East Flemish, Brabantian and Limburgish.

French (specifically Belgian French) may also be used in the Flemish Region for certain administrative purposes in a limited number of the so-called "municipalities with language facilities" around the Brussels-Capital Region and on the border with Wallonia. These "rim municipalities" around Brussels are Drogenbos, Kraainem, Linkebeek, Sint-Genesius-Rode, Wemmel and Wezembeek-Oppem. Brussels was originally a Dutch-speaking city (Brabantian dialect to be exact), but it was francised in the 19th and 20th centuries and is now officially bilingual in French and Dutch (although largely French-speaking in practice). Municipalities with language facilities on the border with Wallonia are Bever (French: Biévène), Herstappe, Mesen (French: Messines), Ronse (French: Renaix), Spiere-Helkijn (French: Espierres-Helchin), and Voeren (French: Fourons).

Religion

According to a 2016 survey by the Free University of Brussels, 68% of Flemish citizens are Roman Catholic, 2% are Protestant, 26% are irreligious, while 2% have other religions.

International relations

Twin regions and sister regions

• Aichi, Japan