15 Interesting Facts About Belgium

1. Belgium is a country in western Europe, founding member of the European Union; it is bordered by France to the south and east, Luxembourg to the southeast, Germany to the east, Holland to the north-east and the North Sea to the north;

2. 58% of the population of Belgium is speaking Dutch (Dutch), the rest speak French; they speak and German, the 3 being the official languages of Belgium;

3. In the Belgian capital, Brussels, lies the majority of the institutions of the European Union and other international institutions such as NATO;

4. Belgium is one of the countries with the lowest ratio of restaurants McDonald’s per capita, 0.062/100,000 inhabitants, i.e. 7 times less than in the U.S.;

5. Belgium legalized euthanasia in 2002, and marriages between people of the same sex in 2003;

6. In Belgium, we produce over 800 kinds of beer; here, in 1999, he opened the first academy of beer in the world;

7. The belgian Jean Neuhaus invented the pralines chocolate in Brussels in 1912; annual, in Belgium produces around 220,000 tonnes of chocolate;

8. Belgium is one of the first countries in the world that has had a woman in parliament, in 1921;

9. Possession of up to 3 grams of cannabis is legal in Belgium;

10. Belgium is one of the few countries of the world in which voting and going to school until the age of 18 are mandatory;

11. Literacy rate in Belgium is 99%, being one of the highest in the world;

12. The longest tram line in the world is located in Belgium and has 68 km in length;

13. Half of the families of belgian have at least one pet;

14. 97% of the population of Belgium have cable television, the highest percentage in the world;

15. Painters belgians are recognized for the invention of painting in oil, in the FIFTEENTH century;