Belgium occupies a central position in Western Europe, bordering Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and France. The political system is characterized by a three-tiered federation, comprising a federal government, three communities (Flemish, French, and German speaking), and three regions (Flemish, Walloon, and Brussels Capital). The country has a population of 10.4 million in 30,528 km2 (11,787 mi2). In 2012, its national GDP was US$484.7 billion, or $43,686 per capita, ranking 18th worldwide (IMF 2013) (Figure 1).
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Neuts, B. (2016). Belgium. In: Jafari, J., Xiao, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Tourism. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01384-8_433
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