Belgium Transportation - 2023

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

National air transport system

number of registered air carriers: 7 (2020)

inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 117

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 13,639,487 (2018)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 1,285,340,000 (2018) mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

OO

Airports

41 (2021)

Airports - with paved runways

26

civil airports: 5

military airports: 5

joint use (civil-military) airports: 2

other airports: 14

note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)

Airports - with unpaved runways

15

note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control

Heliports

1 (2021)

Pipelines

3,139 km gas, 154 km oil, 535 km refined products (2013)

Railways

total: 3,602 km (2020) 3,160 km electrified

Roadways

total: 118,414 km (2015)

paved: 118,414 km (2015) (includes 1,747 km of expressways)

unpaved: (2010)

Waterways

2,043 km (2012) (1,528 km in regular commercial use)

Merchant marine

total: 199

by type: bulk carrier 18, container ship 3, general cargo 15, oil tanker 23, other 140 (2022)

Ports and terminals

major seaport(s): Oostende, Zeebrugge

container port(s) (TEUs): Antwerp (12,020,000) (2021)

LNG terminal(s) (import): Zeebrugge

river port(s): Antwerp, Gent (Schelde River)

Brussels (Senne River) Liege (Meuse River)

NOTE: The information regarding Belgium on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Belgium 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Belgium 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.