Belgium Geography - 2024

Location

Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between France and the Netherlands

Geographic coordinates

50 50 N, 4 00 E

Map references

Europe

Area

total: 30,528 sq km

land: 30,278 sq km

water: 250 sq km

Area - comparative

about the size of Maryland

Area comparison map:

Land boundaries

total: 1,297 km

border countries (4): France 556 km; Germany 133 km; Luxembourg 130 km; Netherlands 478 km

Coastline

66.5 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm

contiguous zone: 24 nm

exclusive economic zone: geographic coordinates define outer limit

continental shelf: median line with neighbors

Climate

temperate; mild winters, cool summers; rainy, humid, cloudy

Terrain

flat coastal plains in northwest, central rolling hills, rugged mountains of Ardennes Forest in southeast

Elevation

highest point: Botrange 694 m

lowest point: North Sea 0 m

mean elevation: 181 m

Natural resources

construction materials, silica sand, carbonates, arable land

Land use

agricultural land: 44.1% (2018 est.)

arable land: 27.2% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.8% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 16.1% (2018 est.)

forest: 22.4% (2018 est.)

other: 33.5% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land

57 sq km (2013)

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Atlantic Ocean drainage: Seine (78,919 sq km), Rhine-Maas (198,735 sq km)

Population distribution

most of the population concentrated in the northern two-thirds of the country; the southeast is more thinly populated; considered to have one of the highest population densities in the world; approximately 97% live in urban areas

Natural hazards

flooding is a threat along rivers and in areas of reclaimed coastal land, protected from the sea by concrete dikes

Geography - note

crossroads of Western Europe; most West European capitals are within 1,000 km of Brussels, the seat of both the EU and NATO