This is a small country which is low lying with a total area of approximately 30,500 km, almost 1/8 the size of Ghana. It is within easy reach of its neighbouring countries, Netherlands, Germany, France and Luxembourg. It is open to the North Sea with a coastline of 65 km.

Belgium is crossed by great trade routes linking its ports with the interior of Europe. It is a country rich in the history of trade and manufacturing industries.

Belgium is bordered on the North by the Netherlands and the North Sea, on the East by Germany and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and on the West and South West by France.

Brussels is the capital and Antwerp is the chief commercial center and one of the world's major ports. Other important cities include Ghent and Liege.

Detailed map of Belgium showing location, regions and the physical features

Of the five countries studied in this book, Belgium is the second smallest, having a total area of only 30,200 square km. As a result of its small size it is within easy reach of its neighbours such as Holland, Germany, France, Luxembourg; and with a coastline of 65 kms. in length it has useful access to the North Sea.

For centuries Belgium has been crossed by the great trade routes linking Belgian ports with interior Europe, so that it is a country rich in the history of trade and manufacturing.

Several towns still have their medieval buildings which testify to their former glory as manufacturing centres, for example  Cloth Hall at Ypres.

It was not until 1830 that Belgium officially became an independent country ruled by a monarch. Prior to then the territory had always been subject to a variety of invaders, even as far back as the Romans. The result of these numerous occupations has been a country which is linguistically divided.

The language frontier cuts Belgium almost evenly in two, extending east-west and passing through Brussels. To the north of this line are the Flemings, who speak Flemish, a dialect of Dutch; while to the south are the Walloons, who speak a dialect of French.

With a population approaching ten million, Flemish-speaking Belgians represent the largest population group with 55.8 per cent. Brussels is the capital city, with over a million inhabitants, of whom the majority are French-speaking.

As a result of the language differences Belgium is a bilingual country by law, so that both language groups are legally safeguarded. Despite rivalry between the two groups and despite the difficulties to which this gives rise, the linguistic frontier does not represent an economic obstacle; it is simply a cultural and administrative boundary.