My PowerPoint presentation

1. Belgium
By Connor DeWitt

2. Physical Characteristics
• Belgium is a relatively small country. It is about the
size of Maryland. Its lack of size results in a high
population density rate of about 886 people per
square mile.
• Belgium is also home to the Ardennes Forest. It is a
very thickly forested region with very few
inhabitants. It has the lowest population density rate
in all of Belgium.

3. Physical Characteristics
• 97% of Belgium’s population lives in the more urban
areas of the country. The most heavily populated
city is Flanders.
• Due to the densely forested region of the Ardennes
and its unforgiving, mountainous terrain, much of
the population flocks to the cities. There, they can
find industrial jobs and a higher quality way of life.

4. Cultural Characteristics
 Belgium has three national languages. They are
French, German, and Dutch.
 Education in Belgium, is required from age 6 to 18. Belgium also
had the 3rd highest percentage of students enrolled in some kind
of college or university, in the whole world.
 Belgium is famous for their beer, waffles, chocolate and French
fries. The Belgians are actually the ones who created French
fries, not the French.
 75% of Belgium’s population is Roman Catholic.
 These cultural characteristics show the unique aspects of what
Belgium really is but also shows the success of the country and
the culture that is known throughout the world.

5. Famous Belgian Cuisine

6. Customs and Traditions
 There are two Santa Claus figures in Belgian culture. There is St. Nicolas
and Pere Noel. St. Nicolas is the Santa figure for the Walloon children and
visits them twice. Pere Noel visits the French speaking children only once.
 The Belgians also celebrate "The Festival of the Cats". This festival takes
place every three years. It commemorates the medieval tradition of
throwing cats off the top of the tower, in order to control the population.
They only throw stuffed cats these days.
 Belgian brides take a handkerchief with them down the isle with the
names of their mother, grandmother and great grandmother. They do this
to honor the maternal heritage of the bride.
 These festivals and traditions, help define the Belgian heritage. It gives
them something in common and promotes a national unity among the
people of the land.

7. Fast Facts on Belgium
 Capital: Brussels
 Government: federal parliamentary democracy under a
constitutional monarch
 Currency: euro (EUR)
 Area: 30,510 square kilometers
 Population:10,275,000