Communities, regions and provinces of Belgium

Belgium is a federal state and is composed of three communities, three regions, and four linguistic regions. Two out of the three regions each comprise as well each five provinces, making a total of ten provinces. Belgium also comprises 589 municipalities. These are the five most important subdivisions of Belgium, as laid out into the Belgian constitution (as far as the first four subdivisions are concerned) and law (as far as the municipalities are concerned). Other less important subdivisions include for instance the electoral, judicial and police districts, as well as the new inter-municipal police zones (lower level than the police districts).

Related Topics:
Belgium - Province - Municipalities - Belgian constitution

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All these subdivisions have geographical boundaries: the regions, the linguistic regions, the communities, the provinces and the municipalities. The division by communities, presumed by some French-speakers as not territorial is equally geographically delimited: The Flemish government has legal authority (for its community competencies) only within the areas of the Flemish and Brussels region; the French-speaking community analogously has powers only within the areas of the Walloon and Brussels region. Belgian official communities do not refer directly to groups of people -there is indeed no subnationality in Brussels - but rather to the political, linguistic and cultural competencies of the country.

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Of these communities, only the Flemings have 'some' exclusive territory (the Flemish region for the Flemish community and the Walloon for the French-speaking community). All communities thus have a precise and legally established area where they can exert their competencies: the Flemish Community is competent in the Flemish and Brussels regions; the French-speaking Community in the Walloon and Brussels regions, and the German Community only in a small part of the province of Liège (Wallonia), bordering with Germany.

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The three regions are the Brussels-Capital Region, the Flemish Region and the Walloon Region.

Related Topics:
Brussels-Capital Region - Flemish Region - Walloon Region

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The three communities are:

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• the French-speaking Communauté Française ("French Community")
• the Dutch-speaking Vlaamse Gemeenschap ("Flemish Community"); and
• the German-speaking Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft ("Germanophone Community").

The four linguistic regions are the French language region, the Dutch-language region, the bilingual region of Brussels-Capital and the German-language region (which has language facilities for French-speakers).

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See also: , the ISO codes for the regions and provinces of Belgium.

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Communities, regions and provinces of Belgium: Brussels-Capital Region ►