Flanders is a federated entity of the federal state of Belgium. It is the umbrella term for the Flemish Region (the northern half of Belgium) and the Flemish Community (the inhabitants of the Flemish Region and the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of Brussels). Both are governed by the Flemish Parliament and Flemish Government. Town and country planning, housing, road infrastructure, culture, education and tourism are exclusively regional competences. Flanders has no natural resources, industry is exclusively focused on processing. In addition to chemicals, construction, food and drink are particularly important in this region. Many people are employed in the metal sector and car making. Market positions have been maintained in textiles, including carpet manufacturers and manufacturers of weaving machines. It also has a large service sector. Agriculture accounts for only a small proportion of GDP. Culture and Tourism are very important.
Bordered by the North Sea in the west, Flanders is the northern part of Belgium, nestled between the Netherlands and France. Some of Europe’s leading cities – London, Paris, Rotterdam, Cologne, Amsterdam, Bonn, Luxemburg – are all situated within a radius of 300 km of Brussels, the capital of Flanders. Belgium shares a land border with the Netherlands in the north, Germany and Luxemburg in the east, France in the south and a sea border with the UK to the west.
Flanders has 308 municipalities and is divided into 5 provinces. Each municipality and each province has its own executive body and directly-elected council. Municipal and provincial elections are held every six years. Every citizen is obliged to vote. Flanders has full sovereignity over the municipalities and provinces. A governor heads each provincial administration. These are the five provinces:
- Antwerp, with capital Antwerp with 455.148 inhabitants
- East Flanders, capital Ghent, population: 229.344
- West Flanders, capital Bruges, population: 117.025
- Flemish Brabant, capital Leuven, population: 89.777
- Limburg, capital Hasselt, population 69.127
The Key characteristics of Flanders can be found in the yearly publication VRIND [1], Vlaamse Regionale Indicatoren – Flanders’s regional indicators – and in the plans recently set out by the Flemish government under the title “VIA, Vlaanderen in Actie” [2] ("Flanders in Action").