• Belgium became an independent country in 1830.
• Official name: the “Kingdom of Belgium”
• Monarch: King Philippe of Belgium
• Population: 11.5 million
• Area: 30,528 square kilometers (about the size of the state of Maryland)
• Official languages: Dutch, French and German.
• 98% of the population live in urban areas and cities.
• Belgium has more castles per square kilometre than any other country in the world
• The highest point in Belgium is lower than the world's tallest building.
• Brussels’ South Charleroi Airport is the most punctual airport in Europe.
• Belgium has the densest rail network in the world with 4,078 kilometers of track.
• Belgium's tax revenue is ±48 percent of the country’s GDP.
• The longest tram line in the world runs along the coast between the French and Dutch borders.
• Belgium has been producing chocolate for almost 400 years.
• Antwerp is the world’s diamond capital.
• Belgium has the lowest salary gap between man and women in the EU.
• Europe’s first skyscraper was built in Belgium in 1928.
• The Law Courts of Brussels is the world's largest court of justice.
• The first stock exchange building was built in Bruges.
• Belgium is the birthplace of some of the world's most famous identities: actors Audrey Hepburn and Jean-Claude van Damme; artists Jan Van Eyck, Peter Paul Rubens and René Magritte; fashion designers Liz Claiborne and Dries Van Noten; composer and singer Jacques Brel; and writer Georges Simenon with his protagionist Inspector Maigret.
• Belgium hosts the world’s largest sand sculpture festival.
• The world’s first recorded lottery took place in Belgium, and was held to raise money for the poor.
• The internal combustion engine was created by a Belgian engineer in 1858.
• Belgian Leo Henricus Baekeland created the first commercial version of plastic called Bakelite.

Sources: expatica.com; expatica.com; Wonderful Wanderings