Belgium is a sovereign state in Western Europe bordered by France, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, and the North Sea. It is a small, densely populated country which covers an area of 30528 km2 and has a population of about 11 million people. Straddling the cultural boundary between Germanic and Latin Europe, Belgium is home to two main linguistic groups: the Dutch-speaking, mostly Flemish community, which constitutes about 59% of the population, and the French-speaking, mostly Walloon population, which comprises 41% of all Belgians. Additionally, there is a small group of German-speakers who live in the East Cantons located around the High Fens area, and bordering Germany.
Belgium's strongly globalized economy[1] and its transport infrastructure are integrated with the rest of Europe. Its location at the heart of a highly industrialized region helped make it the world's 15th largest trading nation in 2007.[2][3] The economy is characterized by a highly productive work force, high GNP and high exports per capita.[4] Belgium's main imports are raw materials, machinery and equipment, chemicals, raw diamonds, pharmaceuticals, foodstuffs, transportation equipment, and oil products. Its main exports are machinery and equipment, chemicals, finished diamonds, metals and metal products, and foodstuffs.[5]
For further information on the types of business entities in this country and their abbreviations, see "Business entities in Belgium".
Largest firms
This list shows the one firm in the Fortune Global 500, which ranks firms by total revenues reported before 31 March 2024.[6]
Notable firms
This list includes notable companies with primary headquarters located in the country. The industry and sector follow the Industry Classification Benchmark taxonomy. Organizations which have ceased operations are included and noted as defunct.
See also
- List of largest companies in Belgium
- List of Belgium-related topics
- List of airlines of Belgium
- List of Belgian banks
External links
References
- Belgium ranked first in the KOF Globalization Index 2009 KOF Index of Globalization retrieved 2 February 2009^
- Rank Order – Exports CIA – The 2008 world factbook, retrieved 5 October 2008^
- Rank Order – Imports CIA – The 2008 world factbook, retrieved 5 October 2008^
- Belgian economy Belgium, Belgian Federal Public Service (ministry) of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, retrieved 12 June 2009^
- Belgium The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 6 June 2023^
- Fortune Global 500 Fortune, retrieved 10 April 2025^
- Llama-Based Biotechnology Draws New Interest to Ablynx Bloomberg, 2015-05-13, retrieved 2017-12-20^
- Alpro - About Alpro www.alpro.com, retrieved 20 December 2017^
- Gimv Investeringsmaatschappij Voor Vlaanderen NV, GIMV:PAR profile - FT.com Markets.ft.com, 2017-09-19, retrieved 2017-12-20^