The Kingdom of Belgium is divided into three regions. Two of these regions, Flanders and Wallonia, are each subdivided into five provinces. The third region, Brussels, does not belong to any province, nor is it subdivided into provinces. Instead, it has amalgamated both regional and provincial functions into a single "Capital Region" administration.

Most of the provinces take their name from earlier duchies and counties of similar location, while their territory is mostly based on the departments installed during French annexation. At the time of the creation of Belgium in 1830, only nine provinces existed, including the province of Brabant, which held the City of Brussels. In 1995, Brabant was split into three areas: Flemish Brabant, which became a part of the region of Flanders; Walloon Brabant, which became part of the region of Wallonia; and the Brussels-Capital Region, which became a third region. These divisions reflected political tensions between the French-speaking Walloons and the Dutch-speaking Flemish; the Brussels-Capital Region is officially bilingual.

The division into provinces is fixed by Article 5 of the Belgian Constitution. The provinces and Brussels are subdivided into 43 administrative arrondissements, and further into 565 municipalities.

List

[[File:Population density of Belgium provinces.png|400px|thumb|center|Provinces of Belgium (including the Brussels-Capital Region) by population density as of 1 January 2019

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The Governor is appointed by the cabinet of the Brussels Capital Region on the unanimous advice of the Federal Council of Ministers. The regional government also appoints the Vice-Governor, who must have a considerable knowledge of both French and Dutch and who must ensure that the legislation regarding the use of the two languages is observed in Brussels.

Proposed additional province

thumb|The German-speaking Community.

Because the German-speaking Community is located entirely within Liège Province, it has been proposed on multiple occasions to create an eleventh province, the province of Eupen-Sankt Vith, which would comprise the nine municipalities of the German-speaking Community. Most of the functions carried out by provincial organs would then be exercised by the organs of the German-speaking Community.

However, the community is small in area () and has only about 76,000 inhabitants, which would make it the smallest and by far the least populated province.

See also

  • Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium
  • List of Belgian provinces by GDP
  • List of Belgian provinces by Human Development Index
  • State reform in Belgium

References

  • The provinces, Belgium.be
  • Vereniging van de Vlaamse Provincies (Association of the Flemish Provinces)
  • Association des Provinces wallonnes (Association of the Walloon Provinces)

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