Lying on the coast of the North Sea in northwestern Europe, with Germany to its east, the Netherlands to its north and France to its south and west, Belgium is located at the heart of one of Europe's most highly industrialized regions. Together with its neighbors the Netherlands and Luxembourg, this group of three countries is referred to collectively as Benelux. Belgium has a population of about 10 million people in an area of 11,700 square miles (30,000 square kilometers) and includes French, Dutch, and German as its official languages.Belgium was one of the founding members of the European Union (EU), and Brussels is effectively the unofficial capital of Europe - home to the European Parliament of the European Union and the headquarters of NATO (of which Belgium and the United States are both members) as well as various other international organizations. A full-color study of the history, people, culture, geography, environment, and economy of this pivotal country and role it plays in modern-day global politics are highlighted in "Belgium".

Series edited by: Charles F. Gritzner