Belgium is geographically divided into 3 federal regions; 2 regions are each divided into 5 provinces, together 10. The Belgian population is also divided along the language lines into three communities: the French speaking Communauté Française (French Community) , the Dutch speaking Vlaamse Gemeenschap (Flemish Community) , and the German speaking Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft (Germanophone Community).
1. The Brussels Capital Region (Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest in Dutch, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale in French, Die Region Brüssel-Hauptstadt in German)
- This federal region is centrally located and completely surrounded by the province of Flemish Brabant. With a surface area of 162 km² (0.53% of Belgium) it is the smallest of the three regions. It contains the city of Brussels, which acts both as federal and regional capital, together with 18 other municipalities. The official languages are Dutch and French. The Brussels Capital Region contains only one administrative district, the Brussels Capital District.
2. The Flemish Region or Flanders (Vlaams Gewest or Vlaanderen in Dutch)
- Flanders occupies the northern part of Belgium. The official language is Dutch, although French may be used by the inhabitants of six so-called municipalities with facilities (faciliteitengemeenten in Dutch) around the Brussels Capital Region. It has a surface area of 13522 km² (44.29% of Belgium) and is divided into 5 provinces which contain a total of 308 municipalities. Remarkably, the city of Brussels, which lies not in Flanders, does act as its capital.
- West Flanders (West-Vlaanderen in Dutch)
- East Flanders (Oost-Vlaanderen in Dutch)
- Antwerp (Antwerpen in Dutch)
- Flemish Brabant (Vlaams-Brabant in Dutch)
See also: List of Flemish municipalities
3. The Walloon Region or Wallonia (Région Wallonne or Wallonie in French)
- Wallonia occupies the southern part of Belgium. The official languages are French and German (only used in nine eastern municipalities near the German border, which were given to Belgium after WWI). It has a surface area of 16844 km² (55.18% of Belgium) and is also divided into 5 provinces which contain a total of 262 municipalities. Its capital is Namur.
- Walloon Brabant (Brabant Wallon in French)
See also: List of Walloon municipalities