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Main articles: Geography of Belgium, Extreme points of Belgium framed Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi, Liege and Namur are the six largest cities of Belgium, with populations above 100,000.
Belgium has an area of 30,510 km². Belgium has three main physical regions: the coastal plain (located in the northwest), the central plateau, and the Ardennes uplands (located in the southeast).
The coastal plain consists mainly of sand dunes and polders. Polders are areas of land, close to or below sea level, that have been reclaimed from the sea from which they are protected by dikes, or, further inland, fields that have been drained by canals.
The second physical region, the central plateau, lies further inland. This is a smooth, slowly rising area which has many fertile valleys and is irrigated by many waterways. Here one can also find rougher land, including caves and small gorges.
The third physical region (called the Ardennes) is somewhat more rugged than the first two. It is a thickly forested plateau, very rocky and not very good for farming, which extends into northern France. This is where much of Belgium's wildlife can be found.
The two main rivers in Belgium are the Scheldt and the Meuse. Although generally flat, the terrain becomes increasingly hilly and forested in the southeast ( Ardennes) region, where one can find Belgium's highest point, the Signal de Botrange at only 694 metres.
The climate is cool, temperate, and rainy; summer temperatures average 25°C / 77°F, winters average 7.2°C / 45°F. Annual extremes (rarely attained) are -12.2°C / 10°F and 32.2°C / 90°F.
Main article: Economy of Belgium
Densely populated Belgium is located at the heart of one of the world's most highly industrialised regions. One of the first countries to undergo an industrial revolution on the continent of Europe in the early 1800s, Belgium developed an excellent transportation infrastructure of ports, canals, railways, and highways to integrate its industry with that of its neighbours. One of the founding members of the European Union, Belgium strongly supports deepening the powers of the EU to integrate European economies. Belgium was one of the first countries to adopt the euro, the single European currency, in January 1999 and the Belgian franc was completely replaced by euro coins and banknotes in early 2002.
Belgium is sometimes called "The heart of Europe". This is not only because of its geographical location, but also due to many international institutions having their headquarters in Brussels, such as NATO and the European Union. This, in its turn, is because it has an excellent transportation system. It has a modern and toll-free road system, is connected to the European railway system, and Antwerp is the second largest European port.
The economy in Belgium greatly depends on its imports and exports. Its main imports are: food products, machinery, rough diamonds, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, clothing and accessories, and textiles, and its main trade partners are Germany, The Netherlands, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, the United States, and Spain. Its main exports are automobiles, food and food products, iron and steel, diamonds, textiles, plastics, petroleum products, and nonferrous metals. Trade is made together with Luxembourg, since these two countries created a customs and currency union in 1922.
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