Provinces of Belgium
The country of Belgium is divided into three regions. Two of these regions, the Flemish Region or Flanders, and Walloon Region, or Wallonia, are each subdivided into five provinces. The third region, the Brussels-Capital Region, is not divided into provinces, as it was originally only a small part of a province itself.
Municipalities of Belgium
Because of the specific nature of the reorganization in Antwerp, the law of December 30, 1975 didn't enter into force for Antwerp until January 1, 1983. The formerly independent municipalities were called districts and were given an advisory function. However, on January 1, 2001 they were given an administrative function again. The merger of Antwerp with the municipalities of Berchem, Borgerhout, Deurne, Hoboken, Ekeren, Merksem and Wilrijk in 1983 finally reduced the number of municipalities in Belgium to 589 and was the last reorganization of the municipalities for several decades because the merger of the 19 municipalities of Brussels was postponed indefinitely.