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.
Belgische Unie – Union Belge
Belgium is a federal country with an unusual structure. It consists of 3 groups differentiated by language: Dutch-speaking Belgians or Flemings (about 59% of the population who live in the north of the country), French-speaking Belgians or Walloons (about 40% of the population who live in the south), and German speaking Belgians (about 1% of the population who live in the east). At present, Belgium is a federation with two different divisions of authority: there is a Belgian Federal Government, the territory is divided into three Communities on a linguistic basis (Flemish, Walloon and German-speaking), and concurrent with this division also exists another one, the Regions (Flanders, Wallonia and the Brussels-Capital Region). So one is part of Belgium, one Community, and one Region. The Communities have the power over cultural facilities: education, culture, sport etc., while the Regions have power over environmental facilities: environment and city planning, tourism etc. The federal government has been reduced to mainly the departments of Justice, Finances, Foreign Affairs (though Foreign Trade is regional), and Internal Affairs (though regions also have ministers for this).