Languages of Belgium
Before the federal structure and the language legislation gradually introduced in the 20th century, French was generally the only language used by public authorities. For example, the Dutch version of the Constitution has enjoyed equal status to the original French one only since 1967, and the German version only since 1991.
Of the inhabitants of Belgium, roughly 59% belong to the Flemish Community, 40% to the French Community and 1% to the German-speaking Community, though these figures relating to official Belgian languages include unknown numbers of immigrants and their children speaking a foreign language as primary language, and of Belgian regional migrants which may be assumed to largely balance one another for natively French and Dutch speakers. Though the standard form of Dutch used in Belgium is almost identical to that spoken in the Netherlands and the different dialects spread across the border, it is often colloquially called "Flemish".
Belgian national identity card
All fields on the card are bilingual (English in combination with either Dutch, French or German) and the heading "Belgium / Identity card" in all four languages. The used language (and the one used first in the heading) depends on the official language of the place of residence (per the Belgian language areas), unless the residence is a Brussels municipality, in which case the holder may choose between French or Dutch, or a municipality with language facilities, in which case the holder may choose between French or Dutch, or French or German, depending on the local language facilities.