Brussels is the capital of Belgium and the headquarters of NATO and the European Union. It is host to the world's largest number of diplomatic missions.

Antwerp, Belgium's second largest city, and the world's fourth largest port, is also the diamond capital of the world.

The Begonia is to Belgium what the Tulip is to Holland.

Belgium is the world's largest producer of Azaleas.

Belgian research scientists lead the world in plant genetics.

Belgium boasts the most skilled labor force in the world and the most productive in Western Europe, having held this record for the last 15 years.

That Belgium has three official languages: French, Dutch and German. And that most of the people are fluent in English.

Belgium has a rich folklore and pageantry. All these folklore events date from the Middle Ages.

Adolphe Sax, a Belgian, invented the saxophone in 1846.

The greatest Flemish master of the baroque style was Peter Paul Rubens, painter, scholar and diplomat. His collaborator, Anthony Van Dyck, became court painter to the English royal family. The greatest of the typically Flemish artists, Pieter Breughel, revived religious and landscape painting.

Georges Simenon, creator of inspector Maigret, world-famous author of mystery novels.

Although every region has its special foods, the national dish of Belgium is mussels and Belgian fried potatoes.

Belgium produces more than 400 different beers. The strongest beers are brewed by monks in the monasteries of Orval, Chimay, Rochefort, Westvleteren and Westmalle.