Flanders ('Vlaanderen') is one of the three Belgian regions with its own government, parliament and administration. The other two are the Brussels-Capital Region and the Walloon Region. Comprised of the Dutch-speaking part of the country, the Flemish Region has the largest population of the three (58%).

As a result of various state structure reforms over the last 30 years, Belgium has been transformed into a federal state, giving the regions more and more responsibilities. Apart from the environment, the Flemish government is also competent in other matters, such as the economy, employment, education and culture, agriculture, foreign trade, land planning, urban development, housing, public works ...

More information on Flanders

	Flanders	Belgium	EU-27
total population (1-1-2007)	6 117 440	10 584 534	495 072 299
surface area	13 522 km²	30 528 km²	4 325 900 km²
capital	Brussels	Brussels	Brussels
highest point	Voeren (288 m)	Botrange (694m)	Mont Blanc (4 808 m)
population density	452 inhabitants / km²	347 inhabitants / km²	113 inhabitants / km²
population growth (1997-2007)	3.7%	4.1%	1.9%
share of population aged 65 or over in 2006	17.8%	17.2%	16.5% (EU-25, 2004)
share of population aged 15 or under in 2006	16.4%	17.1%	16.4% (EU-25, 2004)
gross domestic product (GDP) (2005)	170.3 billion euros	298.0 billion euros	10 938 billion euros
GDP per inhabitant (2005)	26 483 euros	26 748 euros	21 544 euros
average annual real growth GDP during 1997-2006	2.3%	2.3%	¨2.4% (EU-25)
employment rate (a) (2006)	65.0%	61.0%	64.4%
unemployment rate (b) (2006)	5.0%	8.3%	8.3%
number of traffic deaths per 100 000 inhabitants (2005)	9.4	10.4	9.3
life expectancy (at birth) (2005) men	77.6 year (2004)	75.8 year	73.6 year
life expectancy (at birth) (2005) women	82.9 year (2004)	81.9 year	80.2 year
shar of electricity from CHP (%) (2006)	14	8.4 (2004)	10.2 (EU-25, 2004)
share of electricity from  renewable sources (%) (2006)	2.4	2.1 (2004)	15.3 (2004)

(a) number of employed in % of the population at a working age (15-64 years)
(b) number of unemployed in % of the population at a working age (15-64 years)

Source: APS, Eurostat Yearbook 2006-2007, FOD economie (Statistiscs Division), EEA, FGOV