Exclusive fishing zone: equidistant line with neighbors (extends about 68 km from coast);

Territorial sea: 12 nm

_#_Climate: temperate; mild winters, cool summers; rainy, humid, cloudy

_#_Terrain: flat coastal plains in northwest, central rolling hills, rugged mountains of Ardennes Forest in southeast

_#_Natural resources: coal, natural gas

_#_Land use: arable land 24%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 20%; forest and woodland 21%; other 34%, includes irrigated NEGL%

_#_Environment: air and water pollution

_#_Note: majority of West European capitals within 1,000 km of Brussels; crossroads of Western Europe; Brussels is the seat of the EC

_*People #_Population: 9,921,910 (July 1991), growth rate 0.1% (1991)

_#_Birth rate: 12 births/1,000 population (1991)