Geography - note: crossroads of Western Europe; majority of West
European capitals within 1,000 km of Brussels, the seat of both the
European Union and NATO
People Belgium
Population: 10,274,595 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 17.3% (male 911,729; female 871,470) 15-64 years: 65.6% (male 3,395,885; female 3,341,536) 65 years and over: 17.1% (male 716,673; female 1,037,302) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.15% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 10.58 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 10.08 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 4.64 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)