History of Belgium in Timeline

Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe bordering the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, France, and the North Sea. It covers 30,689 km2 and has a population exceeding 11.8 million, resulting in a high population density. Brussels is the capital and largest metropolitan region, with other major cities including Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi, Liège, Bruges, Namur, and Leuven.

1900: Growing international concern for Congolese population

Around 1900, there was growing international concern for the treatment of the Congolese population under Leopold II, focusing on ivory and rubber production.

1907: Development of Bakelite

In 1907, Bakelite was developed by Leo Baekeland.

1908: Belgian state assumes responsibility for the Congo

In 1908, the Belgian state assumed responsibility for the government of the colony, which was then called the Belgian Congo.

1909: Development of Bakelite

In 1909, Bakelite was developed by Leo Baekeland.

1910: Industrialization

By 1910, Belgium was one of the three most industrialized nations in the world due to the flourishing mining and steelmaking industries.

1911: Start of Solvay Conferences

In 1911, Ernest Solvay started a series of conferences, the Solvay Conferences on Physics and Chemistry, which have had a deep impact on the evolution of quantum physics and chemistry.

1911: Nobel Prize in Literature

In 1911, the poet and playwright Maurice Maeterlinck won the Nobel Prize in Literature.

August 1914: Germany invades Belgium

In August 1914, Germany invaded Belgium as part of the Schlieffen Plan, marking the start of the "Rape of Belgium" due to German excesses.

1919: Nobel Prize Awarded to Jules Bordet

In 1919, Jules Bordet (Université libre de Bruxelles) was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

1919: Estimated Population decline in Congo

In 1919, a Belgian commission estimated that Congo's population was half what it was in 1879.

1919: End of plural voting

Plural voting ended in 1919.

1920: Summer Olympics in Antwerp

The 1920 Summer Olympics were held in Antwerp.

1922: Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union

Since 1922, Belgium and Luxembourg have been a single trade market with customs and currency union through the Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union.

1924: League of Nations mandates Ruanda-Urundi to Belgium

In 1924, the League of Nations mandated Ruanda-Urundi to Belgium.

1925: Belgium annexes Eupen and Malmedy

In 1925, Belgium annexed the Prussian districts of Eupen and Malmedy, leading to the presence of a German-speaking minority.

1927: Big Bang Theory Proposed

In 1927, Monsignor Georges Lemaître proposed the Big Bang theory of the origin of the universe.

1938: Nobel Prize Awarded to Corneille Heymans

In 1938, Corneille Heymans (University of Ghent) was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

May 1940: Germany invades Belgium again

In May 1940, German forces invaded Belgium again, leading to the occupation and the Holocaust where 40,690 Belgians, including many Jews, were killed.

September 1944: Allies start liberating Belgium

From September 1944 to February 1945, the Allies liberated Belgium.

February 1945: Allies finish liberating Belgium

From September 1944 to February 1945, the Allies liberated Belgium.

March 1948: Treaty of Brussels Signed

In March 1948, Belgium signed the Treaty of Brussels, marking a priority for collective security in its foreign policy. Belgium then joined NATO later in 1948.

1949: Universal suffrage for women introduced

In 1949, universal suffrage for women was introduced in Belgium.

1951: Belgium founding member of European community

In 1951, Belgium became one of the six founding members of the European Coal and Steel Community.

1951: King Leopold III abdicates

In 1951, after a general strike, King Leopold III abdicated in favor of his son, Prince Baudouin, due to his perceived collaboration with Germany during the war.

1957: Belgium founding member of European communities

In 1957, Belgium became one of the six founding members of the European Atomic Energy Community and European Economic Community.

1958: Start of Christian Democrat coalition governments

A string of Christian Democrat coalition governments started in 1958.

1960: Belgian Congo gains independence

In 1960, the Belgian Congo gained independence during the Congo Crisis.

1960: Independence of Belgian Congo

In 1960, the Belgian Congo gained independence.

1960: Life Expectancy

Since 1960, life expectancy in Belgium has, in line with the European average, grown by two months per year.

1962: Independence of Ruanda-Urundi

In 1962, Ruanda-Urundi gained independence.

1967: Dutch version of the Constitution accepted

In 1967, the parliament accepted a Dutch version of the Constitution.

1970: Transition to federal structure

Between 1970 and 1993, Belgium transitioned from a unitary to a federal structure.

1970: Rail Network Decrease

From 1970 to 1999, there was an 18% decrease observed in Belgium's rail network density.

1970: Constitutional Revisions

In 1970, consecutive revisions of Belgium's constitution based on the four language areas defined in 1962–63 began, establishing a unique form of a federal state with segregated political power into three levels.

1970: Split of political parties

Since about 1970, the significant national Belgian political parties have split into distinct components that mainly represent the political and linguistic interests of these communities.

1972: Euro Hosted by Belgium

Belgium hosted the Euro 1972.

1973: Oil Crisis

The 1973 oil crisis sent the Belgian economy into recession.

1974: Nobel Prize Awarded to Albert Claude and Christian de Duve

In 1974, Albert Claude (Université libre de Bruxelles) together with Christian de Duve (Université catholique de Louvain) were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

1977: Nobel Prize Awarded to Ilya Prigogine

In 1977, Ilya Prigogine (Université libre de Bruxelles) was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

1977: European Basketball Championship

The 1977 European Basketball Championship was held in Liège and Ostend.

1978: Fields Medal Awarded to Pierre Deligne

In 1978, Pierre Deligne was awarded the Fields Medal.

1979: Oil Crisis

The 1979 oil crisis sent the Belgian economy into recession.

1980: Euro Silver Medals

Belgium's golden generation achieved the silver medals at Euro 1980.

1980: Constitutional Revisions

In 1980, consecutive revisions of Belgium's constitution based on the four language areas defined in 1962–63 continued, establishing a unique form of a federal state with segregated political power into three levels.

1980: Creation of Communities and Regions

In 1980, the Communities and Regions were created. Flemish politicians decided to merge both so the Flemings just have one single institutional body of parliament and government empowered for all except federal and specific municipal matters.

1984: Modification of Belgian Nationality Law

Since the modification of the Belgian nationality law in 1984, more than 1.3 million migrants have acquired Belgian citizenship.

1988: Constitutional Revisions

In 1988, consecutive revisions of Belgium's constitution based on the four language areas defined in 1962–63 continued, establishing a unique form of a federal state with segregated political power into three levels.

1990: Forest Cover in Belgium

In 1990, forest cover in Belgium was around 677,400 hectares (ha).

1993: Transition to federal structure

Between 1970 and 1993, Belgium transitioned from a unitary to a federal structure.

1993: Constitutional Revisions

In 1993, consecutive revisions of Belgium's constitution based on the four language areas defined in 1962–63 concluded, establishing a unique form of a federal state with segregated political power into three levels.

1994: Fields Medal Awarded to Jean Bourgain

In 1994, Jean Bourgain was awarded the Fields Medal.

1995: Abolishment of Conscription

In 1995, conscription was abolished in the Belgian military, transitioning to an all-volunteer force. Citizens of other EU states, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, or Lichtenstein are also able to join.

1997: English Edition

A 7th edition in English was made in 1997.

1998: Sunday Church Attendance

In 1998, the Sunday church attendance for the total of Belgium was 11%.

1999: End of Christian Democrat coalition governments

In 1999, after the first dioxin crisis, a "rainbow coalition" emerged, breaking the string of Christian Democrat coalition governments.

1999: Minting of Euro Coins

In 1999, the first sets of Belgian euro coins were minted.

1999: Motorway Network Growth

In 1999, the motorway network in Belgium had seen a significant growth (+56%) during the period from 1970–1999.

1999: Start of Verhofstadt government

The government led by Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt started in 1999 and lasted until 2007.

2000: Daily temperature minimums

Averages for the years 2000 to 2006 show daily temperature minimums of 7 °C (44.6 °F) .

2000: Euro Co-Hosted by Belgium

Belgium co-hosted the Euro 2000 with the Netherlands.

2000: Port of Antwerp

In 2000, the Port of Antwerp handled 115,988,000 tons of goods after a growth of 10.9% over the preceding five years, becoming the second European harbor.

2002: Postsecondary Education Enrollment

Among OECD countries in 2002, Belgium had the third highest proportion of 18- to 21-year-olds enrolled in postsecondary education, at 42%.

2002: Adoption of the Euro

In 2002, Belgium switched to the euro as its currency, replacing the Belgian franc.

2003: Formation of "purple coalition"

A "purple coalition" of Liberals and Social Democrats formed after the Greens lost most of their seats in the 2003 election.

2003: Legalisation of same-sex marriage

In 2003, Belgium became one of the first countries in the world to legalise same-sex marriage.

2005: Real GDP Growth and Unemployment

In 2005, Belgium's real GDP growth rate was 1.5% and unemployment rate was 8.4%.

2006: Budget Balance and Public Debt

As of 2006, Belgium's budget was balanced, and public debt was equal to 90.30% of GDP. Real GDP growth rate was 3.0% and Unemployment rates was 8.2% .

2006: Daily temperature maximums

Averages for the years 2000 to 2006 show daily temperature maximums of 14 °C (57.2 °F) .

2006: Religion in Flanders

In 2006, an inquiry in Flanders showed that 55% considered themselves religious and that 36% believed that God created the universe.

June 2007: Federal Elections of 2007

On that day, Yves Leterme was the actual winner of the federal elections of June 2007.

June 2007: Elections leading to political crisis

Verhofstadt's coalition fared badly in the June 2007 elections, leading to a political crisis.

December 2007: Formation of temporary Verhofstadt III Government

From 21 December 2007 until 20 March 2008, the temporary Verhofstadt III Government was in office.

2007: Economic Disparity

As of 2007, the unemployment rate of Wallonia was over double that of Flanders, contributing to tensions between the two regions.

2007: Belgium as a Trading Nation

In 2007, Belgium's strongly globalized economy made it the world's 15th largest trading nation.

2007: Belgian Citizenship and Foreign Nationals

In 2007, nearly 92% of the population held Belgian citizenship, with other European Union citizens accounting for around 6%. Among foreign nationals, the most prevalent were Italian, French, Dutch, Moroccan, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish, and German. Furthermore, there were 1.38 million foreign-born residents, representing 12.9% of the total population in 2007.

2007: End of Verhofstadt government

The government led by Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt from 1999 ended in 2007.

March 2008: End of temporary Verhofstadt III Government

From 21 December 2007 until 20 March 2008, the temporary Verhofstadt III Government was in office.

July 2008: First Leterme resignation

On 15 July 2008 Leterme offered the resignation of the cabinet to the King, as no progress in constitutional reforms had been made.

December 2008: Second Leterme resignation

In December 2008, Leterme once more offered his resignation after a crisis surrounding the sale of Fortis to BNP Paribas.

2008: Muslim Population Estimate

A 2008 estimate found that approximately 6% of the Belgian population, which is 628,751 people, is Muslim.

November 2009: Van Rompuy designated President of the European Council

After Herman Van Rompuy was designated the first permanent President of the European Council on 19 November 2009, he offered the resignation of his government to King Albert II on 25 November 2009.

2009: Sunday Church Attendance

By 2009, Sunday church attendance in Belgium was 5% in total, 3% in Brussels, and 5.4% in Flanders.

April 2010: Leterme's resignation offer

On 22 April 2010, Leterme again offered the resignation of his cabinet to the King after one of the coalition partners, the OpenVLD, withdrew from the government, and on 26 April 2010 King Albert officially accepted the resignation.

June 2010: Parliamentary elections

The Parliamentary elections in Belgium on 13 June 2010 saw the Flemish nationalist N-VA become the largest party in Flanders, and the Socialist Party PS the largest party in Wallonia.

October 2010: Unemployment Rate

By October 2010, Belgium's unemployment rate had grown to 8.5%, compared to an average rate of 9.6% for the European Union as a whole (EU 27).

2010: Eurobarometer Beliefs

According to the Eurobarometer of 2010, 37% of Belgian citizens believed in God, 31% in some sort of spirit or life-force, and 27% did not believe in any spirit, God, or life-force.

2010: Federal election and government formation delay

Following the 2010 federal election, Belgium faced a record 589 days without a government formation.

2010: Traffic Congestion

In 2010, commuters to the cities of Brussels and Antwerp spent respectively 65 and 64 hours a year in traffic jams.

March 2011: World record for elapsed time without an official government

By 30 March 2011, Belgium set a new world record for the elapsed time without an official government, previously held by war-torn Iraq.

December 2011: Formation of Di Rupo Government

In December 2011 the Di Rupo Government led by Walloon socialist Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo was sworn in.

2012: Average Life Expectancy

According to 2012 estimates, the average life expectancy in Belgium is 79.65 years.

2012: Foreign Background Population

At the beginning of 2012, it was estimated that people of foreign background and their descendants formed around 25% of Belgium's total population, totaling 2.8 million new Belgians.

2012: Christianity as Largest Religion

In 2012, a survey found that Christianity was the largest religion in Belgium, accounting for 65% of Belgians.

2012: Philippe Gilbert World Champion

Philippe Gilbert was the 2012 world champion in cycling.

2013: Nobel Prize Awarded to François Englert

In 2013, François Englert (Université libre de Bruxelles) was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics.

2013: Monarch on Euro Coins

Since 2013, the standard Belgian euro coins designated for circulation show the portrait of King Philippe.

July 2014: Federal Election and Government Formation

In July 2014, following the federal election, King Philippe nominated Charles Michel (MR) and Kris Peeters (CD&V) to form a new federal cabinet. This led to the Michel Government, which included the Flemish N-VA party for the first time. The French-speaking side was represented only by the MR.

2014: Senate Member Changes

Prior to 2014, most of the Senate's members were directly elected.

November 2015: Belgium National Football Team FIFA Ranking

As of November 2015, the Belgium national football team has been among the best on the FIFA World Rankings, reaching the top spot for the first time.

2015: Eurobarometer on Religion

According to the Eurobarometer 2015, 60.7% of the total population of Belgium adhered to Christianity, with Catholicism being the largest denomination with 52.9%.

2015: Forest ownership in Belgium

For the year 2015, 47% of the forest area was reported to be under public ownership and 53% private ownership.

2016: Biocapacity Deficit

In 2016, Belgium was running a biocapacity deficit of 5.5 global hectares per person, requiring about eight times as much biocapacity as it contained.

2016: Port of Antwerp

In 2016, the Port of Antwerp handled 214 million tons after a year-on-year growth of 2.7%.

2017: Fertility Rate

In 2017, the average total fertility rate (TFR) across Belgium was 1.64 children per woman, below the replacement rate of 2.1.

2018: Forest Landscape Integrity Index score

Belgium had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 1.36/10, ranking it 163rd globally out of 172 countries.

2018: World Cup Bronze Medals

Belgium's golden generation achieved the bronze medals at the World Cup 2018.

2018: Recalculation of surface area

In 2018, a new calculation method for the country's statistics revealed Belgium to be 160 km² larger in surface area than previously thought.

May 2019: Federal Elections

In May 2019, the federal elections saw the far-right Vlaams Belang party gain significant ground in Flanders, while the Socialists remained strong in Wallonia. The N-VA remained the largest party in parliament.

July 2019: Charles Michel selected as President of the European Council

In July 2019, Prime Minister Charles Michel was selected to hold the post of President of the European Council. Sophie Wilmès succeeded him, becoming Belgium's first female prime minister.

October 2019: Sophie Wilmès becomes Prime Minister

In October 2019, Sophie Wilmès led the caretaker government as Belgium's first female prime minister.

2019: Defense Budget

In 2019, Belgium's defense budget totaled €4.303 billion ($4.921 billion), representing .93% of its GDP.

October 2020: Alexander De Croo becomes new prime minister

In October 2020, Alexander De Croo, a Flemish Liberal party politician, became the new prime minister of Belgium after the parties agreed on the federal government 16 months after the elections.

2020: Forest Cover in Belgium

In 2020, forest cover in Belgium is around 23% of the total land area, equivalent to 689,300 hectares (ha) of forest, up from 677,400 hectares (ha) in 1990.

January 2021: Belgian Population Origin Figures

According to Statbel's figures released in January 2021, 67.3% of the Belgian population was of ethnic Belgian origin, while 32.7% were of foreign origin or nationality.

2022: Remco Evenepoel World Champion

Remco Evenepoel was the 2022 world champion in cycling.

2023: Belgium's greenhouse gas emissions

In 2023, Belgium emitted 106.82 million tonnes of greenhouse gases, equivalent to 9.12 tonnes per person.

2023: Belgian Armed Forces Personnel

In 2023, the Belgian Armed Forces had 23,200 active personnel, including various components (Land, Naval, Air, Medical, Joint service), and 5,900 reserve personnel.