Belgium is a small country located in Western Europe. It is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the south and west, and has a coastline along the North Sea to the northwest. Geographically, Belgium lies approximately between latitudes 49° and 51° N and longitudes 2° and 7° E

. Belgium covers an area of about 30,688 square kilometers (11,849 square miles) and is divided into three main regions:

• Flanders in the north, predominantly Dutch-speaking
• Wallonia in the south, primarily French-speaking with a small German-speaking community in the east
• Brussels-Capital Region in the center, bilingual in French and Dutch and serving as the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union

The country's terrain includes coastal plains in the northwest, a central plateau, and the Ardennes uplands in the southeast, with the highest point being Mount Botrange at 694 meters (2,277 feet)

. The capital city is Brussels, which is also a major international political and economic hub