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Belgium vs. Germany

Geography

BelgiumGermany
LocationWestern Europe, bordering the North Sea, between France and the NetherlandsCentral Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark
Geographic coordinates50 50 N, 4 00 E51 00 N, 9 00 E
Map referencesEuropeEurope
Areatotal: 30,528 sq km

land: 30,278 sq km

water: 250 sq km
total: 357,022 sq km

land: 348,672 sq km

water: 8,350 sq km
Area - comparativeabout the size of Marylandthree times the size of Pennsylvania; slightly smaller than Montana
Land boundariestotal: 1,297 km

border countries (4): France 556 km, Germany 133 km, Luxembourg 130 km, Netherlands 478 km
total: 3,694 km

border countries (9): Austria 801 km, Belgium 133 km, Czechia 704 km, Denmark 140 km, France 418 km, Luxembourg 128 km, Netherlands 575 km, Poland 447 km, Switzerland 348 km
Coastline66.5 km2,389 km
Maritime claimsterritorial sea: 12 nm

contiguous zone: 24 nm

exclusive economic zone: geographic coordinates define outer limit

continental shelf: median line with neighbors
territorial sea: 12 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Climatetemperate; mild winters, cool summers; rainy, humid, cloudytemperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind
Terrainflat coastal plains in northwest, central rolling hills, rugged mountains of Ardennes Forest in southeastlowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south
Elevation extremeshighest point: Botrange 694 m

lowest point: North Sea 0 m

mean elevation: 181 m
highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m

lowest point: Neuendorf bei Wilster -3.5 m

mean elevation: 263 m
Natural resourcesconstruction materials, silica sand, carbonates, arable landcoal, lignite, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel, uranium, potash, salt, construction materials, timber, arable land
Land useagricultural land: 44.1% (2018 est.)

arable land: 27.2% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.8% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 16.1% (2018 est.)

forest: 22.4% (2018 est.)

other: 33.5% (2018 est.)
agricultural land: 48% (2018 est.)

arable land: 34.1% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.6% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 13.3% (2018 est.)

forest: 31.8% (2018 est.)

other: 20.2% (2018 est.)
Irrigated land230 sq km (2012)6,500 sq km (2012)
Natural hazardsflooding is a threat along rivers and in areas of reclaimed coastal land, protected from the sea by concrete dikesflooding
Environment - current issuesintense pressures from human activities: urbanization, dense transportation network, industry, extensive animal breeding and crop cultivation; air and water pollution also have repercussions for neighboring countriesemissions from coal-burning utilities and industries contribute to air pollution; acid rain, resulting from sulfur dioxide emissions, is damaging forests; pollution in the Baltic Sea from raw sewage and industrial effluents from rivers in eastern Germany; hazardous waste disposal; government established a mechanism for ending the use of nuclear power by 2022; government working to meet EU commitment to identify nature preservation areas in line with the EU's Flora, Fauna, and Habitat directive
Environment - international agreementsparty to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - notecrossroads of Western Europe; most West European capitals are within 1,000 km of Brussels, the seat of both the European Union and NATOstrategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea; most major rivers in Germany - the Rhine, Weser, Oder, Elbe - flow northward; the Danube, which originates in the Black Forest, flows eastward
Total renewable water resources18.3 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)154 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)
Population distributionmost of the population concentrated in the northern two-thirds of the country; the southeast is more thinly populated; considered to have one of the highest population densities in the world; approximately 97% live in urban areasmost populous country in Europe; a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations, particularly in the far western part of the industrial state of North Rhine-Westphalia

Source: CIA Factbook