ΠΕΙΡΑΜΑΤΙΚΟ ΓΕ.Λ. ΠΑΤΡΩΝ 2018-2019 ΔΗΜΙΟΥΡΓΙΚΗ ΕΡΓΑΣΙΑ ΣΤΟ ΜΑΘΗΜΑ ΤΗΣ ΑΓΓΛΙΚΗ ΓΛΩΣΣΑΣ (Υπεύθυνη Καθηγήτρια: Μαρία Χριστοπούλου)

Aggeliki Rigopoulou, Class A2 Belgium Aggeliki Rigopoulou, Class A2

Some words about Belgium: Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a sovereign state in Western Europe. It borders the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the southwest and the North Sea to the northwest. It covers an area of 30,688 square kilometers and has a population of more than 11.4 million. The capital and the largest city is Brussels. Belgium has three official languages: Dutch, French and German. Also, various non- official minority languages ​​are spoken. As there is no census, there are no official statistics on the distribution or use of the three official Belgian languages ​​or their dialects. However, a number of criteria, including parental language, education or foreign language status, may be provided. The estimated 60% of the Belgian population is Dutch native (often referred to as Flemish language) and 40% of the population speaks French. French-speaking Belgians are often referred to as Walloons, although the French speakers in Brussels are not Walloons.

Religion and Education: From the independence of the country, Roman Catholicism, outweighed by powerful free- thinking movements, played an important role in Belgian politics. However, Belgium is largely a secular country, as the populist constitution provides for freedom of religion and the government generally respects this right in practice. Education is mandatory from 6 to 18 years for Belgians. Among the OECD countries in 2002, Belgium had the third highest rate of 18 to 21 years of age in post-secondary education at 42%. Although the estimated 99% of the adult population is in writing, concern is growing relative to functional illiteracy. The PISA, coordinated by the OECD, today classifies Belgium's education as the world's 19th, significantly higher than the OECD average. The education organized by each individual, the Flemish community is noticeably above the French-speaking and German-speaking communities.

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgium https://www.huffingtonpost.gr/mylandingrunwaycom/-_3172_b_8869452.html