Belgium and Sri Lanka PDF

## Belgium and Sri Lanka Belgium is a small country in Europe, smaller in area than the state of Haryana. It has borders with France, the Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg. It has a population of a little over one crore, about half the population of Haryana. The ethnic composition of this small c...

## Belgium and Sri Lanka Belgium is a small country in Europe, smaller in area than the state of Haryana. It has borders with France, the Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg. It has a population of a little over one crore, about half the population of Haryana. The ethnic composition of this small country is very complex. Of the country's total population, 59% lives in the Flemish region and speaks Dutch language. Another 40% people live in the Wallonia region and speak French. Remaining 1% of the Belgians speak German. In the capital city Brussels, 80% people speak French while 20% are Dutch-speaking. The minority French-speaking community was relatively rich and powerful. This was resented by the Dutch-speaking community who got the benefit of economic development and education much later. This led to tensions between the Dutch-speaking and French-speaking communities during the 1950s and 1960s. The tension between the two communities was more acute in Brussels. Brussels presented a special problem: the Dutch-speaking people constituted a majority in the country, but a minority in the capital. Let us compare this to the situation in another country. Sri Lanka is an island nation, just a few kilometers off the southern coast of Tamil Nadu. It has about two crore people, about the same as in Haryana. Like other nations in the South Asia region, Sri Lanka has a diverse population. The major social groups are the Sinhala-speakers (74%) and the Tamil-speakers (18%). Among Tamils there are two subgroups. Tamil natives of the country are called (18%). The from during the Indian the concentrated the speaking most Muslim Christian and ## Communities and regions of Belgium The document includes a map of Belgium with annotated regions showing Dutch and French speaking communities.