Capital of Belgium since its creation in 1830, Brussels is progressively becoming the capital of Europe as the second millennium draws to its close and for that reason it is sometimes more familiar to the world at large than is Belgium itself. Indeed, very many foreigners frequently encounter great difficulty in understanding the organisation and functioning of Belgium, a state bisected by the German/Romance language frontier which has existed more or less unchanged since the sixth century. North of this frontier lies the Dutch-speaking region and south of it is the French-speaking area.

The Belgian state contains, in fact, no less than four language zones:

1. 56,1% (5.630.139 inhabitants) of the Belgian population lives in the Dutch-speaking part of the country, which has generally been known as "Flanders" only since the latter years of the 19th century. The only official language of "Flanders" is Dutch, the same language as is spoken in Holland.

2. The French-speaking part (3.221.225 inhabitants) of the country is home to 31,1% of the Belgian population. It is only in the last few decades that this area has been known as "Wallonia". Its sole official language is French, the same language as is spoken in France.

3. In the east of the country lies a small German-speaking area (65.000 inhabitants). This territory was ceded to Belgium by Germany at the end of the First World War (1914 - 1918) and its population speaks the same language as is spoken in Germany.

4. Within the Dutch-speaking zone lies an enclave, the "Brussels Capital Region". The population of the nineteen districts comprising the "Brussels Capital Region" is 997.293 inhabitants (10,1%).

As the Belgian capital Brussels is a region apart with a special, bilingual status, the only such region in all Belgium. Both Dutch and French are official languages in Brussels whereas Flanders and Wallonia are monolingual, respectively Dutch- and Frenchspeaking. Despite its official bilingual status Brussels appears, at first sight, to be predominantly French-speaking. The reality, however, is somewhat more complex.

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This article was partially published in The use of Languages in Brussels before 1794.