Flanders

What is Flanders

Belgium has been a federated country since reforms introduced in 1993.

It has three Regions: Flanders, Wallonia, and Brussels-Capital Region. It also has three language-based Communities: the Flemish (Dutch-speaking), French, and German-speaking).

Brussels is not only the capital of Belgium, but also the capital of Flanders, the region in the north of Belgium which is home to the Dutch-speaking community in Belgium.

Flanders has its own Parliament and Government with autonomous legislative and executive powers. The Flemish Parliament is directly elected by the people of Flanders every five years.

The Government of Flanders is on an equal footing with the Federal Government of Belgium and has both exclusive and shared competences. Flanders can therefore pursue a foreign policy and sign bilateral and multilateral treaties with other countries in the framework of its competences.

The Delegation of Flanders in Southern Africa, part of the Embassy of Belgium, is the first point of contact in Southern Africa for all issues related to the Government of Flanders and its competences.

According to the KOF Globalisation Index, Flanders is the most globalised economy in the world.

Brussels is:

Capital of Flanders and Belgium
Capital of the EU
Headquarters of NATO
2nd-largest diplomatic hub in the world

Antwerp’s P.P. Rubens is known as a baroque painter by 20 to 40% of the population in India, Japan, China, the US and Brazil.

Surface:
13,522 km²

Number of inhabitants (2017)
6.650.000

GDP in Flanders:
EUR 254 billion

GDP per capita:
EUR 38,200

FLANDERS IS
INTERNATIONAL

Facts & Figures

Flanders:
logistics centre of Western Europe

3 ports

4 airports

916 km of motorway

1,607 km of railway

60%

of the European consumer market within a radius of 500 km

In 2019, Flanders reached with 3.35% of its GDP, an R&D-intensity on a similar level as the best-performing EU-countries and considerably above the EU27-average (2.2%).

In 2019, Flanders spent more than EUR 50 million on development cooperation

Main export sectors

Chemistry and pharma
EUR 68,6 billion

Transport equipment
EUR 41,4 billion

Machines and electrical equipment
EUR 34,6 billion

Mineral products
EUR 28,9 billion

Plastic and applications
EUR 27,2 billion

Flanders is the 15th exporter worldwide (WTO)

Every year
5600 students
go abroad through the Erasmus+
programme. That is 80% more than
10 years ago.

7 in 10Flemings are positive about EU membership

In 2017 there were over 30 millionovernight touristic stays in Flanders

In total, the Government of Flanders spends approximately EUR 160 million annually on foreign policy in all its facets

International institutions in Brussels employ approximately 48.000 people

Flanders hosts 280 music festivals per season

THE GOVERNMENT OF FLANDERS

After the elections on 26 May 2019, a coalition government was established. The Government of Flanders currently consists of Minister-President Jan Jambon and eight ministers, who are in office for a 5-year term.

Matthias Diependaele

Minister-President of Flanders
Flemish Minister of Economy, Innovation and Industry, Foreign Affairs, Digitalization, and Facility Management.

Melissa Depraetere

Vice-Minister-President of Flanders
Flemish Minister of Housing, Energy and Climate, Tourism, and Youth.

Hilde Crevits

Vice-Minister-President of Flanders
Flemish Minister of the Interior, Urban and Rural Policy, Coexistence, Integration and Naturalization, Administrative Affairs, Social Economy, and Sea Fisheries.

Ben Weyts

Vice-Minister-President Flanders
Flemish Minister of Budget and Finance, Flemish Periphery, Immovable Heritage, and Animal Welfare.

Zuhal Demir

Flemish Minister of Education, Justice, and Employment.

Caroline Gennez

Flemish Minister of Welfare and Poverty Reduction, Culture, and Equal Opportunities.

Jo Brouns

Flemish Minister of Environment and Agriculture.

Annick De Ridder

Flemish Minister of Mobility, Public Works, Ports, and Sports.

Cieltje Van Achter

Flemish Minister of Brussels and Media.

Foreign Affairs Policy

As an open society and economy, Flanders recognises that in a globalised world it is essential that we comprehensively pursue our interests and resolutely employ our assets at the international level.

International Policy of Flanders

Belgium is effectively run by the various governments of the country, who independently exercise their powers in their domains. In this context Flanders maintains bilateral relations with various countries in various fields. We also invest in multilateral cooperation, through multilateral institutions, such as UNESCO, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

SOUTH AFRICA

In 1994, following the first free democratic elections, the Government of Flanders opened a trade office in South Africa. Four and a half years later, on 14 February 1999, the first General Representative of Flanders took up their function in Pretoria.

Cooperation with South Africa initially focused on assistance towards the building of a new, democratic South Africa, but this was subsequently extended to include development cooperation, culture, science and innovation, economy and trade, youth policy and education.

Since then, Flanders and South Africa have enjoyed a rich history of bilateral relations, and of cooperation. Over time, this partnership has evolved from a developmental perspective to a strengthened political and economic cooperation, focusing on trade, science and innovation, academic cooperation, culture, human rights, climate and the green economy. We work with a wide range of partners and stakeholders, including government departments and agencies, political actors, civil society, cultural organisations, research institutions and universities.

FLANDERS CHANCELLERY AND FOREIGN

Flanders Chancellery and Foreign Office is responsible for coordinating Flanders’ international and European activities and is therefore in charge of the relations between Flanders and foreign governments, the European Union and international organisations.

This includes:

international and European trade policy
development cooperation
controlling the import, export and transit of dual use products, arms and other strategic goods from Flandres
establishing and implementing European regulations, and concluding and ratifying international treaties.

Furthermore, the department functions as Chancellery for the Government of Flanders and is responsible for:

better regulation policy
communication, branding and reputation policy
evidence-informed policy through statistics, strategic analysis and policy research
the long-term strategic vision of Flanders
monitoring of the international trade in strategic and military goods
transposition and monitoring of compliance with international commitments and agreements
authorisation and control of travel agencies, tourist rental and tourist accommodation in Flanders
the monitoring of internal coherence of the Flemish public actions at international level.
For more information on the Flanders Chancellery and Foreign Office see: www.fdfa.be/en

Study in Flanders

The educational system in Flanders prepares young people to perform optimally in a rapidly changing and increasingly internationally oriented society. The system’s excellence is confirmed by the results of the PISA assessment project – the Program for International Student Assessment, coordinated by the OECD – which measures the scholastic performance of 15-year-olds in 57 countries in reading proficiency, problem-solving skills, and mathematic and scientific knowledge. Flanders’ education system ranks sixth in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2014-2015. When it comes to maths and science education, the region is in third position in the world.

Flanders has numerous international schools. There are, for example, the Antwerp British School and the Antwerp International School; the International School of Brussels and the British School of Brussels; and the College of Europe in Bruges, which provides university-level courses and houses the international research and training centre of the United Nations University. Ghent opened an international school in 2012, and the city of Leuven, KU Leuven and Imec research centre recently established an international private primary school that offers courses in English.

Flanders has five public universities: Leuven, Antwerp, Ghent, Hasselt and Brussels. KU Leuven, with more than 32,000 students, is the largest and the oldest in the Low Countries, followed by the Ghent University, which has nearly 30,000 students. Three of these universities feature in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2015-2016: KU Leuven, Ghent University and the University of Antwerp. Academic excellence is also a core value of Flanders’ business schools and university colleges.

Interested in studying in Flanders? Visit www.studyinflanders.be.

Read more about research opportunities in Flanders via www.researchinflanders.be.

View this video to learn more about research opportunities in Flanders https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oazOEF2p52M