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Belgium
Population
Total population of Belgium is 11,351,727 as of 1st January 2017. 16.5% of the population is foreign born (Eurostat). The median age of Belgians is 41.41 which is slightly more than the European average of 40.36 (UN Data).
Political Parties
The most recent parliamentary elections were held in May 2014. The prominent parties, vote shares in this election and their orientations are as follows (Parlgov):
|
Party Name |
Vote Share |
Ideological Orientation |
|
New Flemish Alliance |
20.26 |
Conservative |
|
Socialist Party [Francophone] |
11.67 |
Social democracy |
|
Reformist Movement |
9.64 |
Liberal |
|
Flemish Christian Peoples Party |
11.61 |
Christian democracy |
|
Party of Liberty and Progress | Flemish Liberals and Democrats |
9.78 |
Liberal |
|
Socialist Party |
8.83 |
Social democracy |
|
Francophone Christian Social Party -- Humanist Democratic Centre |
4.98 |
Christian democracy |
|
Agalev -- Green |
5.32 |
Green/Ecologist |
|
Confederated ecologists for the organisation of original struggles |
3.3 |
Green/Ecologist |
|
Flemish Block |
3.67 |
Right-wing |
|
Workers' Party of Belgium |
3.72 |
Communist/Socialist |
|
Francophone Democratic Front |
1.8 |
Liberal |
|
People's Party |
1.52 |
Conservative |
|
Belgians, Rise Up! |
0.86 |
Right-wing |
Electoral System
The system used in Belgium is List PR in which parties make lists of candidates to be elected, and seats get distributed to each party in proportion to the number of votes the party receives. The voter turnout in 2014 election was 54.54 % (idea.int).
Quality of Democracy
Quality of democracy score by Freedom House is 1 out of 7 where 1 is most free and 7 is least free. According to Transparency International, Belgium is ranked 16th least corrupted among 180 countries with a score of 75 out of 100.
Gender Equality
Currently, 39% of parliamentarians are women. Belgium has legislated candidate quotas for women candidates. (idea.int)