Belgium vs. Germany
Geography
| Belgium | Germany | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between France and the Netherlands | Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark |
| Geographic coordinates | 50 50 N, 4 00 E | 51 00 N, 9 00 E |
| Map references | Europe | Europe |
| Area | total: 30,528 sq km land: 30,278 sq km water: 250 sq km | total: 357,022 sq km land: 348,672 sq km water: 8,350 sq km |
| Area - comparative | about the size of Maryland | three times the size of Pennsylvania; slightly smaller than Montana |
| Land boundaries | total: 1,297 km border countries (4): France 556 km, Germany 133 km, Luxembourg 130 km, Netherlands 478 km | total: 3,694 km border countries (9): Austria 801 km, Belgium 133 km, Czechia 704 km, Denmark 140 km, France 418 km, Luxembourg 128 km, Netherlands 575 km, Poland 447 km, Switzerland 348 km |
| Coastline | 66.5 km | 2,389 km |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: geographic coordinates define outer limit continental shelf: median line with neighbors | territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
| Climate | temperate; mild winters, cool summers; rainy, humid, cloudy | temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind |
| Terrain | flat coastal plains in northwest, central rolling hills, rugged mountains of Ardennes Forest in southeast | lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Botrange 694 m lowest point: North Sea 0 m mean elevation: 181 m | highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m lowest point: Neuendorf bei Wilster -3.5 m mean elevation: 263 m |
| Natural resources | construction materials, silica sand, carbonates, arable land | coal, lignite, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel, uranium, potash, salt, construction materials, timber, arable land |
| Land use | agricultural land: 44.1% (2018 est.) arable land: 27.2% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.8% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 16.1% (2018 est.) forest: 22.4% (2018 est.) other: 33.5% (2018 est.) | agricultural land: 48% (2018 est.) arable land: 34.1% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.6% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 13.3% (2018 est.) forest: 31.8% (2018 est.) other: 20.2% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 230 sq km (2012) | 6,500 sq km (2012) |
| Natural hazards | flooding is a threat along rivers and in areas of reclaimed coastal land, protected from the sea by concrete dikes | flooding |
| Environment - current issues | intense pressures from human activities: urbanization, dense transportation network, industry, extensive animal breeding and crop cultivation; air and water pollution also have repercussions for neighboring countries | emissions from coal-burning utilities and industries contribute to air pollution; acid rain, resulting from sulfur dioxide emissions, is damaging forests; pollution in the Baltic Sea from raw sewage and industrial effluents from rivers in eastern Germany; hazardous waste disposal; government established a mechanism for ending the use of nuclear power by 2022; government working to meet EU commitment to identify nature preservation areas in line with the EU's Flora, Fauna, and Habitat directive |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Geography - note | crossroads of Western Europe; most West European capitals are within 1,000 km of Brussels, the seat of both the European Union and NATO | strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea; most major rivers in Germany - the Rhine, Weser, Oder, Elbe - flow northward; the Danube, which originates in the Black Forest, flows eastward |
| Total renewable water resources | 18.3 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) | 154 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Population distribution | most of the population concentrated in the northern two-thirds of the country; the southeast is more thinly populated; considered to have one of the highest population densities in the world; approximately 97% live in urban areas | most populous country in Europe; a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations, particularly in the far western part of the industrial state of North Rhine-Westphalia |
Source: CIA Factbook
