German-speaking Community
Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft (German) | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 50°38′N 06°02′E / 50.633°N 6.033°E | |
Country | Belgium |
Region | Wallonia |
Established | 1984 |
Capital | Eupen |
Government | |
• Executive | Government of the German-speaking Community |
• Governing parties (2024–2029) | ProDG, CSP, PFF |
• Minister-President | Oliver Paasch (ProDG) |
• Legislature | Parliament of the German-speaking Community |
• Speaker | Patricia Creutz-Vilvoye (CSP) |
Area | |
• Total | 854 km2 (330 sq mi) |
Population (1 January 2024)[1] | |
• Total | 79,479 |
• Density | 93/km2 (240/sq mi) |
Day of the German-speaking Community | 15 November |
Language | German (with language facilities for French-speakers) |
Website | ostbelgienlive |
The German-speaking Community (‹See Tfd›German: Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft),[a] also known as East Belgium (‹See Tfd›German: Ostbelgien [ˈɔstˌbɛlɡi̯ən] ),[2] is one of the three federal communities of Belgium,[3] with an area of 854 km2 (330 sq mi) in the Liège Province of Wallonia, including nine of the eleven municipalities of Eupen-Malmedy. The primary language of the community is German, making this one of the three official languages in Belgium. Traditionally the community and the wider area around it forms an intersection of various local languages and/or dialects, namely Limburgish, Ripuarian and Moselle Franconian varieties. The community population numbers around 79,000 (as of January 2024) – about 7.0% of Liège Province and about 0.7% of the national total.[1]
Bordering the Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg, the area has its own parliament and government at Eupen. The German-speaking Community of Belgium was annexed in 1920 from Germany. There are also some other areas where German is spoken that belonged to Belgium before 1920, but are not part of the German-speaking Community: Bleiberg-Welkenraedt-Baelen in northeastern province of Liège and Arelerland (the city of Arlon and some of its nearby villages in southeastern province of Belgian Luxembourg), although German is declining in them due to the expansion of French.[4]
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