Flemish Region Flemish Region The Flemish Region (, ; ) is one of the three regions of the Kingdom of Belgium—alongside the Walloon Region and the Brussels-Capital Region. Colloquially, it is usually simply referred to as "Flanders". It occupies the northern part of Belgium and covers an area of 13,522 km (44.29% of Belgium). It is one of the most densely populated regions of Europe with around 480 inhabitants per square kilometer. The Flemish Region should not be confused with the Flemish community: the latter encompasses both the inhabitants of the Flemish Region and the Dutch-speaking minority living in the Brussels Capital-Region.
Languages of Belgium enjoy official status. Article 4 does however divide the country into linguistic areas, which form the basis of the federal structure: "Belgium has four linguistic areas: The French-speaking area, the Dutch-speaking area, the bilingual area of Brussels Capital and the German-speaking area." Before the federal structure and the language legislation gradually introduced in the 20th century, French was generally the only language used by public authorities. For example, the Dutch version of the Constitution has enjoyed equal status to the original French one only since 1967, and the German version only since 1991. Of the inhabitants of Belgium, roughly 59%