Belgium is a country where the language changes at an invisible line: the road
signs, the shop names and the plate of a car all say which side you are on, and
the provinces follow that line closely. There are ten provinces, five in Flanders
and five in Wallonia, and Brussels sits between them as a region of its own.
- The quiz
- Name to place, on the map
- Grouped by
- Region: Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels-Capital
- In the game
- 11 provinces
What you are looking at
The ten provinces and the Brussels-Capital Region, which is not a province but
is drawn here as one because it is the same size of answer: a place on the map
that a round can land in. Brussels is a small shape wrapped on three sides by
Flemish Brabant, so it takes a tap area wider than its outline.
Flanders is the five northern provinces and Wallonia the five southern ones. The
two Brabants are the old province of Brabant, split in 1995 along the language
line, and they are the pair to learn together: Flemish Brabant surrounds
Brussels, and Walloon Brabant is the small province just south of it.
The groups are the three regions. The provinces are the arrondissements of
Belgium Arrondissements dissolved, so the borders of
the two maps match exactly. Names are given in English: Antwerp, Liège,
Hainaut.
How to place one
- Start with the coast. West Flanders is the only province on the sea.
- Find the capital's ring. Brussels in the middle, Flemish Brabant around
it, Walloon Brabant directly to the south.
- Follow the Meuse. Namur and Liège are the two provinces along it, and the
river runs down from Liège to the French border.
- Look for the forest. Luxembourg is the largest province, at the far
south east, and the the one that is mostly Ardennes forest.
Every province, by region
- Flanders5 provinces
- Antwerp, East Flanders, Flemish Brabant, Limburg, West Flanders
- Wallonia5 provinces
- Hainaut, Liège, Luxembourg, Namur, Walloon Brabant
- Brussels-Capital1 province
- Brussels-Capital
Worked examples
Brussels-CapitalThe capital that is not a provinceBrussels-Capital is a region, with its own government, and it has never been
part of a province since the old Brabant was split. It is also a single
arrondissement, so it answers under the same name in
Belgium Arrondissements.
LuxembourgThe one that shares a name with a countryThe Belgian province of Luxembourg is the one next to the Grand Duchy, and it
is the biggest of the ten. It is not the same place as the country, and the
Duchy is its neighbour to the east.
Walloon BrabantThe smallest provinceWalloon Brabant is the smallest province and the newest, created in 1995 when
Brabant was split in two. It is the one to find after Brussels, immediately to
the south.
Frequently asked questions
How many provinces does Belgium have?
Ten, five in Flanders and five in Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region is not in a province, and is drawn here as a unit of its own.
Why are there two Brabants?
The old province of Brabant was split in 1995 into Flemish Brabant and Walloon Brabant, along the language line, with Brussels left outside both.
Why is the language of the names English?
Every province has two names, one in Dutch and one in French, and none in both, so the game uses the English name where there is one: Antwerp, not Antwerpen or Anvers.
The tier below this one is Belgium Arrondissements.
For another country at this level, see Austria States.
Sources