[18] Belgium's economy has capitalised on the country's central geographic location, and has a well-developed transport network, and diversified industrial and commercial base.

[20][21][22] Belgium's industry is concentrated mainly in the populous region of Flanders in the north, around Brussels and in the two biggest Walloon cities, Liège and Charleroi, along the Sillon industriel.

[19] With exports equivalent to over two-thirds of the country's gross national income (GNI), Belgium depends heavily on world trade.

Belgium's trade advantages are derived from its central geographic location and a highly skilled, multilingual, and productive work force.

When Belgium emerged from World War II with its industrial infrastructure relatively undamaged thanks to the Galopin doctrine, the stage was set for a period of rapid development, particularly in Flanders.

The postwar boom years, enhanced by the establishment of the European Union and NATO headquarters in Brussels, contributed to the rapid expansion of light industry throughout most of Flanders, particularly along a corridor stretching between Brussels and Antwerp, which is the second largest port in Europe after Rotterdam.

[19] The older, traditional industries of Wallonia, particularly steel industry, began to lose their competitive edge during this period, but the general growth of world prosperity masked this deterioration until the 1973 and 1979 oil price shocks and resultant shifts in international demand sent the economy into a period of prolonged recession.

Against this grim backdrop, in 1982, Prime Minister Martens' center-right coalition government formulated an economic recovery program to promote export-led growth by enhancing the competitiveness of Belgium's export industries through an 8.5% devaluation.

In May 1990, the government linked the Belgian franc to the Deutsche Mark, primarily through closely tracking German interest rates.

In 1992–93, the Belgian economy suffered the worst recession since World War II, with the real GDP declining 0.96% in 1993.

The federal government has not managed to present balanced budgets in recent years and public debt remains high, at 99% of 2009 GDP.

[citation needed] In 2009, during the Great Recession, Belgium suffered negative growth and increased unemployment.

[27] The second biggest union is the socialist General Federation of Belgian Labour (ABVV-FGTB) which has a membership of more than 1.5 million.

[28] The ABVV-FGTB traces its origins to 1857, when the first Belgian union was founded in Ghent by a group of weavers.

Back then the liberal union was known as the "Nationale Centrale der Liberale Vakbonden van België".

There is also a small Flemish nationalist union that exists only in the Flemish-speaking part of Belgium, called the Vlaamse Solidaire Vakbond.

The Belgian authorities are, as a rule, anti-protectionist and try to maintain a hospitable and open trade and investment climate.

With regional devolution, Flanders, Brussels, and Wallonia are now courting potential foreign investors and offer a host of incentives and benefits.

With the onset of a recession in the 1970s, this system became an increasing burden on the economy and accounted for much of the government budget deficits.

As in other industrialized nations, pension and other social entitlement programs have become a major economic and political concern as the baby boomers approach retirement age.

[19] Although Belgium is a wealthy country, public expenditures far exceeded income for many years, and taxes were not diligently pursued.

The Belgian Government reacted to the 1973 and 1979 oil price hikes by hiring the redundant work force into the public sector and subsidizing industries like coal, steel, textiles, glass, and shipbuilding, which had lost their international competitive edge.

[19] The federal government ran a 7.1% budget deficit in 1992 at the time of the EU's Treaty of Maastricht, which established conditions for Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) that led to adoption of the common Euro currency on 1 January 2002.

Among other criteria spelled out under the Maastricht treaty, the Belgian Government had to attain a budget deficit of no greater than 3% of GDP by the end of 1997; Belgium achieved this, with a total budget deficit in 2001 (just prior to implementation of the Euro) that amounted to 0.2% of GDP.

Belgium is the world's largest producer of begonias, planting 60 million tubers per year.

Liège has also been an important centre for gunsmithing since the Middle Ages and the arms industry is still strong with the headquarters of FN Herstal.