Walloon Region (federal Region)

Walloon Region (federal Region)

The Walloon Region, commonly called Wallonia, is one of the three federal Regions of Belgium, and its capital is Namur. It comprises, as defined by Article 5 of the Constitution of Belgium, the provinces of Walloon Brabant, Hainaut, Liège, Luxembourg and Namur. The Walloon Region has an area of 16,844 km² (55.18% of Belgium) with nearly 3.5 million inhabitants (32.4% of the Belgian population).

Created in 1970 following demands from the Walloon Movement for political recognition of Wallonia, it acquired decretal powers and an executive government with the special law of 8 August 1980. These powers are respectively exercised by the Walloon Parliament and the Walloon Government, both sitting in Namur, within the limits defined by the Belgian constitution.

Its official languages are French and German, since the Walloon Region is formed by two language areas of Belgium : the French-speaking and the German-speaking. The region covers only partially the territory of the French Community of Belgium and completely the territory of the German Community of Belgium.