CITY FOCUS | BRUSSELS
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B elgium ’ s capital Brussels is the largest municipality and the historical centre of the Brussels-Capital region . This is a city that has earned the title ‘ The Capital of Europe ’ or ‘ The Heart of Europe ’ for its rich melting pot of industries and strong connectivity to the rest of the continent . It signifies international collaboration , dating back to The Treaty of Brussels , the founding pact of the Western Union after World War Two in 1948 .
Today , the city serves as The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation ’ s ( NATO ) headquarters and is the unofficial capital of the European Union ; the latter factor has led to the creation of over 40,000 jobs . With a population of just over two million as of 2019 , Brussels attracts both tourism and immigration and this number is predicted to grow to 2.2 million by 2035 . The city has two legal languages : French and Dutch . Spanning across a total area of 12.59 square miles , the capital has a population density of 5,475 residents per square kilometre , with approximately 50,000 registered non-Belgians .
MARCH 2020