Belguim and Sri Lanka - Concepts - Chapter 1 Class 10 Political Science - Power Sharing - Political Science

• Belgium is a small European country with an area less than the state of Haryana. 
• It shares borders with France, Netherlands, Germany, and Luxembourg.  
• With a population of about 2 crores, Sri Lanka is an island country just a few kilometers off the southern coast of Tamil Nadu .                                                                                  

Ethnic Composition Of Belgium

Meaning Of Ethnic-

The term “Ethnic” refers to the segregation and division of people into various communities based on certain characteristics . These could include- similarities in physical traits, culture, and traditions, rituals, etc. The ethnicity of an individual is not related to the same religion or nationality. 

Belgium’s Composition-

• Belgium has a complex demographic composition due to the merger of several ethnicities.
• The Flemish portion of the country is home to 59% of the nation's total population, who speak Dutch. French is the native language of an additional 40% of residents in Wallonia. German is still s poken by the remaining 1% of Belgians.
• Brussels, the capital city constitutes a majority of French speaker s totaling to 80 percent of the total population while the r emaining 20 percent constitute Dutch speaking.

The tension between ethnicities- French and Dutch:

• The Dutch-speaking population, which was the majority nationwide but a minority in the capital, provided a unique challenge in Brussels.
• French-speaking people made up a small minority but were comparatively wealthy and influential. The Dutch-speaking community , which benefited much later from economic growth and educational opportunities, felt resentful of this. The Dutch-speaking and French-speaking populations became tense as a result, especially in the capital during the 1950s and 1960s.

Ethnic Composition Of Sri Lanka

• With a population of about 2 crores, Sri Lanka is an island country just a few kilometers off the southern coast of Tamil Nadu . Of the various social groups, the Sinhala speakers and Tamil speakers, form two major ethnic groups.
• Tamil s are divided into two subgroups : Sri Lankan Tamils , who are native to the nation (13%), and Indian Tamils , whose ancestors immigrated to Sri Lank a as plantation laborers during the colonial era.
• Religion- Most of the Sinhalese speakers are Buddhists , while most of the Tamils are Hindus or Muslims .