Brussels / Bruxelles

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Brussels (French: Bruxelles, [bʁysɛl] ( listen); Dutch: Brussel, [ˈbrʏsəl] ( listen)), officially the Brussels-Capital Region[5][6] (French: Région de Bruxelles-Capitale, Dutch: Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest),[7] is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the city of Brussels which is the capital of Belgium,[8] the French Community of Belgium,[9] and the Flemish Community.[10] The region has a population of 1.2 million and a metropolitan area with a population of over 1.8 million, the largest in Belgium.[11][12]

Since the end of the Second World War, Brussels has been a major centre for international politics and has become the polyglot home of numerous international organisations, politicians, diplomats and civil servants.[13] Brussels is called the "capital of the European Union" as it hosts a number of principal EU institutions.[14][15][16] The secretariat of the Benelux and the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are also located in Brussels.

Brussels is just a few kilometres north of the boundary between Belgium's language communities—French in the south, Dutch in the north. Historically a Dutch-speaking city, it has seen a major shift to French since Belgian independence in 1830. Today, although the majority language is French, the city is officially bilingual. All road signs, street names, and many advertisements and services are shown in both languages.[17] Brussels is increasingly becoming multilingual with increasing numbers of migrants, expatriates and minority groups speaking their own languages.