A country in northwest Europe. Belgium shares borders with France (620 km), Germany (167 km), Luxembourg (148 km) and the Netherlands (450 km). The Flemish Region (Flanders) and the Walloon Region (Wallonia) each comprise five provinces; the third region, Brussels-Capital Region, is not a province, nor does it contain any Together, these comprise 589 municipalities, which in general consist of several sub-municipalities (which were independent municipalities before the municipal merger operation mainly in 1977).