Geography

Physical geography

Wallonia is a triangular-shaped area of 16,903 km², measuring almost 200 km from west to east and 140 km from north to south. It is bordered by France (west and south), the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (east), Germany (east), the Netherlands (north) and Flanders (north). Its capital Namur is 56 km from Brussels, 131 km from Luxembourg, 212 km from Amsterdam, 255 km from Paris, 368 km from London and 634 km from Berlin.

"The Walloon area belongs to the same tectonic system as the French Ardennes and the German and Luxembourg Eifel. The Walloon country is made of low open plateaus, hills and steep-sided valleys which, starting from a gently sloping northern bank, extend to the Ardennes massif. Extending the maritime plain, Lower Wallonia peaks at an altitude of 50 metres and includes the valleys of the Escaut, Haine and Dendre. Rising to just over 200 metres high, Middle Wallonia comprises the plateaus, to the north of the Sambre and Meuse valley: Haut-Pays hennuyer, the Brabançon and Hesbignon Plateaus. In Upper Wallonia, the relief is more pronounced, climbing to over 200 meters high and exceeding 500 meters high : The Croix Scaille at 505 meters high, the Hurtebise Plateau at 525 meters high, the Forest of Anlier at 550 meters high, the Tailles Plateau at 652 meters high, etc. There, the rivers carve their valley even deeper. To the east, the elevation increases further and peaks in the High Fens (Baraque-Michel, 674 metres high), while the Lorrain Plateau rises in the extreme south-west, itself surrounded by several small summits which are some 400 to 465 meters (Hitzenberg) high" (Ph. DESTATTE, Histoire de la Wallonie, Namur, 2012).

Wallonia's highest point is the Signal de Botrange (694 meters high). Its geographical centre is at Spontin, in the municipality of Yvoir.

Wallonia is characterised by its rivers that have shaped both its human and physical face. It is crossed by two rivers, the Escaut up to Tournai and the Meuse which crosses it along a length of 183 km, from Hastière to Visé, going through Dinant, Namur, Ardenne, Huy and Liège.

Wallonia's climate is influenced by the Gulf Stream and ocean disturbances. It is characterised by moderate temperatures, high levels of cloud cover and frequent, but light rains. This temperate climate generally features cool, damp summers and mild, rainy winters. The absolute extreme temperatures are between -30°C and +38°C. On average, the maximum ranges from 28°C to 30°C. On average, the minimum ranges between -14°C and -19°C.

Political geography

The capital of Wallonia is Namur.

Its major cities are Charleroi (202,480 residents in 2015), Liège (195,968), Namur (110,646), Mons (95,231), La Louvière (80,375), Tournai (69,756), Seraing (63,972), Mouscron (57,068) and Verviers (55,356).

Wallonia has five provinces :

Wallonia has 262 municipalities.

For electing Members of Parliament, Wallonia is divided into thirteen districts: Nivelles, Charleroi, Mons, Soignies, Thuin, Tournai-Ath-Mouscron, Huy-Waremme, Liège, Verviers, Arlon-Marche-en-Famenne-Bastogne, Neufchâteau-Virton, Dinant-Philippeville and Namur.

Land cover (2011)

 Source : Walloon Institute for Evaluation, Prospective and Statistics (IWEPS)

Transport infrastructures (2009)

 Source : IWEPS

Demography (2015)

Source : IWEPS

Download some of the key Wallonia maps below.