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Belgium and Sri lanka

Belgium:

Geographical Position: Belgium, a Small country in Europe, bordered by the Netherlands, France and Germany.
Area and Population: Smaller in area than the Indian state of Haryana. Population a little over one crore, half of the state of Haryana.
Ethnic Composition: 59% people live in Flemish region and speak Dutch language. Another 40% live in Wallonia region and speak French. Remaining 1 per cent of the Belgians speak German.
Capital:  In the capital city Brussels, 80 per cent people speak French while 20 per cent are Dutch-speaking.

Important Points:

  1. In Brussels, the Dutch-speaking people are in a minority which is the opposite of the rest of the country, where they are in a majority.
  2. The minority population of French-speaking people was richer than the Dutch-speaking people. The majority community were given benefits much later. This led to tension between the two communities in the 1950s and 1960s. Tension was more acute in the capital city of Brussels.

Sri Lanka:

Geographical Position: A small island in Asia, just a few kilometers off the southern coast of Tamil Nadu.
Population:  It has about 2 crore people, about the same as in Haryana.
Ethnic Composition: Sri Lanka has a diverse population. The major social groups are the Sinhala-speakers (74 per cent) and the Tamil-speakers (18 per cent). Among Tamils there are two subgroups. Tamil natives of the country are called ‘Sri Lankan Tamils’ (13 per cent). The rest, whose forefathers came from India as plantation workers during colonial period, are called ‘Indian Tamils’. 
Religion: Most of the Sinhala-speaking people are Buddhists. Most of the Tamils are Hindus or Muslims. Christians constitute 7% of the population and they belong to both Sinhala and Tamil communities.

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