BELGIUM.

Area and Population.

The area of Belgium is 11,373 square miles. According to the census of 1890, the population was then 6,069,321; in 1880 it was 5,520,009; in 1870, 5,087,826; in 1860, 4,731,996; in 1850, 4,426,205; and in 1840, 4,072,619. The population per square mile in 1896 was 571.1; total population Dec. 31, 6,495,886.

The following table shows the revenue and expenditures, in thousands of francs, for the years indicated:

190,537

14,905

291,921

102,294

90,899

382,908

313,170

19,915

340,526

37,878

362,600

42,589

372,644

23,086

The amended budget for the year 1897 was: Ordinary revenue, 386,923,178 francs, and ordinary expenditure, 386,295,842 francs.

The national liabilities in 1897 were: Share of the Netherlands debt, at 2% per cent., 219,959,632 francs; loans at 3 per cent., 2,088,537,690 francs, and the floating debt (treasury bonds), 20,000,000 francs, making a total of 2,328,497,322 francs.

Agriculture.

Of the 2,945,715 hectares which compose the area of Belgium, 67.34 per cent. are under cultivation, and 16.61 per cent, under forest, 7.88 per cent. uncultivated, the rest roads, marshes, rivers, etc. The agricultural population in 1880 numbered 1,193,319, or 21.77.

In 1880, the various agricultural products were distributed as follows (in hectares): Cereals, 934,663: peas, beans, etc., 33,093; sugar beet, 32,627; flax, 40,078; other ornamental plants, 24,070; root plants, 36,153; potatoes, 199,357; grasses, 536,000; heaths, brushwood, land not regularly cultivated, etc., 231,964; fallow, groves, orchards, etc., 146,592; forests, 489,423. The principal cereals were wheat, 275,31 hectares; oats, 249,486; rye, 277,640.

The estimated yield of the various crops in 1896 was as follows: Wheat, 7,238,595 hectolitres; barley, 1,445,616 hectolitres; oats, 8,477,118 hectolitres; rye, 7,422,135 hectolitres; potatoes, 31,679,940 quintals; beet (sugar), 9,374,551 quintals; beet (other), 9,814,386 quintals. In 1895, the yield of tobacco was 5,166,000 kilogrammes.

The total value of agricultural products in 1880 was 1,412,224,000 francs; and of animal produce, 238,752,380 francs. The net revenue from forests alone in 1890 was 4,830,884 francs.

In 1880 there were 271,974 horses, 1,382,815 horned cattle, 365,400 sheep, and 646,375 pigs.

1 hectare 2.471 acres. 1 kilogramme = 2.2046 pounds avoirdupois.

The production of pig iron and manufactures of iron were as follows:

The lead produced in 1896 amounted to 17,222 tons, and in 1897, 14,800 tons; 149,599 tons of zinc' crude and sheet, in 1896, valued at $12,427,000; and 28,509 kilog. of silver, valued at $638,000. In 1897* the pig-iron production was 1,034,732 tons; steel ingots, 616,604 tons.

Foreign Commerce.

The imports and exports of Belgium, under "special" and "general" trade, were as follows, in

-General Trade

francs:

francs:

The leading articles of "special trade" for 1896 and 1897 are shown as follows, in thousands of

The values of the imports and exports as between the United States and Belgium, for years ending June 30, were as follows, in thousands of dollars:

The principal articles of imports from Belgium for the year ending June 30, 1896, were: Cement, $$71.000; chemicals, drugs and dyes, $241,507; chicory root, $202,993; cotton, manufactures of, $366,112: flax, hemp, and jute, manufactures of, $576,354; furs, manufactures of, $366,602; glass and glassware, $1,688,616; hides and skins, not furs, $211,336; jewelry, $1,269,155; leather, kid gloves, $410,608: : paper stock, $372,141; provisions, meat products and cheese, $267,292; sugar, not above No. 16 D. S., beet, $1,771,977; wool, $1,432,400; manufactures of. $666,594.

Principal exports to Belgium were: Breadstuff's, $3,893,234; copper, ingots, bar, and old, $1,525,351; cotton, unmanufactured, $3,539,012; iron and steel, manufactures of, $611,490; leather, manufactured, $446,419; naval stores (rosin, etc., and turpentine), $742,158; oil cake and oil-cake meal, $1,206,719; refined mineral oil, $2,637,758; provisions, $4,877,026, of which $2,520,358 is bacon and hams and $1,900,065 is lard; tobacco, unmanufactured, $2,216,921: wool, and manufactures of, $591,108.

GOLD AND SILVER COIN AND BULLION, IMPORTS AND EXPORTS.

Shipping, Railroads, Telegraphs, Post-Office. (See Index.)

Money.

The franc is the unit of value, and is of the par value of 19.3 cents. Belgium is one of the five States forming the Latin Union.

For gold and silver coins, see Index.

For monetary system of Latin Union, see "Commercial Year Book," Volume I, pages 61-63. The nominal value of coin minted and circulated from 1832 to 1894 was: Gold, 598,642,745 francs; silver, 556,342,745 francs; copper and nickel, 17,671,784 francs; total, 1,172,657,275 francs. No coinage has been minted recently. The proportion of Belgian and of foreign fractional silver coin (2, 1, and franc pieces) in circulation was as follows: Of silver fractional pieces amounting to 349,217 francs received at the offices of the bank on September 1, 1893, 43.53 per cent. in value was Belgian, 31.24 per cent. French, 17.83 per cent. Italian, 3.65 per cent. Swiss, 0.745 per cent. Greek; or 56.465 per cent. was foreign.

Banking.

The one bank of emission in Belgium is the National Bank, instituted 1850. Its capital, entirely paid up, is 550 million francs. It is the cashier of the State, and is authorized to carry on the usual banking operations.

The situation of the bank on September 30, 1897, was: Cash, 104,300,000 francs; notes to bearer in circulation, 486,000,000 francs; accounts current and deposits, 41,400,000 francs; portfolio, 426,800,000 franes: advances on mortgage, 28,000,000 francs; treasury account and deposits, 46,200,000 francs. The condition of the 54 joint-stock and private banks at the end of 1896 was:

RUSSIA.

Area and Population.

The area of the Russian Empire, including its internal waters, covers 8,644,100 English square miles. There has been no general census enumeration of its population since 1859, when the number of inhabitants was 74,000,000 in round numbers. The growth of population has since then been largely accelerated by acquisitions of territory, and the rate of increase is indicated by the following figures, supposed to be based on careful estimates. The latest census figures are appended and differ slightly from the estimated population for 1895, given in this work last year:

According to official statistics there was in Russia an excess of emigration over immigration in the case of Russians of 1,146,052 in 33 years (1856-1888), and a surplus of immigration of 2,304,717 foreigners during the same time. Emigration is on the increase. Of late the Russians, especially Jews, contributed a large part to the flow of emigrants into the United States. During the years 1871-85, 8,767,605 foreigners entered Russia, but only 7,525,360 left, showing thus an immigration of 1,242,245 (563,345. Germans, 447,736 Austrians, 9,395 English, and nearly 100,000 Persians). The surplus of foreigners who entered Russia during the years 1886-88 (2,478,430) over those who left was 278,947, while the surplus of Russian subjects who left Russia (1,413,018) over those who returned was 136,129.

The emigration to Siberia may be judged from the following numbers of emigrants carried on board the steamers which ply on the Ob and Irtysh: In 1888, 26,129; in 1889, 30,410; in 1890, 36,000; in. 1891, 60,000; in 1892, 100,000; in 1895, 100,000, and in 1896 and 1897 from 150,000 to 200,000 each year.

Fiscal Affairs.

The following table gives the total actual ordinary and extraordinary revenue and expenditure in paper roubles. The table is made up upon a new classification adopted on June 4, 1894, and differs from preceding years as follows: (1) All revenue which was commonly calculated in the budget estimates with the fluctuating value of the rouble is now calculated at a uniform value of 1 rouble 50 copecks paper = 1 rouble gold, and 1 rouble 50 copecks in silver; and (2) various articles which were differently classed in former estimates, some of them in the ordinary and others in the extraordinary, are classed for all the ten years according to the new classification, in paper roubles:

*Siberian Railway, 82,248,170 roubles; works connected with it, 2,485,410 roubles; other railways of general use, 35,726,000 roubles; local small branches, 10,000,000 roubles.

+Siberian Railway, 61,134,110 roubles; works connected with it, 3.280,652 roubles; other railways of general use, 54,041,387 roubles; local small branches, 10,656,047 roubles.

Siberian Railway, 34,447,020 roubles: works connected with it, 3,718,363 roubles: other railways, 13,565,182 roubles; local small branches, 10,000,000 roubles; rolling stock for Siberian and other railways, 49,234,145 roubles.