According to the International Social Survey Programme 2008: Religion III by the Association of Religion Data Archives,[5] 73.3% of Antwerp's population identify themselves as Catholics, 24.1% as non-religious, 2.6% identify themselves as of other religions.
Government
The province of Antwerp has a provincial council, elected every six years, and an executive deputation headed by a governor. The current governor is Cathy Berx, appointed in 2008 by the Flemish Government.
The last elections were held on 14 October 2018. The following parties were elected to the 36-member council:
The province has a network of roads, railroads, canals and rivers which provide a modern infrastructure. Historically, the traffic infrastructure was an important element of connecting the Port of Antwerp with the Ruhr Area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Both the Iron Rhine railroad and the E313 (King Baudouin highway) and E34highway connect Antwerp with the Ruhr Area.
The province contains several historical cities, such as Antwerp, Mechelen, Turnhout, Herentals and Lier. The Campine region is becoming a popular destination for tourists searching for a quiet and relaxed weekend. Old farms were transformed into bed and breakfast-hotels, the restaurant and café business is very active and an ingenious network for bicycle tours has come to life in recent years. Here and there are still areas of large heathland - and forests, such as the Kalmthoutse Heide (E: Kalmthout heathland) in Kalmthout, the moors around Turnhout, the Liereman (Oud-Turnhout) and the Prinsenpark in Retie. In a number of villages one can still see the typical Campine langgevelboerderijen (E: long facade farms).
The Gross domestic product (GDP) of the province was 88 billion € in 2018. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was €41,900 or 139% of the EU27 average in the same year.[7]
The Port of Antwerp is the economic heart of the province. Until the agricultural crisis of 1880, the eastern part of the province was a largely agricultural region. The industrial development of the eastern part of the province, part of the Campine region, started at the end of the 19th century when industry established itself in the region. The availability of cheap labor, new roads, canals, tramways and railroads such as the Iron Rhine, stimulated the settlement of new industry. A brickmaking industry was established alongside the canals, paper and printing business in Turnhout, as were non-ferrous metallurgy in Balen-Nete, dynamite factories in Arendonk and Balen, tobacco and cigar factories in Arendonk, and the first shoe factory in Herentals. During the 1920s, the industrial expansion of the region continued with the radium and copper factories in Olen, the glass factory in Mol-Gompel and the diamond industry in Grobbendonk and Nijlen.
In the 20th century the first nuclear installation in Belgium was established at the SCK•CEN in Mol in 1962. The European Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM), one of the EU Joint Research Centres, was founded in Geel in 1957 as a result of the Treaty of Rome. Innotek is a technology centre located in Geel and is part of the European Business and Innovation Centre Network (EBN). Industry in the Campine region of the province is mainly located alongside the E313, the E34 and the Albert Canal.
Unemployment
The unemployment rate stood at 5.9% in 2017 and was lower than the national average.[8]
Year
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
unemployment rate (in %)
5.7
5.0
4.6
5.7
6.0
5.7
5.3
6.2
6.1
6.1
6.1
5.9
4.3
Chemical industry
After World War II the Port of Antwerp was expanded, and on its premises several chemical factories and oil refineries were established, including facilities of Bayer, BASF, and Monsanto. The chemical and petrochemical industry is widely represented in the port region and comprises the world's second-largest cluster petrochemical industry cluster, after that of Houston (United States). Amoco Chemical Belgium N.V., now part of BP, was founded in Geel in 1967.
The diamond industry and trade is traditionally located in Antwerp. At the end of the 19th century Hendrik Cassiers founded a diamond-cutting company outside Antwerp, in Grobbendonk. Hendrik Cassiers and Frans Dela Montagne laid the foundations of the diamond industry in the Campine region. The industry would settle in Nijlen, Herenthout, Bevel, Kessel, Vorselaar and Berlaar.
Paper
The region around Turnhout became famous for its printing business, with companies such as Brepols, which roots date back to 1796 when Pieter Corbeels established his printing business in Turnhout.[9] In 1833, Van Genechten N.V., Splichal N.V. in 1856, Mesmaekers Freres in 1859, Meses-Goris in 1872, L. Biermans in 1875, Poupaert in 1881, La Belgica N.V. in 1907, H. Proost & Co in 1913, J. Van Mierlo-Proost in 1918, Lityca in 1932 and Veloutex in 1951. More recently in 1970, Cartamundi was established, a world leader in playing cards.
Metallurgies
While Wallonia was famous for its steel industry, the Campine region became renowned for its non-ferrousmetallurgies. The Campine region was scarcely populated in the 19th century, but with the establishment of canals, the Iron Rhine and cheap labor, several metallurgies were established in the region.[10] In 1888-1889 the metallurgy La Vieille Montagne was founded in Balen-Nete, close to the Iron Rhine and the canal to Beverlo. The company had its roots in the exploitation of the zinc mines of Moresnet.
The Union Minière du Haut Katanga founded the Société Générale Métallurgique de Hoboken in Olen, which was established along the Iron Rhine and the Albert Canal. The factory produced radium, cobalt and copper from the mines of the Union Minière in Katanga, Belgian Congo and Rhodesia. Along the canal Turnhout-Schoten, the Métallurgique de la Campine was established in 1910 for the production of lead and antimony. La Metallo-Chimique was established in 1919; this specialized in the production of copper.
Glass
In 1872, the Sablières et Carrières Réunies (SCR), now Sibelco, was founded to extract the silica sand layers in Mol for industrial applications (glass). In 1920 the glass bottle manufacturer Beles Réunios was set up in Mol-Donk.
In 1921, a group of Belgian banks, the Mutuelle Mobilière & Immobilière, the Société Générale de Belgique, the Banque de Bruxelles and the Financière de Transport, together with the American group Libbey-Owens, founded the Cie Internationale pour la fabrication mécanique de Verre in Mol Gompel. In 1931, due to the economic crisis, the company merged into Glaces et Verres (Glaver).[11] In 1961, Glaver merged with Univerbel to form Glaverbel.
Dynamite
Given that the Campine region was sparsely populated, several dynamite factories were established in the region. In 1875, the Societe Anonyme d'Arendonk was established which premises would later become part of Ravago. In 1881 La Forcite N.V. was established near Balen, which was later acquired in 1920 by the Poudreries Réunies de Belgique (PRB). In 1887 a factory was founded near Herentals, which was closed due to the vicinity to the city. The factories produced explosives for the mines and quarries. The factories in the province are now closed down.
Textiles
Historically, wool processing industry was based on the wool from the sheep which were kept on the Campineheath. The centre of the textile industry in the province could be found in Turnhout. Wool processing companies such as Wolspinnerij Van Iersel, Spinnerij en Weverij Van Hoof, and De Wollendekensfabriek Van Doren were located in Mol.
Tobacco
At the end of the 19th century Arendonk became the centre of the tobacco industry. Additional factories were founded in Turnhout, Mol, Geel and Herentals.[12] After World War II, the ALTO cigar factory was founded by Frans Van den Bergh who would also play an important role at Janssen Pharmaceutica.
Administrative subdivisions
The province is divided into three administrative arrondissements (arrondissementen in Dutch) containing 69 municipalities (numbers refer to the location of the municipalities on the map shown in this section):
Steve Heylen, Bart De Nil, Bart D’hondt, Sophie Gyselinck, Hanne Van Herck en Donald Weber, Geschiedenis van de provincie Antwerpen. Een politieke biografie, Antwerpen, Provinciebestuur Antwerpen, 2005, 2 volumes
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