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The Belgian colonial empire consisted of three colonies possessed by Belgium between 1901 and 1962: Belgian Congo (now Democratic Republic of the Congo), Rwanda and Burundi. The empire was unlike those of the major European imperial powers in that roughly 98% of it was just one colony (about 76 times larger than Belgium)-the Belgian Congo-which had originated as the private property of the country's king, Leopold II, rather than being gained through the political action of the Belgian state. There was a tendency within Belgium to refer to its overseas possessions as 'the colonies' rather than 'the empire'. In addition, unlike other countries of the period with far-flung colonies, such as Britain or France, colonial Belgium did not have a monarch styled 'Emperor'.
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