The Netherlands Languages

The official and national language of the Netherlands is Dutch. Dutch is an Indo-European language, belonging to the West Germanic group of languages which falls under the category of the Low Franconian languages. The language has 26 letters in its alphabet, 21 consonants, and 5 vowels. Dutch is a close relative of both the German and English language. The vocabulary of Dutch is mostly Germanic and includes slightly more Romance loan compared to German.

Dutch is spoken by almost everybody in the Netherlands. Dutch, after English and German, is the third most popular Germanic language in England and Germany. Dutch is spoken by over 22 million people all around the world as either a first or second language. In Netherlands, about 80% of the population speak Dutch as either there first or second language. The Dutch Sign language, which is still awaiting national recognition, has approximately 17,500 users in the country.

Most Dutch vocabulary is of Germanic origin. About 20 % of Dutch vocabularies are loan words. It has highly borrowed words from English, German, and Latin. The Latin Script is used in the writing of Dutch language. Keeping syntax and word morphology in mind, Dutch has a great similarity to the German language. Dutch uses the same word order as German, Subject-object-verb.

English is the most widely spoken of all the minority languages in the Netherlands. In fact, some municipalities such as Amsterdam recognize English as an official language after Dutch. English is an official language of in the municipalities of Saba and St Eustatius. Most education in Saba and St Eustatius is conducted in English. Approximately 90 % of Dutch natives can sustain a conversation in English. Other common minority languages spoken in the Netherlands include German, French, and Spanish. West Frisian, which is spoken by approximately 453,000 people in Netherlands, is recognized as an official language of Frisian Province. Papiamento is an official language spoken in the special municipality of Bonaire.

This page was last modified on May 1st, 2018

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Published on 2019-11-06


Capital	Amsterdam
Languages	Dutch (official)
Ethnic Groups	Dutch 78.6%, EU 5.8%, Turkish 2.4%, Indonesian 2.2%, Moroccan 2.2%, Surinamese 2.1%, Bonairian, Saba Islander, Sint Eustatian 0.8%, other 5.9% (2014 est.)
Religion	Roman Catholic 28%, Protestant 19% (includes Dutch Reformed 9%, Protestant Church of The Netherlands, 7%, Calvinist 3%), other 11% (includes about 5% Muslim and fewer numbers of Hindu, Buddhist, Jehovah's Witness, and Orthodox), none 42% (2009 est.)
Government	Parliamentary constitutional monarchy; part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Independance	23 January 1579 (the northern provinces of the Low Countries conclude the Union of Utrecht breaking with Spain; on 26 July 1581 they formally declared their independence with an Act of Abjuration; however, it was not until 30 January 1648 and the Peace of Westphalia that Spain recognized this independence)
Area	41,543.00 km²
Water Area	7,650.00 km²
Land Area	33,893.00 km²
Population	17,016,967.00 An area known as the Randstad, anchored by the cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, the Hague, and Utrecht, is the most densely populated region; the north tends to be less dense, though sizeable communities can be found throughout the entire country
Location	Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between Belgium and Germany
No. Bordering Countries	2
Bordering Countries	Belgium 478 km, Germany 575 km
GDP(PPP)	$871,000,000,000.00 (USD)
GDP (Per Capita)	$50,800.00 (USD)
Export Partners	Its major export partners are Germany, Belgium, and the United Kingdom.
Export Commodities	Its main exports are machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, mineral fuels, food and livestock.
Import Partners	Its major import partners are Germany, China, and Belgium.
Import Commodities	Its major imports include machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, fuels, and foodstuffs.
Climate	Temperate; marine; cool summers and mild winters
Terrain	Mostly coastal lowland and reclaimed land (polders); some hills in southeast
Learn More	Netherlands

The Netherlands Languages

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