Dutch speaking countries
Historical maps from Worldinmaps.com, now part of TerraScientifica.
Dutch (Nederlands in Dutch) is the third Germanic language, in number of speakers after English and German, with its 25 million native speakers. It is the official language in the Netherlands and its overseas territories, Belgium and Suriname. Finally, it is a regional language in France. After an important medieval extension it is nowadays confined in the current French Westhoek, however, it practically disappeared from French Flanders during the 20th century.
In Indonesia, once a colony of the Netherlands, a limited group of people speak it as their mother tongue (around 10,000), or their main language (30,000), but the language no longer has official status, and it is more and more replaced by English (especially in tourist areas).
Finally, in Africa, Afrikaans, a language derived from Dutch, is the official language in South Africa and recognized language in Namibia. Over seven million people speak Afrikaans as their mother tongue
| Country | Dutch speakers | % of the total population |
|---|---|---|
| Belgium (Official language) | +- 6,500,000 | +- 60% |
| Indonesia | +- 30,000 | < 0.01% |
| Netherlands (Official language) | +- 17,500,000 | Only official language |
| Suriname (Official language) | +- 600,000 | Only official language |