Dutch in Belgium Dutch in Belgium The Dutch language used in Belgium can also be referred to as Flemish Dutch ("Vlaams-Nederlands"), Belgian Dutch ("Belgisch-Nederlands" ), or Southern Dutch ("Zuid-Nederlands"). Dutch is the mother tongue of about 60% of the population in Belgium, or by approximately 6.5 million people.(over 11 million inhabitants). It is the only official language in the Flemish Region (Flanders) (which consists of the provinces of West Flanders, East Flanders, Flemish Brabant, Antwerp, and Limburg) and, in addition to French, the official language in the Brussels. However, in the Brussels Capital Region and in the adjacent Flemish-Brabant municipalities, Dutch was largely
Partition of Belgium invasions, as the upper class language, not only at the court but also in the administration and in the political circles. Antagonism between speakers of French and Dutch increased after the independence of Belgium in 1830, when residents of the Southern Netherlands rebelled against the newfound hegemony of the northern provinces of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. Major European powers were divided in opinion over the fallout of the revolution. Ultimately, the state of Belgium, composed of provinces of both French-speaking and Dutch-speaking people, gained independence as a buffer state between France and the Netherlands. French became the sole