{"id":119901,"date":"2023-06-26T16:03:11","date_gmt":"2023-06-26T20:03:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/language-spoken-in-belgium\/"},"modified":"2025-06-23T20:15:39","modified_gmt":"2025-06-24T00:15:39","slug":"language-spoken-in-belgium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/french\/language-spoken-in-belgium\/","title":{"rendered":"What Languages Are Spoken in Belgium?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Belgium’s three official languages are Dutch, French <\/strong>and German<\/strong>, with six regional and minority languages fast following their linguistic trail.<\/p>\n

With Belgium being so abundant in languages, you know there’s some fascinating history to explore. Let’s dive into the nine Belgium languages, the country’s linguistic diversity, history and geography of Belgium.<\/p>\n

Please note: The number of speakers of each language are expressed as a percentage of Belgium’s population, which is roughly 11,700,000 people.\u00a0<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc skip=4]<\/p>\n

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What Language Do They Speak in Belgium?<\/h2>\n

Belgium has three official languages: Dutch, French, and German. <\/strong>However, that doesn’t mean you’ll hear them in the same places.<\/p>\n

In Brussels\u2014the capital city\u2014you’ll mainly only hear Dutch and French.<\/p>\n

This also doesn’t mean everyone in Belgium is trilingual: 60% of the population speak Dutch as a first language, making it the most widely spoken language, around 40% speak French and only a small minority (mainly in eastern Belgium) speak German.<\/p>\n

There are also regional dialects, such as Walloon and Picard (more on this later on the post!).<\/p>\n

Languages Spoken in Belgium<\/h2>\n

\"infographic<\/a>1. Dutch<\/h3>\n

Number of native speakers: <\/strong>55% of the population<\/p>\n

Number of second-language speakers: <\/strong>16% of the population<\/p>\n

Dutch has the most native speakers in Belgium, with approximately 55% of Belgians speaking Dutch as a first language.<\/p>\n

It’s often called Flemish Dutch because of its heavy influence from the 19th-century Flemish Movement, making it slightly different from the Dutch spoken in the Netherlands.<\/p>\n

However, the Belgium senate didn’t consider making Dutch an official language until almost the 20th century.<\/p>\n

This was because Dutch carried a political stigma\u2014it was the language of King William I, the Protestant monarch from whom Catholic-majority Belgium had recently gained its independence<\/a>.<\/p>\n

2. French<\/h3>\n

Number of native speakers:<\/strong> 39% of the population<\/p>\n

Number of second-language speakers: <\/strong>49% of the population<\/p>\n

The Brussels-Capital Region and the City of Brussels are Dutch-French bilingual.<\/p>\n

In the southern part of Belgium (known as Wallonia), French is natively spoken by about 39% of the population. <\/strong>This isn’t surprising, given the political and military history.<\/p>\n

Only 35 years before Belgian independence, France had annexed much of modern-day Belgium under Napoleonic rule. At the time of the Belgian Revolution, French was deemed the language of the court and well-educated elite.<\/p>\n

For French speakers traveling to Bruxelles<\/em> (Brussels), French is the predominant language in this very international city, with about 80% of its population speaking it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

3. German<\/h3>\n

Number of native speakers: <\/strong>1% of the population<\/p>\n

Number of second-language speakers: <\/strong>22% of the population<\/p>\n

Modern German is the third official language of Belgium. However, it\u2019s only spoken natively by 1% of the Belgian population.<\/p>\n

Belgium’s German speakers are usually in the East Cantons, a sliver of land bordering Germany.<\/p>\n

Nine communes in this part of Wallonia proclaim German as their official language, and two more offer accommodations for educational and administrative purposes.<\/p>\n

Also, keep in mind that the German spoken in Belgium is slightly different from the German in Germany.<\/p>\n

If you want to learn German to go to a German-speaking Belgian region, or you have German-speaking friends or family from these regions, I recommend learning with as many Belgian-focused resources as possible.<\/p>\n

4. Regional and Minority Languages<\/h3>\n

Belgium is home to numerous regional and minority languages, which tend to be closely related to Dutch, French and German.<\/p>\n

Walloon, Champenois, Lorrain (Gaumais) <\/strong>and Picard<\/strong> are related to French.<\/p>\n

Yiddish<\/strong> and\u00a0Moselle<\/strong> Franconian <\/strong>(with relative dialects in Low Dietsch, Ripuarian and Southeast Limburgish) are related to German.<\/p>\n

Walloon<\/h4>\n

Number of native speakers:<\/strong> 6% of the population<\/p>\n

Primarily spoken in the province of Liege\u2014with only 6% being spoken in Brabant-Wallon, Namur, northern parts of Luxembourg and the eastern part of Hainaut\u2014Walloon is considered “definitely endangered” by the UNESCO “Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger” and a minority language.<\/p>\n

Champenois<\/h4>\n

Number of native speakers: <\/strong><1% of the population<\/p>\n

Champenois is primarily spoken in Vresse-sur-Semois in the Namur province of Belgium, where it’s spoken by less than 1% of the population.<\/p>\n

As the name indicates, it\u2019s also spoken in the province of Champagne in France. (It can be found in \u00cele-de-France, as well.) Sadly, UNESCO rates Champenois as a severely endangered language.<\/p>\n

Lorrain (Gaumais)<\/h4>\n

Number of native speakers: <\/strong><1% of the population<\/p>\n

Less than 1% Lorrain speakers are found in the far southeast corner of Belgium\u2014primarily in a town called Gaume\u2014where it’s a recognized regional language called Gaumais.<\/p>\n

Picard<\/h4>\n

Number of native speakers: <\/strong>2% of the population<\/p>\n

As of 1990, Picard was recognized in Belgium\u2019s French community as a regional language.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, like several of its sister languages\u2014and numerous minor Romance languages in the region\u2014Picard is seriously endangered, with only 2% of the population speaking it.<\/p>\n

Even in France’s la r\u00e9gion Picardie<\/i> (the Picardy region), relatively few speakers are left.<\/p>\n

Moselle Franconian<\/h4>\n

Number of native speakers: <\/strong><1% of the population<\/p>\n

Moselle Franconian is related to Luxembourgish, an official language in Luxembourg and a recognized minority language in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation.<\/p>\n

Relative dialects and variants include:<\/p>\n