In this series of articles we overview languages present in any given country. This time we are looking at the languages spoken in Belgium
The biggest languages present in Belgium include:
- Flemish
- French
- German
The following languages are legally recognized as the “official languages” of the country:
- Dutch
- French
- German
Below you will find summaries for the languages supported by our translation services.
Flemish
Flemish belongs to the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family. It has no country-wide official status in Belgium.
| Number of speakers worldwide | 6.50 million |
|---|---|
| Language family | Indo-European |
| Writing | Dutch alphabet |
| Major Flemish-speaking populations in: | 3 countries |
Demographics and geographic distribution
There are major Flemish-speaking populations in 3 countries. With regard to the number of speakers, the most notable 3 countries are Belgium, Netherlands, and France.
In Belgium approximately 60% or 6.95 million people use Flemish in their day-to-day communication.
Writing
The Dutch alphabet is used for writing the Flemish language. Being a subset of the Dutch script, it uses some non-standard characters like á, é, í, ó, overall 11 symbols.
Translation services
If you intend to expand to the Belgian market via the Flemish language, you might be interested in the following services:
- Flemish Document Translation
- Flemish Desktop Publishing and InDesign Translation
- Flemish E-Commerce Translation
French
French is a Romance language, closely related to Spanish, Romanian, Catalan, Portuguese, and other languages of the same branch of the language family. It is one of the official languages of Belgium, alongside 3 other.
| Number of speakers worldwide | 274 million |
|---|---|
| Language family | Indo-European |
| Writing | French alphabet |
| Major French-speaking populations in: | 49 countries |
Demographics and geographic distribution
Approximately 274 million people in more than 49 countries speak French as either the first or a second language. With regard to the number of speakers, the most notable 3 countries are France, Canada, and Switzerland.
More than half of Belgian citizens speak French.
Writing
French employs the French script, which in itself is a sub-type of the Latin script. It is written in the left-to-right fashion.
Translation services
If you intend to expand to the Belgian market via the French language, you might be interested in the following services:
- French Document Translation
- French Desktop Publishing and InDesign Translation
- French E-Commerce Translation
German
German is a Germanic language, closely related to Swedish, Flemish, Norwegian, Dutch, and other languages of the same branch of the language family. It is one of the official languages of Belgium, alongside 3 other.
| Number of speakers worldwide | 230 million |
|---|---|
| Language family | Indo-European |
| Writing | German alphabet |
| Major German-speaking populations in: | 12 countries |
Demographics and geographic distribution
German is spoken by around 230 million people around the world. With regard to the number of speakers, the most notable 3 countries are Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Around 0.6% of the population of Belgium speak German.
Writing
The German alphabet is used for writing the German language. Being a subset of the German script, it uses some non-standard characters like ä, ö, ü, ß, overall 4 symbols.
Translation services
If you intend to expand to the Belgian market via the German language, you might be interested in the following services:
- German Document Translation
- German Desktop Publishing and InDesign Translation
- German E-Commerce Translation
Related services
We hope you have found the answers to the question “What languages are spoken in Belgium“. If you wish to know more about these languages or would like to inquire about our translation services, please contact us at [email protected].
