Welcome to The Flemish Republic
Why the Belgian federation should be dissolved and Flanders should become an independent state. |
|
 Frequently asked questions
How is Belgium constituted?
Many observers think of Belgium as a mainly French-speaking country with a minority that speaks a ‘Flemish’ dialect related to Dutch. In fact, Flemings make up 60% of the population of Belgium, and their language is Dutch. There are 21 million Dutch-speakers in Europe, making them the sixth largest linguistic group in the European Union. Flemings live in Flanders, the northern part of Belgium. Wallonia, the southern part of Belgium, is French-speaking. Brussels, the Belgian capital, is in Flanders and was originally a Dutch-speaking city. It was Frenchified in the 19th and 20th centuries, and now a majority of the city’s inhabitants speak French. In addition, there has been a recent, large influx of European and non-European immigrants. The linguistic areas in Belgium are strictly defined: Flanders is Dutch-speaking and Wallonia is Francophone. Only Brussels is officially bilingual.
Previous page
|
|
|
