Flemish people
Vlamingen (Dutch) | |
|---|---|
Flag of Flanders, the symbol of the Flemish people. | |
Flemish Community in Belgium and Europe | |
| Total population | |
| c. 7 million (2011 estimate) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Belgium (Flanders) | 6,450,765 |
| United States | Indeterminable[a] (352,630 Belgians) |
| France | 187,750 |
| Canada | 13,840–176,615[b] |
| South Africa | 55,200 |
| Australia | 15,130 |
| Brazil | 6,000 |
| Languages | |
| Dutch (East Flemish, West Flemish, Brabantian) Limburgish Flemish Sign Language | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly and historically Roman Catholic with Protestant minority Increasingly irreligious | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Dutch, Walloons, Afrikaners, Vilamovians, Germans, English | |
^a U.S. population census does not differentiate between Walloons and Flemish, therefore the number of the latter is unknown. ^b In 2011, 13,840 respondents stated Flemish ethnic origin. Another 176,615 reported Belgian. See List of Canadians by ethnicity | |
| Person | Fleming (Vlaming) |
|---|---|
| People | Flemings (Vlamingen) |
| Language | Flemish (Vlaams), VGT (Vlaamse Gebarentaal) |
| Country | Flanders (Vlaanderen) |
Flemish people or Flemings (Dutch: Vlamingen [ˈvlaːmɪŋə(n)] ⓘ; French: Flamands) are one of three Belgian main ethnic groups native to Flanders, Belgium, who speak Flemish Dutch. Flemish people make up the majority of Belgians, at about 60%.
Flemish was historically a geographical term, as all inhabitants of the medieval County of Flanders in modern-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands were referred to as "Flemings" irrespective of their ethnicity or language. The contemporary region of Flanders comprises a part of this historical county, as well as parts of the medieval Duchy of Brabant and the medieval County of Loon, where the modern national identity and culture gradually formed.