• National organisation

• Data

• Diversity,
• Education

Languages and dialects in the Netherlands in numbers

Nationally representative studies of language use are scarce. This article attempts to fill this gap, using the CBS survey Social cohesion and well-being (SSW), which was conducted in 2019 among more than 7.5 thousand people. More than three quarters of the over 15s indicate that Dutch is the official language at home. The rest speak a regional language at home, including Frisian, Limburgish and Low Saxon (10.2 percent), a dialect (5.4 percent) or another language (8.2 percent). Not only are there major differences between regional areas and population groups in spoken languages at home, but also in the use of languages and dialects on social media. This insight into speaking and writing languages in the Netherlands is important for language policy (KNAW, 2018).