Dutch (people)

Dutch people
Nederlanders

Total population
c. 29 million
Regions with significant populations
Netherlands	13,226,829 (ethnic Dutch and Frisians)
South Africa	7,000,000 (Dutch ancestry)
United States	4,533,617 (Dutch ancestry)
France	1,000,000 (Dutch ancestry)
Canada	1,000,000 (Dutch ancestry)
Other countries  Germany 350,000  Australia 335,500 (Dutch ancestry)  Belgium 120,970  New Zealand est. 100,000  Denmark est. 30,000   Switzerland est. 20,000  Turkey est. 15,000  Indonesia 15,000  Norway est. 13,000  Sweden est. 10,000
Languages
Dutch West Frisian (Frisians) Afrikaans (Afrikaners)
Religion
Irreligious, Protestantism (mainly Reformed with a notable Lutheran minority), Roman Catholicism
Related ethnic groups
other Germanic people (especially Afrikaners, Flemings and Frisians)

1,000,000 (Dutch ancestry)

^est. 10,000

The Dutch (Dutch:  Nederlanders ), occasionally referred to as Netherlanders—a term that is cognate to the Dutch word for Dutch people, "Nederlanders"—are a Germanicethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Aruba, Suriname, Guyana, Curaçao, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Canada,Australia,South Africa,New Zealand, and the United States.

In the Middle Ages, the Low Countries were situated around the border of France and the Holy Roman Empire, forming a part of their respective peripheries, and the various territories of which they consisted had become virtually autonomous by the 13th century. Under the Habsburgs, the Netherlands were organised into a single administrative unit, and in the 16th and 17th centuries the Northern Netherlands gained independence from Spain as the Dutch Republic. The high degree of urbanization characteristic of Dutch society was attained at a relatively early date. During the Republic the first series of large scale Dutch migrations outside of Europe took place.