Demographics of Belgium
Belgium's three official languages are Dutch, spoken by 59% of the population, French, spoken by 40%, and German, spoken by less than 1%. The vast majority of Belgium's population, 99%, is literate as defined by the Belgian government, i.e. capable of reading and writing in an official language by the time a citizen has reached the age of 15.
Belgium in &quot;the long nineteenth century&quot;
In Brussels, situated in a predominantly Dutch-speaking area, 38 percent spoke French in 1842 while 61 percent spoke Dutch; many residents spoke dialects such as Marols instead of the standard languages. By the end of the period, social change and internal immigration from Wallonia contributed to the growing importance of French in Brussels.