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.
Pluricentric language
Minor standards can also be found in Belgium and Switzerland, with a particular influence of Germanic languages on grammar and vocabulary, sometimes through the influence of local dialects. In Belgium, for example, various Germanic influences in spoken French are evident in Wallonia (for example, to "blink" in English, and "blinken" in German and Dutch, "blinquer" in Walloon and local French, "cligner" in standard French). "Ring" ("rocade" or "périphérique" in standard French) is a common word in the three national languages for beltway or ring road. Also, in Belgium and Switzerland, there are noted differences in the number system when compared to standard Parisian or Canadian French, notably in the use of "septante", "octante/huitante" and "nonante" for the numbers "seventy", "eighty", and "ninety". In other standards of French, these numbers are usually denoted "soixante-dix" (sixty-ten), "quatre-vingts" (four-twenties) and "quatre-vingt-dix" (four-twenties-and-ten).
French varieties spoken in Oceania are also influenced by local languages. New Caledonian French is influenced by Kanak languages in its vocabulary and grammatical structure.
African French is another variety.