German-Dutch and Dutch-German translation services

The Netherlands, a former world power

Dutch as a language is often underestimated in its global significance. Although spoken as a native language by only around 25 million people, the history of the Netherlands as a former naval and world power has spread Dutch across the globe: Dutch is the official language of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, consisting of the Netherlands and three Caribbean countries, and of the Caribbean Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname. It is also spoken by around 100,000 people in the most heavily populated French Département Nord at the Belgian border. In North-West Germany, Dutch is taught as a foreign language in many schools. Dutch is also still of importance as a second language in the former colony of Indonesia. The oldest stock exchange in the world is in Amsterdam. The Netherlands may no longer rule world trade, as in the “Golden Age” of the 17th century – but they are still the fifth biggest exporter in the world. The German and Dutch economies are closely interrelated; the Netherlands are Germany’s fourth-most important trade partner. An EU founding nation, the Netherlands have the third-highest GDP per capita in the EU.