Dutch people

The Netherlands ( Dutch: Nederlanders / i) are the indigenous according to common origin and ethnic population of the Netherlands, who share a common culture and history of the Dutch language and / or handed down from their ancestors Lower Franconia, Lower Saxony or (West) Frisian dialect speak. They are related to the Dutch-speaking Flemings also. Your Dutch name they lead to the geography of their flat and located in a lowland country - a third of the state even lies below sea level.

Dutch people and their descendants are a significant minority in various countries overseas, such as in Suriname, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and the United States. Worldwide, there are now about 25 million (nee ) Dutch.

The largest of the Dutch religion is Christianity, in roughly equal parts Roman Catholic and Protestant, whereas the proportion is not a denomination associated and non-religious people one of the highest of all European ethnic groups.

The absence of natural resources in the regions inhabited traditionally by the Dutch areas of Central Europe formed in the past until today, a commercially -oriented and dependent on trading company. During the Golden Age, the Dutch dominated around a century of world trade, which earned them the reputation of being excellent merchants and sailors.