French-speaking people who live in Belgium, principally in Wallonia
Walloons
Flag of Wallonia
Walloons wearing Gilles masks in Binche
Total population
c. 3.5–4 million
Regions with significant populations
Belgium
3,240,000[1]
United States
Indeterminable[a] (352,630 Belgians)[2]
Canada
176,615[b] (Belgians)[3]
France
133,066[4][5]
Languages
Walloon French Regional Langues d'oïl
(Walloon
Picard
Lorrain
Champenois)
Religion
Historically Roman Catholic majority Protestant minority (see also Walloon church) Increasingly irreligious
Related ethnic groups
Other Romance, romanized Celtic and Germanic peoples
(French
Romands
Dutch
Flemish
Germans
Luxembourgers)
^a U.S. population census does not differentiate between Belgians and Walloons, therefore the number of the latter is unknown. Walloons might also identify as French, of which there were as many as 8.2 million. ^b Canadian census does not differentiate between Belgians and Walloons, therefore the number of the latter is unknown and indeterminable. In 2011, 176,615 respondents stated Belgian ethnic origin; this figure definitely includes a substantial number of ethnic Flemings who may also identify as Belgian even though the census differentiates between the two. They may also be inclined to identify as French, of which there were as many as 7 million.
Walloons (/wɒˈluːnz/; French: Wallons[walɔ̃]ⓘ; Walloon: Walons) are a Gallo-Romance[6][7] ethnic group native to Wallonia and the immediate adjacent regions of Flanders, France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Walloons primarily speak langues d'oïl such as Belgian French, Picard and Walloon. Walloons are primarily Roman Catholic, with a historical minority of Protestantism which dates back to the Reformation era.
In modern Belgium, Walloons are, by law, termed a "distinctive linguistic and ethnic community" within the country, as are the neighbouring Flemish, a Dutch (Germanic) speaking community.
When understood as a regional identification, the ethnonym is also extended to refer to the inhabitants of the Walloon region in general, regardless of ethnicity or ancestry.
^"The World Factbook". cia.gov. 12 January 2022.
^Results Archived 12 February 2020 at archive.today American Fact Finder (US Census Bureau)
^Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (8 May 2013). "2011 National Household Survey: Data tables – Ethnic Origin (264), Single and Multiple Ethnic Origin Responses (3), Generation Status (4), Age Groups (10) and Sex (3) for the Population in Private Households of Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2011 National Household Survey". www12.statcan.gc.ca.
^"Les Belges à l'étranger". Mo.be. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
^"Migration Data Hub". Migrationinformation.org. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
^Minahan, James (2000). One Europe, Many Nations: A Historical Dictionary of European National Groups. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 739. ISBN 0313309841. The Walloons are a Latin people, the most northerly of the Latin peoples...
^Minahan, James (2000). One Europe, Many Nations: A Historical Dictionary of European National Groups. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 776. ISBN 0313309841. Romance (Latin) nations... Walloons
Walloons (/wɒˈluːnz/; French: Wallons [walɔ̃] ; Walloon: Walons) are a Gallo-Romance ethnic group native to Wallonia and the immediate adjacent regions...
is named after the Walloons, a group of locals who natively speak Romance languages. In Middle Dutch (and French), the term Walloons included both historical...
Look up Walloon in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Walloon may refer to: Walloons, a French-speaking population of Belgium Walloon language Walloon Region...
factors to both Huguenot and Walloon refugee communities. Reformed Christianity portal Netherlands portal WalloonsWalloon Church, Amsterdam Nieuwe Waalse...
assumed, that the Walloons and De Geer fled from their homeland due to religious persecution, nowadays it has been established that the Walloons fled from economic...
1959). Languages of Belgium Walloons – the people Belgian French – French as spoken in Belgium Doncols & Sonlez: formerly Walloon-speaking villages in the...
especially on a national level. Walloons are a French-speaking people who live in Belgium, principally in Wallonia. Walloons are a distinctive community within...
Walloons were often tasked with the maintenance of public order, eventually being incorporated as a regiment of the Spanish Royal Guard. The Walloon Guards...
people made in his time between Walloon and German or Flemish Belgium was apparently based upon language, with the Walloons speaking French, and the others...
of minister-presidents of Wallonia : For French family names among the Walloons and other francophones of Belgium, see French name. The twenty most common...
The Walloons is a comedy play by the British writer Richard Cumberland. It was first staged at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in London in April 1782...
Wisconsin Walloon is a dialect of the Walloon language descendant from central Walloon. It is spoken in the Door Peninsula in Wisconsin, United States...
Walloon Lake is a glacier-formed lake located in Charlevoix and Emmet counties, just southwestward from the northern tip of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan...
Walloon Flanders (Dutch: Waals Vlaanderen, French: Flandre wallonne) was a semi-independent part of the County of Flanders, composed of the burgraviates...
Belgians or the French?", published in 1903, denounces the subjection of the Walloons to the Flemings, who are merely the successors of the previous Dutch, Austrians...
declared the Walloons to be a Germanic race, paving the way for the unit's incorporation into the Waffen-SS on 1 June 1943. The Walloon Legion was re-organised...
also mean that it is commonly used by the Walloon Movement. Before the present flag was created, the Walloons used the French flag. The rooster was created...
the Walloons. Though it has been recognized since 1990, like other vernaculars in Belgium, it is spoken mainly by older people. Some younger Walloons may...
Walloon Rally left the WFR and formed Union For Wallonia with the France Party, Wallonia Social Democracy, Get Up Wallonia and the Brussels' Walloons...
A Walloon forge (or Walloon process) is a type of finery forge that decarbonizes pig iron into wrought iron. The process was conceived in the Liège region...
each third Sunday of September and commemorates the participation of the Walloons to the Belgian Revolution in 1830. French Community Holiday Carlier, Philippe...
The Parliament of Wallonia (French: Parlement de Wallonie) (Walloon Parliament (French: Parlement wallon) in the decrees) is the legislative body of Wallonia...
The history and presence of the Walloon people, i.e. francophone Belgians, in the Netherlands goes back to the foundation process of the Dutch state....
French-speaking Belgians are often referred to as Walloons, although the French speakers in Brussels are not Walloons. The total number of native Dutch speakers...
The Walloon Government (French: Gouvernement wallon) or Government of Wallonia (French: Gouvernement de Wallonie) is the executive branch of Wallonia...
The Walloon language has employed various alphabets over its history, most notably the Feller system (sistinme Feller) and Unified Walloon (rifondou walon...
The Walloon Front for the Unity and Freedom of Wallonia (French: Front Wallon pour l'Unité et la Liberté de la Wallonie, FW) was a political party in...
accepted by Walloon militants who considered Flemish to be an idiom. In their eyes the Flemings had to give up their idiom just as the Walloons had done...