13 November 2024
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High English proficiency, Internationally oriented
The region’s high-tech profile, a highly skilled labour force and its favourable geographical location, make it a very attractive region to settle in for international companies and international knowledge workers.
Foto door Bram Saeys
A multilingual community
The Netherlands ranks number one on Education First’s ranking of countries by English skills, a worldwide benchmark for measuring and tracking adult English proficiency. Almost 95% of the Dutch population speaks English and over 75% speaks German.
In international companies English is the working language but outside office hours you find that most Dutch speak English very well. In school we teach English and 2 other foreign languages, most often German and French or Spanish. A substantial portion of Dutch media is in English, such as TV, books and advertisements. As a result, Dutch children pick up English quite easily at a young age.
Learning Dutch is appreciated
Although you can get by perfectly without understanding or speaking a single Dutch word it can be useful to learn Dutch. The Dutch will certainly appreciate the effort and knowing the language will help you to better understand Dutch culture and society.
“I like Dutch people. From all the European countries I visited, the Dutch are probably the friendliest and the easiest to approach. They are not closed-off and the people I meet are really passionate about what they are working on. Another good thing about the Netherlands is that everyone here speaks English. Professionals speak it very well.”
Mohammed Khan from England