Walloons

Walloons
Flag of Wallonia
Walloons wearing Gilles masks in Binche
Total population
c. 3.5–4 million
Regions with significant populations
 Belgium3,240,000[1]
 United StatesIndeterminable[a]
(352,630 Belgians)[2]
 Canada176,615[b] (Belgians)[3]
 France133,066[4][5]
Languages
Walloon French
Regional Langues d'oïl
Religion
Historically Roman Catholic majority
Protestant minority (see also Walloon church)
Increasingly irreligious
Related ethnic groups
Other Romance, romanized Celtic and Germanic peoples
^a U.S. population census does not differentiate between Belgians and Walloons, therefore the number of the latter is unknown.
^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.

  1. ^ "The World Factbook". cia.gov. 12 January 2022.
  2. ^ Results   Archived 12 February 2020 at archive.today American Fact Finder (US Census Bureau)
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ "Les Belges à l'étranger". Mo.be. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  5. ^ "Migration Data Hub". Migrationinformation.org. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  6. ^ 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...
  7. ^ 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