Belgian Americans

Belgian Americans are citizens of the United States who are of Belgian ancestry. 'Belgian' is not an ethnic term however (Fleming and Walloon are), and hence does not refer to a specific people with a specific language and culture. There were no Belgians (and thus no Belgian Americans either) prior to 1839, the de jure establishment of Belgium. Prior to this, immigrants from the region that is present-day Belgium indentified themselves as either Dutch or French Americans, hence tracing family roots to a place in Belgium does not make one a Belgian American per se.

Population

According to the 2000 U.S. census, there are 360,642 Americans whose ancestors came from Belgium. The states with the largest Belgian communities are:

• Wisconsin (57,808)
• Michigan (53,135)
• Illinois (34,208)
• California (26,820)
• Minnesota (15,627)

Other significant communities are found in Florida (14,751), New York (12,034), Indiana (11,918) and Texas (10,595).

References

• [1]

See also

• List of Belgian Americans
• Belgian people