Belgium and the Netherlands Compared

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Mr. Beat compares and contrasts two of The Low Countries, but they can get high, and they're both amazing places. You know what it is. You know that I'm talking about the Netherlands and Belgium, right?
Check out @historywithhilbert146's video here: • Why Isn't Belgium...
Plus, just today I found out he made this video: • The Netherlands, ...
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Sources/further reading:
www.mylifeelsewhere.com/count...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgium
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherl...
www.bbc.com/travel/article/20...
www.theguardian.com/world/202...
european-union.europa.eu/prin...
www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/c...
www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/c...
countryeconomy.com/countries/...
www.vox.com/policy-and-politi...
www.usnews.com/news/best-coun...
• Belgium vs Nether...
uweb.berkeley.edu/2021/04/11/...
www.amusingplanet.com/2020/05...
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#belgium #netherlands #geography
Belgium and the Netherlands
Or formally the Kingdom of Belgium and informally Holland
Two, small-ish bordering countries in Western Europe found, along with Luxembourg, in between France and Germany. They’re Low Countries.
Both are along the North Sea, historically at the so-called “crossroads of Europe,” and both do have a lot in common as you might expect, but Europe being Europe, there are lots of differences you maybe wouldn’t expect.
Oh before we move forward, I should say that, at least in the English speaking world, we call folks native to the Netherlands “The Dutch.” Now THEY often call themselves Nederlanders. But yeah most of the Flanders region of northern Belgium also speaks Dutch, and this region in particular has much more in common with the Netherlands.
Belgium actually has three official languages. Dutch, French, and German. In Belgium’s capital, Brussels, they speak both Dutch and French, and most Belgians can speak both Dutch and French to varying degrees. Oh, and if you’re watching this video right now from the Netherlands, you can likely understand me, as nearly everyone there can speak English, while that’s less likely if you are watching from Belgium, as less than half of Belgians can speak English.
Before we move forward any more, I suppose I ought to bring up the elephant in the room. No, not literally that elephant in that room. It’s a metaphorical idiom, goodness. Ok, so a really important thing I should have brought up already is that Belgium used to be part of the Netherlands.

[Mr. Beat]

Which is better? Belgium or the Netherlands? What two countries should I compare next? Also, two reminders here.... 1. Don't forget to check out History with Hilbert's video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/imaplp6uebOgrcU 2. If you're in the market for a new mattress, supporting Birch helps my channel. Visit birchliving.com/mrbeat to get $400 off your Birch mattress plus two free pillows!

[Stalin]

Please compare cyprus and greece

[gaming penguin]

belguim is bether cuz i live there

[detroitmetro101]

12:29 neutrality goes out the window if you're invaded, don't you think?

[Lam Nguyen]

Finland and Estonia!

[im0rtalpunk]

Watching from Belgium, as a Belgian. Most Flemings are able to speak English, Francophones much less but I'd say more than half of the Belgians can speak English on a conversational level. We rank 6th in the world and would be 2nd I believe if it were not for the Francophones, I met exactly one Fleming who was not able to speak a moderate amount of English in my life.

[The Nintendo gamer]

Well it usually depends where in Belgium you are living. If you live the northern part mostly dutch is spoken and in the south french is spoken. If you live on a small eastern part mostly german is spoken.

[indyola]

@im0rtalpunk more Wallonian Belgians study German than Dutch. People that speak Dutch nearly everywhere in the world learn English. Usually more English is learned outside of school than inside. Walloon schools are just now starting to require study of Dutch and schools in Flanders have always required study of French. Generally, the Dutch speakers speak a lot more French than vice versa. Educated professionals tend to speak English, French and Dutch remarkably well. Dutch-speaking television tends to not ever overdub audio on Hollywood films and television and there is now a whole generation of grown-up kids that basically learned English from FRIENDS and How I Met Your Mother.

[PaarsShadow]

Yes we belgian's can speak and learn english at school and we speak flemish its dutch but white somme other word's they are named dialect we have like 15 different dialects or even more :)

[pascale pierloot]

@im0rtalpunk (I'm rather late to this 'party' 😕, sorry.) As 'Belgians', we can't really complain about how our past is explained here...we were called courageous and brave. Remember these are Americans doing the talking. I agree with you on languages. Them saying we are about the same height was another thing I didn't agree on. The Dutch are much taller than us. We aren't as outspoken but we're catching up. Aside from the politics, we can be proud of what such a small country has been able to achieve throughout history. 😉👊🙋

[JC 1985]

Flems💪🏼 > Waloons🦄

[Blue Devil]

What I like about my country, as a Belgian: - Amazing food (moules frites, beef stew, waffles, chocolate, beer, etc.) - some really charming cities like Ghent, Bruges and Dinant - a very rich history and culture - an open and free society - a very good social security system What I dislike about my country: - a complete lack of patriotism. There is some Flemish nationalism in the north, but it's mostly based on animosity towards strangers and French-speaking Belgians, not really on love for the country. National monuments are hardly maintained and national heroes are all but forgotten. Nobody even knows the founding fathers of our country. - urban planning is a disaster. Due to linear settlement there is almost no countryside left in Flanders. Walloon cities are mostly depressing and unkempt. Since having an apartment at the coast is a status symbol, almost the entire little coastline we have is crammed with apartment blocks making it one of the ugliest places in Western Europe. - our overly complicated state structure

[Jaap Ongeveer]

I sympathize with you as one living in Canada. We also have our french problem.

[Ruben]

And the best feature that makes Belgium awesome... It's bordering the Netherlands.

[1jwc]

@Blue Devil Please, dont generalize. They're ste many Americans who don't think their country is superior in everything.

[Proudable]

@Baron von Limbourgh Ge hebt gelijk! Ik vind dat eigenlijk ook maar ik vind dawel tof da wij dan zo uniek zijn. Het geeft toch zo'n bepaalde charme vind ik toch.

[Kimashitawa]

@C Will I've never seen so many things untrue in one comment.

[History With Hilbert]

A pleasure working together with you on this one Mr Beat - let's link up and do another again soon - maybe over some Belgian waffles or Dutch pancakes eh ;)

[Thorza vogelaar]

Or a Limburgse vlaai or a stroopwafel.

[Dutch Man]

@Grime fighter Joint and praline?

[Grime fighter]

Maybe a flapjack and a cigarette? Cigar and a waffle? Pipe and a crepe? Bong and a blitz?

[Rachael Marie Newport]

Yay two of my favorite history KZbin dudes

[Joshua Taylor]

Lay off the carbs you two.

[Not Just Bikes]

1:36 "While nearly everyone in the Netherlands speaks Dutch." He was too kind to say the truth, which is: "Everyone in the Netherlands speaks Dutch, except for English and American expats." 😂 (Natuurlijk spreek ik Nederlands omdat ik een immigrant ben, geen expat)

[Jorge Petraglia]

@MagicalF*ckyou No amigo an immigrant is a person who adopts the culture of their chosen country An expat is someone who leaves surrounded by their own people and makes a special effort to resist the local culture anywhere else in the world. It is more or less what the Americans do when they retire in the Caribbean and live in a gated community.

[Purepimpinat0r]

@Pieter Petrus yeah so those elderly folks that don't speak English is negligible if you look at the rest of the country. About 32000 are 80+, that's about 0,18% of the dutch people. Even if you'd take all 65+ Frisians that would only account for 0,8% of the Netherlands. I'd say it's pretty close to 100%, obviously we'd have to take the rest of the country into account, but looking around in my own circles most of my grandparents speak dutch, English, German and French pretty okay. Sure they don't have the same capabilities in English compared to most of my generation (25 years of age). But they're at the basic conversation skill level. Greetings from the Backcorner a.k.a. de Achterhoek 😉

[Proudable]

@Pieter Petrus In België hebben wij dat ook een beetje vooral 'ier in West-Vlaandren. L'ik ik ke sommige mensen dien altied dialect spre'en en die geen algemeen Nederlands kunnen. Ik spreek alleen West-Vlams omdat't leuk en grappig is. Het heeft zo een tof karaktar zo'n boerentaaltje.

[Pieter Petrus]

@Purepimpinat0r around 5% of dutch ppl live here.

[Purepimpinat0r]

@Pieter Petrus yeah but how many people live in Friesland? Not that many, so "almost 100%" is pretty accurate of you look at the whole country.

[Dennis Engelen]

As to anyone interested why carrots are orange: In the 17th century, Dutch growers cultivated orange carrots as a tribute to William of Orange - who led the the struggle for Dutch independence - and the color stuck. A thousand years of yellow, white and purple carrot history was wiped out in a generation. So basically, the Dutch are still conquering every corner of the world with their orange carrots.

[Walter Henderson]

The netherlands is my favorite country by far.

[Jan]

ah, learned something today, cool

[Mr. Beat]

Well put and thanks!

[Maxime Van Hoecke]

Thanks for comparing our nations! Even though we kinda laugh at eachother's accents and culture, we wouldn't wanna do it with anybody else. The Netherlands and Belgium have been great friends and I hope it will stay that way for many more centuries to come. Groetjes van België! Greetings from Belgium!

[Will van Gaal]

Juist gesproken Maxime , zo is het maar net gr.

[LoenK26]

Groetjes van Nederland.

[Max Leyen]

Precies!

[Marcus Franconium]

First video that actualy shows how deeply routed the benelux region is in european history

[Mr. Beat]

Well glad to hear it!

[Coyote Long]

Belgium’s a lot like the Netherlands, except Frencher. Belgium’s also a lot like France except Dutcher It’s also Germaner than either of those countries as well

[Proudable]

@Coyote Long If I would summarise our history I would say "hands" and a couple random events.

[Little_Lyph]

@Thunderbird 1 maybe it's weird, but I'm from this country, and I'm proud to be Belgian, I am proud that it's "special" and I love this country :)

[noordebr]

@Jan well not a lot haha! (personally) just a few i talk to sometimes

[Jan]

@noordebr how many Walloon people do you know?

[semre gob]

Makes alot sense, maybe that's why NL is better.

[David Welboren]

Great video, just earned yourself a subscription from the Netherlands. Hearing an American talk about our two countries makes me realize how much we have in common. So all the love to our southern neighbours from Holland. Now I am going to watch Hilbert's video, because after all this "feel-good emotion" I want to know why those southern traitors decided to leave our glorious union ;)

[DK Metcalf]

I wanna visit the Netherlands one day. From the United States 🇺🇸

[PhoenixFlameGames]

I mean it makes sense, we used to be the same country after all.

[Rumer 1963]

We were sick of the blinding orange everywhere, that is why. Oh, and being treated as second class citizens did not help your case, that too.

[spicy pomegranates]

@Mr. Beat still looking for anyone who asked

[Maxime Van Hoecke]

We left becausse of the cheese. To much is to much.

[Peter Haag]

I love the story of my grandparents walking into a coffee shop in Amsterdam and fairly quickly being directed to the right kind. My grandmother remarked they were very nice people

[Mr. Beat]

I believe it!

[Malaga Estates and Luxury Homes]

As a Dutch national living in Spain I have always considered Belgium a fantastic neighbour country.

[Sebastién Des Champs]

"A Dutch national living in Spain" That's very Habsburg of you

[Adrianos]

As a Greek, I admire the friendship you both have.

[Sean Dawson]

I would love to see you compare education systems in different countries. It would be cool to know what other kids around the world learned and compare it to what I learned at that grade.

[Alexa Vermeulen]

@Londronable Belgium is too much of a mess, this is just some stuff i vaguely remember from a law class :p

[Londronable]

@Alexa Vermeulen You're obviously correct, Flanders has merged the 2 so it's often more or less forgotten here.

[Alexa Vermeulen]

@Londronable you're wrong on one point tho, education is relegated to the language communities not the regions (gemeenschappen niet gewesten) so dutch speaking, french speaking and german speaking. Meaning for brussels both the french and dutch speaking community gets to decide on the education standards. And the german speaking part gets different education

[Londronable]

Quick summary for Flanders in that case(education isn't a federal topic so Walloon is different from Brussels is different from Flanders) Everyone gets the same education till 7th grade. Everyone has one teacher for every subject. In 7th grade you can pick out of many directions, some harder, some easier. And we keep doing that. Every 1-2 year you get options. By 11th grade we have people tinkering with cars, learning 5 languages, playing 10 hours of sport, programming, learning business, etc. This means a "high school degree", while all giving you cheap access to higher education, isn't all equal. There are no tests everyone takes because we all learn different things making it rather pointless. It's not useful to compare my skill in math(had a lot of math because I did IT) with my sister(who did languages/tourism) for example. She knows less and that's ok. Not her field. Higher education is about €800 year. Also, to go back to the topic of the video. Belgium has mandatory LEARNING. The Netherlands has mandatory SCHOOL. In Belgium to home school you yourself need a teacher degree and qualifications are done by third parties so it's rare as hell.

[Max Leyen]

Fun fact regarding that topic. You might want to keep an eye out on the Netherlands😁

[Yass Bac]

When you grow up in an actual bilingual environment, learning a third language gets way easier than when you grow up only speaking one. Especially learning english when you speak both a Germanic and Roman Language already (Dutch and French)

[Noodle]

English is a Germanic language btw

[Silke Lemmens]

I am from Belgium (Flanders). I think most people here can speak english really well. It's the older generation that has a little mre difficulties with English but I think I can say that all young adults can speak English or at least understand it even better than they can speak French or German

[John L]

@François D'aureville What does that have to do with anything? Language isn't a competition.

[François D'aureville]

@John L who cares??? The language is still easy and most of its vocabulary is just french words inserted in it as a french person i literaly see french everywhere in it

[François D'aureville]

Speaking english isnt impressive is a very easy language to learn gramatically And dutch people seem to prefer english than their own native language how sad

[Louis]

I've been to Belgium, but not the Netherlands. It was the only time I had mussels for Thanksgiving dinner (the only turkey I found was a soup tureen in the museum attached to the royal palace)! Unfortunately, the 10 days I was there were cold, overcast and snowy, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the country's beauty and sites. I really enjoy these comparison videos.

[dragracer567]

Thanks for the great video. I actually studied in Ghent, Belgium. One of the nicest and most historic cities in Europe!

[Guy Vandurme]

ENJOY ! That city is one of the greatest in Belgium ! But do not forget to visit other belgian cities, you will learn so much about European history !

[Mr. Beat]

That's awesome, and thanks 😊

[Petit Thom]

Fun fact : During its territorial expansion during the first Republic and the first Empire, France had departments in Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Italy and had direct borders with Denmark and the Ottoman Empire

[Guy Vandurme]

But do not forget that the French were even defeated by a Swiss army ! Not something I would be proud of !

[Mother of Dakka]

As a Belgian citizen that worked for a Dutch company and spent a fair share of my time in the Netherlands I can say we have more in common than that which separates us. That said: Footbal and Beer (note the capital on both ;) ) are grounds for almost war-like discussions. That and the usage of peanut sauce on fries (seriously ;) )

[Mike Freyr]

Patatje oorlog, of is het een Frietje ? :P

[Guy Vandurme]

Dutch people can be weird sometimes, but belgian ones too so...

[Avian]

I would love to see something different in the compare series, first thing that comes to mind could be rivers such as the rhine vs danube or Mississippi vs st Laurence

[Avian]

@Ricardo Colyer Sanchez those are so similar though, maybe Euphrates vs Indus?

[Ricardo Colyer Sanchez]

Euphrates vs Tigris pls

[Macky Cabangon]

@Pranav Mamidipudi yangtse is better off compared to the Yellow River imo but good idea

[Cobra Commander]

I second the Rhine and Danube comparisons

[Avian]

@Buddy_MC woah! yeah that’s odd

[Ulysses S. Grant]

Me having gone to both countries, personally these are the 2 best countries i’ve visited. The people are so nice, the food is great. Everything you could want.

[Guy Vandurme]

Thanks, I appreciate;

[Hunchback]

@flitsertheo In the Dutch snackbar is much more variety in food and snacks, so I’m not sure where the “uninspired “ comes from. If you want to eat healthy start cooking at home.

[flitsertheo]

@Hunchback Fastfood is the same everywhere, usually unhealthy.

[Hunchback]

@flitsertheo You clearly never visited a Dutch snackbar.

[S Winters]

@flitsertheo It's not like this is still the life style of most Dutch people. But I have to agree that the food is not that special

[Katriina Sorsa]

Thank you for the interesting lesson. Could you compare Sweden and Finland? 😄

[TheFriedChickenBucket]

@Mr. Beat Other Ideas: Germany and France Austria and Switzerland North Macedonia and Bulgaria

[Martin Vidstein]

@Mr. Beat Yes please! 😊

[Nathan Minor]

Do Finland and Estonia

[Katriina Sorsa]

@Why am I here? Of course. Norway is fine too.

[Why am I here?]

@Katriina Sorsa But do you like Norway too?

[Buggy]

"Left-leaning" only from a very American point of view. The Netherlands have not had a truly left-wing government since the 70s.

[Nicky Simi]

@Heisse Scheisse as a kiwi, I'm curious, what is considered right wing in the Netherlands?

[TheFirebreakerRU]

@Mola Diver america is the least democratic because it's not a democracy, it's a republic. Also when you"re talking about left versus right you have to to take both the the social and economic positions into account, and socially the Benelux is indeed pretty far left compared to the usa

[1jwc]

@Coyote Long I dont think the Democrats call themselves 'centrist'.

[C Will]

Exactly thé Netherlands us a very right Wong country

[Sominboy27]

Was Wim Kok The Netherlands's bill clinton? It says he was apart of the labour party

[Hunter Flowerson]

I’m American too, but it’d be cool to see some more European countries compared, it’s a subject I’ve found interesting

[Guy Vandurme]

Come to Belgium ! But I must warn you : you might never want to go back !

[Mr. Beat]

Well more to come in 2022!

[Milan De Witte]

Very fun to see my own country coming up in this series! I am a big fan off this channel from the Netherlands. Thank you for making this😃

[Milan De Witte]

@Avian Haha yes that's true

[Avian]

De Witte is one of the most dutch names ive ever heard

[Mr. Beat]

Yay, represent! Hopefully I didn't disappoint. 🙂

[Gustav Schnitzel]

I am from Germany and was in Amsterdam and Zandvoort in one weekend and it was awesome. So unreal to see people smoking weed everywhere. Anyway, it wasn't my last visit for sure and I am looking forward to further explore the Netherlands and visiting Belgium for the first time one day.

[John L]

I rode a bike solo over 1,000 miles around both countries and loved every second of it (maybe because it was flat?). Loved the cities, countryside, culture, food, beer, everything.

[EagleOneM]

Fantastic, couldn't have done it better. I'm originally from Belgium who emigrated fo the US 30 years ago and as a history buff I' d say you put everything in perspective and its historical timeframe... Amazing as a non citizen of either country.... Ane you are right, more than worth a visit since both countries can be covered in one vacation because everything is zso close and easy to reach by train connecting Brussels with Amsterdam via Antwerp and even Brugge in the west, called the Venice of the North because of its canals, also most famous. for its handmade lace that can also be found in Brussels... Well done, you can be proud of yourself to have explained the similarities as well as the differences between both countries...

[REDOX LP]

How dare you forgot to tell about the in Belgium invented "French-" Fries 😂

[Eric Dane]

@Guy Vandurme Also, fries are from Friesland, which is in The Netherlands 😉

[Guy Vandurme]

Obviously because most Americans know France and not Belgium !

[MVD Music videos to refresh the mind and spirit]

Well presented, very informative and interesting and you have a good sense of humour. I've been to Belgium and want to know the correct phonetic pronunciation of Liege, I heard that it was pronounced 'Largs' but I could be wrong.

[Jacob Quiroga]

Thanks for more Comparisons Mr. Beat! If you're running out of ideas, here's some more idea suggestions for more Comparison Videos in the Future! 😁: *Luxembourg* 🇱🇺 & *Liechtenstein* 🇱🇮 *France* 🇫🇷 & *Italy* 🇮🇹 *China* 🇨🇳 & *Japan* 🇯🇵 *Brazil* 🇧🇷 & *Argentina* 🇦🇷 *Mexico* 🇲🇽 & *Guatemala* 🇬🇹 *Poland* 🇵🇱 & *Lithuania* 🇱🇹 *Colombia* 🇨🇴 & *Venezuela* 🇻🇪 *Kazakhstan* 🇰🇿 & *Mongolia* 🇲🇳 & *Australia* 🇦🇺 & *New* *Zealand* 🇳🇿

[H]

@Mr. Beat Pakistan and India would be an interesting topic too 👍🏽

[Jacob Quiroga]

@Mr. Beat Nice! Can't wait for that! 👍

[Mr. Beat]

What a list! Australia and New Zealand is coming in January btw!

[nairbvel]

I lived in Belgium (with my immediate family) for a couple of years, and my folks lived in Den Haag for a couple of years... and we'd all happily go back to either place. :-)

[Numeric Bin]

As a Belgian,, when I the Netherlands, I'm amazed by the organization of the Netherlands. Everything is optimized etc. Other than the road quality & the flatness of the terrain, it would be hard to notice a that much difference, especially in the areas close to the borders. The Netherlands also has some places of wild nature, (same goes for the Belgian Ardennes), where tourists from both countries flock to, in order to avoid the hectic urban life & get closer to nature

[TariDean]

I did spent 6 months in the Netherlands from the UK. LOVED IT! I'd move there in a heartbeat if the right job comes along. It used to be much easier to do so before Brexit. By the way Dutch & Belgians make the best beers in the world imo 🍺😋. Discovered that in whilst I was in the Netherlands.

[David Vandenbroeck]

My wife and I visited Netherlands and Belgium in 2019. Our reasons for the trip was basically twofold. First, we both enjoy travel and those countries have been on our list for awhile, partially due to my ancestors immigrating to the US from there. Notice my last name? The other reason was a scouting trip to see if we would like to live there when I retire in about three years. Great countries! I am currently researching our options for moving there as I really do want to move out of the USA when I retire and either Netherlands or Belgium would be great though I am leaning towards Netherlands the most. Covid has delayed follow-up trips but hopefully next year, we will be there again.

[Devil D]

@Vincenzo Occidentale Both mentalities have their pro's and cons!

[Vincenzo Occidentale]

@Devil D think you got the wrong idea of what manipulative means... and to be clear, close people will tell you things in your face, I just don't have the need for a semi-stranger to tell me something rude just because they want to get their opinion heard. Again, if that is what you want I don't really feel the need to discuss this.

[Devil D]

@Vincenzo Occidentale in other words Belgians do it in a manipulative way to get the same result. I'd rather hear the blunt truth what people want to express and have another's opinion not hurt my feelings. This creates a mentality/culture of clarity and transparency.

[Vincenzo Occidentale]

@Devil D only partially true. When matters are important Belgians will also tell it to your face - they will just formulate it friendlier than the Dutch (the dutch will say "my idea is right and your idea is wrong" while Belgians will say "maybe we should consider both ideas"). When matters are not so important, Belgians might say it "behind ones back" when they for example don't like the dress you're wearing but don't want to hurt your feelings - the dutch have no issues with this. And if you prefer one over the other, that's your opinion of course.

[Devil D]

@Vincenzo Occidentale Damn right Dutch are very oppiniated and feel the need to tell you what you should do. The Dutch will be straight up to you in your face and most Belgians talk about others behind their back. I know what I rather would deal with.

[Dodger Martin]

Cool. I'm an American who lived in Belgium for 3 yrs, in Northern Wallonia, and I learned French there (I had to). And I lived close to Flanders, and I never met a Flemish person who was not a fluent English speaker, and the same is true in the NL, and all throughout Scandinavia.

[Niclas Jacobsen]

I would love to see you compare the Scandinavian countries; in many ways Denmark, Norway and Sweden are as similar as they are different.

[Sharkronical]

"Between France and Germany" is the most perfect description of the low countries.

[Jens Verweert]

Very nice video 🙂. I have a few remarks though. When you say the low countries became part of the holy roman empire, the most important part of the low countries at the time (one of the most important regions of Europe then), the county of Flanders, was part of France. After that Flanders became part of Burgundy, which trough marriage became part of the Habsburg empire. But the most important part of Flanders history (known by historic cities like Bruges and Ghent, and important painters which influenced Italians like Leonardo da Vinci) isn’t really spoken of. 😅 Also the neutrality of Belgium during the world war was questioned… Belgium just stopped being neutral when it was invaded. Being neutral does not mean you let armies pass through your country to let them invade another country.

[crayven95]

My dads side is from the Netherlands. I live in Iowa, and there’s a big Dutch community near me that does tulip times every year.

[-Gemberkoekje-]

I heared of that!

[crayven95]

@Mr. Beat I am 😊

[Mr. Beat]

You are talking about Pella, right? One of my Patreon supporters lives there.

[Tali]

As a recent Dutch subscriber, I am thrilled to see you talk about my country!

[Tali]

@Mr. Beat You didn't, it was a great video!

[Mr. Beat]

This is amazing. Hope I didn't disappoint!

[DanganMachin]

Hey, it's nice to see we belgians aren't forgotten. Thanks for the video !

[Mr. Beat]

Thanks for watching!

[Ingrid Kersjes]

Belgium actualy did a lot in WW1. It were belgian troops that flooded the iron river and then dug the first trenched, this all to keep the germans on the belgian side of the river for long enouf to give the french army a chance to mobelise, whitch worked

[Proudable]

Yeah! I think it often is overlooked.

[Mr. Beat]

They certainly did!

[Bananenmüsli 27]

I am from Germany and I drove through the Netherlands and Belgium in order to get to England and what I saw was really nice, especially the flat countryside.

[Adrianos]

@Mr. Beat No not really, I was 2 years ago with my mom in Belgium, and the only thing I noticed it that Belgians are crazy drivers, a lot worse than Greeks, but the roads were honestly good in Flanders. They were working on the highway and signs that the speed limit was 50km and they passed us at 130km. And in Brussels the signs were also just street decoration.

[Bananenmüsli 27]

@Mr. Beat haha there were two gas stations between the German and French border so its really not that hard to get through

[Mr. Beat]

Was it really a "speed bump" in Belgium? 😆

[bigocelot09]

The Netherlands is a good country. I live in the Netherlands and i understand every thing. We got a lot of language's. Some schools get in kindergarten already english. In 7 grade we got french and in grade 8 we've got Deutsch.

[The tall person with wings]

kinda sad how you didn't mention the first king of the Netherlands, as in Napoleon's brother. koning lodewijk (king lodewijk) and despite him not speaking perfect (old) dutch, he was very caring to the people. hence why the netherlands stayed a kingdom afterwards as we loved lodewijk...and cause of the congress of vienna

[Schuft242]

Great video! It gives ppl a good overview of the topic and your fact based comparison is refreshing. How about a comparison of Germany and Austria? I know, this topic HUGE! But it would be interesting to see an American take on it. How many ppl do know that basically both world wars were started by Austrians. :-)

[GGL YOUTUBE]

But in Belgium we do learn a lot languages, as 10 or 11 year old we learn French (because I’m Flemish) from the age of 12 to 13 you learn English and I mentioned the starting ages because they keep learning it to you so we can speak French when we go to Walloon and English so we can speak in many other countries

[Alexander]

You should do a 3 way comparison for 1. Poland, Slovakia and Czechia 2. Norway, Sweden and Denmark 3. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia 4. El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras

[Alexander]

@Quelqu'un I was just thinking because the classic Scandinavian trio is Norway Sweden and Denmark where Finland is more or less just considered Nordic and not Scandinavian because of linguistic and historical differences

[Alan Smithee]

Hello Mr. Beat. Watching this thanks to Hilbert. Enjoyed it, but kept expecting him to come up with a historical picture of the Dutch flag and the Dutch anthem. His viewers will get it. I kept thinking that this is like comparing the historic English counties of Lancashire and Yorkshire, each of which has a population similar to Scotland at over 5 million. I have visited all the Benelux countries. I expected pictures of double decker trains, chips (US fries) with mayonnaise (yum) and Belgian fish and chips with the fish on a kebab stick. I am old enough to remember the old Astra satellite TV that had RTL4 we could watch in UK.

[Mr. Beat]

Thanks for coming by. I can't wait to visit myself.

[Manuel Munoz]

2 great countries just like Spain and Portugal. Great Brothers to each other.. 👍

[Wouter Kabouter]

Outside of the big cities belgium also has very different architecture, when i visit some parts of belgium i noticed they kind of mix very modern villa-like architecture with very old and ugly, and in the netherlands they have more of a singular style of housing per neighbourhood or the styles kind of flow per street, especially in baarle nassau-hertog. Its weird, but as a dutch/belgian person you can just tell by the general vibe of the street which country youre in.

[Wouter Kabouter]

@Adrianos i definetely agree the big cities look amazing in belgium! and most dutch neighbourhoods outside the centers are super boring. But please look up the town "kemzeke" in belgium on google maps on streetview and you will see what i mean 😅

[Adrianos]

As a Greek, I prefer by far the Belgian housing, they are stunning. That country is so gorgeous. The Netherlands looks like a social neighborhood. Everything is the same and it's so boring.

[arnaud bloemen]

I Live in Belgium, and in the Dutch part, most people speak English. Same as in the Netherlands. Most of us also speak German quite well.

[Robin Mangala]

Wij praten geen Duits…

[Robin Mangala]

Not true. “Most” of us don’t speak German😂… We are able to communicate to some extend with Germans if we speak Dutch, but most of us don’t speak it “quite well”.

[SuperMaximGlitchy1's Channel]

so many similarities could make the United Kingdom of the Netherlands a lot of sense in today’s times

[張理]

while watching, it reminds me that during 1624 to 1662, my country, Taiwan, was also the colony of so called "Holland", interesting, isn't it?

[Juan Davila]

I have no connection to the Netherlands or Belgium but I'm learning dutch because it being somewhat similar to English.

[Guy Vandurme]

Come in Belgium, you will see how welcoming we are !

[That History Dude]

I feel like Luxembourg should have been included for a 3 way comparison

[Guy Vandurme]

@nicholas vermeersch TRUE !

[Gaby KOY N'KULI]

@nicholas vermeersch it’s so true

[nicholas vermeersch]

we (belgium) have really nothing similar to luxembourg (except our provence :p ) you should compare luxembourg to germany

[A4RON]

Great ideas for comparison: -Arkansas and Missouri -Beijing and Shanghai - Portland Oregon and Portland Maine - Vegas and Atlantic City(casinos) - Scotland and Wales

[Coyote Long]

Vegas and Macau, that would be fun

[Sean Dawson]

You better talk about how the roads in my homestate in Missouri are way better kept than Arkansas. I live right on the border and my tires hate me when we're going into Arkansas

[Mr. Beat]

Great suggestions! Beijing and Shanghai is coming in December. :)

[24 68]

Amazing analysis. I hope to see more comparisons between european countries.

[Mr. Beat]

More definitely to come!

[Kaleb Wick]

Could you also do Norway and Sweden? It would be pretty interesting!

[Christian Freedom-Seeker]

You also forgot Belguim was the Birthplace of the Kings and has Palaces and Chateus everywhere also Belgium was a HUGE coal producer!

[euskadirlz]

Hey mr. Beat! ...awesome video! ...I've been to both countries and they are one of my favorites! ...how about comparing Switzerland and Austria next time?

[euskadirlz]

@Mr. Beat ...well...it's a possibility...maybe there's no other country Hungary is so comparable anyways... :)

[Mr. Beat]

I'm not sure what I'm going to do about Switzerland yet. I plan on comparing Austria with Hungary.

[Manuel M.]

The Metropolitan Area of Antwerp in Belgium is 1 million inhabitants, so Belgium has two major cities not only Brussels.

[Bilou19]

Ummm no the fact is that all of the Antwerp province is 1 million inhabitants not the city so Brussels stays the only major city in Belgium.

[Periwinkle!]

Could you do Australia versus New Zealand next? That would be cool :)

[Adam de Vries]

Yes please G'day from Adelaide Australia

[Mr. Beat]

Coming in January!

[TheLegoYoda]

Every time you make a video, it’s the highlight of my day!

[Abraham Lincoln]

@Mr. Beat You ranked him in the C tier in your presidential tier list.

[Mr. Beat]

Aw, thanks President Polk

[Abraham Lincoln]

@Rik No, Wilson was a mediocre president.

[TheLegoYoda]

@Rik WHAT

[Jordan D.]

Flying out to visit both in 2 weeks! Couldn't have asked for a better time for this video to come out :)

[Mr. Beat]

Woahness! Have a wonderful time!

[Dylan Pattyn]

Great video Matt, learned a lot in this particular video but I always pick up something in each :)

[Bas Blom]

I like belgium and the people. Great food, beautiful nature, old cities, like Durbuy..travel 2,5 hours and I’m on vacation!. Groot bakske patat!. Greets from you’re neighbors, Holland!.

[Danii ~]

@Bart Vermeersch actually friet is also said in the southern parts of the Netherlands! I live just on the convergence zone between friet and patat lmao

[Bart Vermeersch]

Patat would be a word used in the netherlands. While in (Flemish) belgium we would use the word "Friet"

[R L]

Welke natuur hier

[Het Wit Blad]

Groot bakske patat, nice way to hybridise (is that a word) Hollandic and Belgian speech

[Jacobus Hubertus Kirchner]

They are related countries which have a lot in common. Compare them to your left and right hand. Differently located but equal to a large extent.

[Gabriel Carvalho]

I've been to Amsterdam twice and loved it so much! But never been to Brussels and this video made me want to go!!

[Guy Vandurme]

Brussels is smaller but also really interesting

[Alain Michel]

"Waffels are a bigger deal for tourist than Belgians themselves". So true! We don't eat waffels so often, and certainly never at breakfast like Americans do. In Belgium it's more of a snack or a dessert. And BTW saying "Belgian waffle" is very vague, a Brussels waffle is completely different from a Liege waffle. Great video, I even learned some things myself.

[Gaby KOY N'KULI]

Personnally I eat waffels each day.

[DePannFluit]

Most series are dubbed in Walloon region, but in Flanders this is not the case. Also keep in mind that Dutch and English are very similar.

[Bruno Alvarenga]

Thanks a lot Mr Beat ! Love the Channel and your sense of humour. Love from Brasil !

[Mr. Beat]

Well thank YOU Bruno

[Chrisv5]

The highest wealth inequality thing has recently been disproved by a lot of economists, the one video they say this in has been debunked several times by now...

[Darth Opinion]

i don’t know if it’s the highest. But it is still quite big.

[Niccolo Richter]

source ?

[Yarrow]

As a Walloon, I don't understand why our education system is so flawed. I had immersion classes in English ever since I started school, but Dutch was only available to me in highschool, which I find odd.

[Pouf]

the issue is that you need to choose between dutch and english in school. (I choose english first and only got a bit of dutch for 3 years, not enough to speak with anybody at all) In my time, it was 80% choosing dutch and 20% english but it reversed a lot since then

[Joost Baars]

Ah finally. I've been waiting for this video for a long time. I'm happy my country (the Netherlands) now has a comparison video on this channel.

[Joost Baars]

@Mr. Beat Absolutely!

[Mr. Beat]

Hope you enjoyed it!

[Guy Vandurme]

You did a great job ! And I am Belgian, I know what I'm talking about ! I could'nt even notice a mistake (and I tried !)

[Chris Nemec]

Another thing: the world court, which is set up to deal with disputes between citizens of different countries, or in some cases, disputes between citizens of a country and their government is in the Hague in the Netherlands.

[armstrong nforbinson]

Do a comparison between Lagos and Douala and Abuja and Yaounde. Please do more comparisons between African countries and cities. Thnx in advance!!

[Hunter Flowerson]

That elephant in the room part made me laugh lol. I’m a fan of the mix of entertainment and education

[amosa mwig]

@Mr. Beat what?

[flitsertheo]

@Mr. Beat I wonder how you got that animal through the door.

[Mr. Beat]

Well Mrs. Beat didn't laugh at all. Glad somebody did. 😏😄

[chipetell]

Thank you for calling it football mr. Beat, it really has a huge significance for us Europeans!

[Scygnius]

I admire all the other channel shoutouts. Been a long-time fan of you, Mr. Beat!

[lukas rosseel]

how could you not mention the county of flanders with the duke's only child (daughter) married the duke of burgundy and created a quite influential cultural entity in the lowlands and france. around 14-15 century

[Tiny Box]

I am a Flander so we learn French and almost everyone I know in Belgium knows English better then French,even tho learning English is not exactly a must in most schools,even tho I started learning French from first grade I can't understand it at all,I'm not alone in this

[Gaby KOY N'KULI]

I live in Brussels and It's been 8 years, I'm learning Dutch but I still can't speak it Ik kan mijn plan trekken maar als iemand me moeilijke worden zegt, ben ik dood

[Vhoxz]

Weird isn't it, almost half of us Belgians speak both dutch and french and almost half of us speak english as well... Surprisingly(or not) it are the people that know both dutch and french who also speak english (Flanders region). This has a lot to do with the education system. In Flanders dutch french are mandatory and most schools also teach english and german. In Wallonia they learn french... and that's it.

[Syn]

Wait, only half of belgians speak english? Wow, that's even less than I expected... Greetings from the Netherlands!

[Arca]

@Felix Vermeulen what about the boomers? Haha younger generations tend to more likely speak English

[Felix Vermeulen]

@Arca I’m 19, and Belgian, trust me when I tell you more than 60% of people will be able to tell you the way or whatever

[Mr. Beat]

Apparently that statistic might be a little outdated now?

[Arca]

@Felix Vermeulen to which degree? The hello my name is level or being able to hold a more than very simple conversation? Don't forget that noy everyone is your age

[Felix Vermeulen]

Completely irrealistic, way more people speak basic English than that in Belgium

[Juléon F]

A Dutchman, an Englishman and a Belgian are standing on the roof of a burning flat. The Dutchman takes an umbrella and jumps down, now there is only one umbrella left. The Englishman also grabs an umbrella and jumps down. The Dutchman encounters the Englishman with a few scratches and says: “Shall we go and see the Belgian in the hospital?” They find the Belgian in intensive care completely wrinkled. The Englishman asks “How did you get down?” To which the Belgian replies “I ran out of umbrellas, so I put on my rain suit!” Only Belgians don't understand this.

[hogweed1975]

The 80 Years War actually lasted for 68 years, at least in terms of warfare. This is because the last 12 years the war was still officially on, there was actually a temporary peace treaty which in the end became permanent.

[TobiasM]

Minor nitpick: While I'm sure at 15:28 and 22:53 you wanted to show the somewhat hilly-ish region of Limburg, NL; you're actually showing the town of Limburg, Germany (my hometown 😊) I know it can be confusing lol

[TobiasM]

​@Mr. Beat Thanks! It's certainly quite nice. When I grew up, I kind if took it for granted but I could really appreciate it more once I realized it's very special in an international context.

[Mr. Beat]

Must have been mislabeled online! And holy crap Represent! What a beautiful place!

[MrTheLizardKing666]

You made a mistake about the legal age for drinking alchool : you can just drink Pilsner (

[Joske Vermeulen]

@R L Da's ondertussen al 13 bijna 14 jaar geleden en het was uitzonderlijk op zeer grote fuiven. Ik moet er ook bij zeggen dat ik op de Chiro zat. Meer moet ik nie zeggen lol.

[Joske Vermeulen]

@R L Nah I’m Belgian. It was normal as a kid going out.

[Devin Giles]

Hey, Mr. Beat. In a future video, you should compare both Australia and New Zealand!

[Mr. Beat]

Yep, it's coming in January!

[Billy Tompkins]

Currently living in one of the very few Justish kingdoms in England. Kent. However we always get glossed over. Dam angles and saxons. Hogging the lime light. Great video as always. Hilbert is always good too!

[Antoine Mozart]

Stop saying stupid things about the soncalled great invasion of the Anglo saxons. Read History Books.

[Mr. Beat]

Well shoot I'm not surprised you already knew about Hilbert then!

[François Cadieux]

There are many ways to see these two countries. Some call the Netherlands a smaller Germany, and some call Belgium a smaller France. But this isn’t a nice way to look at it, since both are actually quite different from the two countries, if you don’t include language and influence. Like Mr. Beat said, they are similar and different. From eachother and it’s two neighboring giants. I see it as Belgium being a more beautiful place (not saying the Netherlands isn’t beautiful), because despite their size, they have a great economy, high levels of development, and the fact that less than fifteen percent of their population lives in poverty. Not to mention the nature around. To the western parts, a nice ocean, and to the eastern parts more frigid, yet natural climate that supports growth. I see the Netherlands as a more attractive, family-friendly place. Again, not saying that Belgium isn’t. The Dutch have some of the best education in Europe, and even in the world. In fact, despite a rather small economy, over 1/20th of their GDP and federal income is spent on education (~39 billion USD). That’s a lot, when you’re taking into account that they need to pay for trade, defense, maintenance of military, debts, public funding, etc. They also have a great life expectancy for men. On average, 84 years for men. (I can’t see the statistics for women, unfortunately). These are both great countries. And I, or Mr. Beat, havent even mentioned half the things these two have to offer to everyone. I love them both dearly, from France.

[A S]

Dutch economy>Belgian economy

[Varvara]

Great video! Please, do Moscow vs St. Petersburg next, they have a lot of interesting things to compare!

[Mr. Beat]

Great suggestion!

[Gijs V]

Before 1500 Belgium was one of the richest places in the world. The wealth can still be seen in cities like Brugge, Gent, Mechelen and others.

[meticulousgeek]

Funny that we're known for "wooden shoes" instead of, for example, ASML which nowadays enables almost the whole chip industry. Great video though, I subbed.

[Adrien Renaux]

Bicycles in Belgium... Not reeaaaally. I guess Flemish cities have pretty good cycling infrastructure (but not as good as the Netherlands), Brussels is going through a rapid improvement in that regard, Wallonia is definitely trailing behind. The changes in Brussels are starting to give us ideas, but it's still very slow going

[L]

Its true that the both countries have much in common but the netherlands is way more advanced. For example the infrastructure. I have lived in both countries and i can tell that people from the netherlands are more social aswell.

[Devil D]

The Dutch know how to get stuff done. The Belgians are horrible at maintenance.

[Dennis Engelen]

Yet if you don't like to live too urban and prefer some green and build a beautiful house, then the Dutch living in their flats, woonwijken or boring places with every house being the same, then Flanders trumps. Of course not everywhere in the Netherlands, but most parts are way more urban and have more 'stadsvolk' while in Flanders there are way more municipalities where you can live quietly close to the fields and forests while still being a 10 min walk away from the center where the church and stores and all are.

[Jack F]

I wouldn't call the Netherlands "way more advanced". I lived in both countries aswel and yes, NL have better roads but behind the scenes a lot of things are better regulated in Belgium (healthcare, no waiting lists, housing, daycare, etc...) And don't forget a more gastronomical culture and more wild nature (Ardennes) :) Both countries have different strong points.

[den jo]

I think the English speaking thing is more a 'problem' in Wallonia than Flanders, and after all, Belgium is ranked high in countries where English is the best 2nd language. On the other side, more people in Belgium (Flanders) can speak French for example than in the Netherlands. Also, in the Netherlands, they have a second official language: Fries. The minimum age of alcohol is 16 in Belgium, but this is only for certain types of drinks (mostly beer and wine). Whisky for example is prohibited until you are 18. By the way, it was thanks to tourists that I know are waffles are famous 😂 If you visit Belgium as a tourist, there are different beautiful cities and places, not only Brussels, Bruges and Antwerp. I love Ghent more than Antwerp of Bruges. Wallonia is also very beautiful, but it's more for roadtrips, however there are very much activities you can do and a lot of beautiful places.

[Joannes Martens]

There is a great diference between dutch from the netherlands and belgium. In belgium they speak flemish and sound very diferent than hollandes from the netherlands. But it's the same in writing. Also the french from belgium is not the same in pronunciation than in france. A frenchman knows always that we are from belgium. But the flemish and hollandes are extra diferent in pronunciation. Both are netherlands ABN, but divided in flemish and hollandes.