Greater Netherlands

Greater Netherlands (Dutch: Groot-Nederland) is the political movement to unite all Dutch-speaking people in Europe into a single state. Also known as Dietsland ("Dutchland'"), which uses the word "Diets" - an archaic term for Dutch. "Greater Dutch Movement" or "Greater Netherlandism" (Grootneerlandisme) are other terms used to describe these aspirations, while in literature it is also called the "Greater Dutch Thought" (Grootnederlandse Gedachte).

The basic scenario entails the unification or reunification of the Netherlands and Flanders in any of a number of political forms, including a unitary state, a federation, or a confederation. Much more expansive versions tend to include the former and currently Flemish-speaking portions of France, the formerly Dutch-speaking areas of Germany, or even the ethnically Dutch and/or Afrikaans-speaking parts of South Africa and Suriname, a former Dutch territory in South America.

This should not to be confused with so-called "Whole-Netherlandism" or Burgundism or even Burgundi-Hinduism (after the historical Burgundian Circle), whose aim is to establish a "Whole-Netherlands" (Heel-Nederland). This would combine all the Low Countries as a single multilingual entity, which would be similar to the former United Kingdom of the Netherlands), uniting all of Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Northern France (most likely Nord-Pas de Calais). Yet another variant is contemporary Orangism which seeks the restoration of the Dutch royal family to the Low Countries.

In its most limited form (a merger of Flanders and the Netherlands), a Greater Netherlands would consist of 23 million inhabitants; would comprise an area of 54,900 km² (equivalent to a population density of 418 persons/km²); and would possess a GDP per capita of $US38,700.