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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Deaf Dutch of Netherlands

The Deaf Dutch of Netherlands, numbering approximately 176,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a community of individuals who are culturally Deaf and actively participate in Deaf culture, often using sign language as their primary means of communication. They are an Indigenous people, in the Deaf people cluster of the Deaf Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Unaffiliated. They primarily speak Sign Language of the Netherlands.

Photo by Generative AI: "Photo portrait with a blurred background of a Deaf Dutch person signing the word 'love' with their hands, visible in the portrait" prompt, Gemini 2.0 Flash, July 2025

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Deaf Peoples
Country: Netherlands
People Cluster: Deaf
Primary Language(s): Sign Language of the Netherlands (dse)
Primary Religion(s): Unaffiliated
Population: 176,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG000404
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Pray for the Deaf Dutch of Netherlands

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Unaffiliated
Religious Affiliation: Unaffiliated

%

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Sign Language of the Netherlands
Language Family: Sign Language

%

Media Resources in Sign Language of the Netherlands:

Films:

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Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Sign Language of the Netherlands:

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Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Sign Language of the Netherlands bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Deaf Dutch

The Deaf Dutch are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Deaf Dutch

The Deaf Dutch are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Next steps for the Deaf Dutch

The Deaf Dutch are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Deaf Dutch of Netherlands

But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
readMatthew 5:44-45

Pray for those who don't know Jesus to encounter believers who are kind and compassionate and that their imitation of Christ will serve as a testimony that attracts lost people to Jesus.

Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near.
readIsaiah 55:6

Pray that the lost will seek the Lord while He may be found and call upon Him while He is near, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
readPhilippians 2:5-7

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will imitate His humility in all they do.

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
readEphesians 1:13-14

Pray that God will work through believers near and far in bringing the lost to Himself, giving them what they need to do the task He has set before them, and helping them rest in Him because He has given them His Spirit.

Deaf Dutch (ROP3 - 116552) reported in the following countries:

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Definitions page.

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