Low Countries

This article is about the region in Western Europe. For the economic union, see Benelux.

The Low Countries is a term used to refer to a geographical region, especially during the Middle Ages.^[1] This region is around the deltas of the Rhine, the Scheldt and the Meuse (Maas). Today, the Low Countries consists of the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the parts of Lower-Saxony (in Germany) that are in the region. Sometimes, the French Netherlands (Nord-Pas-de-Calais) are included as well.^[2][3]

The Low Countries as seen from space

The Dutch name of the Netherlands is Nederland, which literally means low country. The region was usually referred to as de Nederlanden.^[4][5][6]

The term Low Countries historically referred to the region under the Dukes of Burgundy, who distinguished it from their geographically separated territories, such as the Duchy of Burgundy, by calling it *les pays de par deçà* ("the lands over here"). Over time, this evolved into *Pays-Bas* ("Low Countries"). Today, the term often aligns with the political boundaries of the Benelux countries: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.^[7][8]