Map of The Netherlands | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
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Background: The Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed in 1815. In 1830 Belgium seceded and formed a separate kingdom. The Netherlands remained neutral in World War I but suffered a brutal invasion and occupation by Germany in World War II. A modern industrialized nation the Netherlands is also a large exporter of agricultural products. The country was a founding member of NATO and the EC.


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Location: Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between Belgium and Germany

Geographic coordinates: 52 30 N, 5 45 E

Map reference: Europe

Area
Total: 37,330 km²
Land: 33,920 km²
Water: 3,410 km²
Comparative: slightly less than twice the size of New Jersey

Land boundaries
Total: 1,027 km
Border countries: (2) Belgium 450 km; , Germany 577 km

Coastline: 451 km

Maritime claims
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: temperate; marine; cool summers and mild winters

Terrain: mostly coastal lowland and reclaimed land (polders; some hills in southeast

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Prins Alexanderpolder -7 m
Extremes highest point: Vaalserberg 321 m

Natural resources: natural gas, petroleum, fertile soil

Land use
Arable land: 27%
Permanent crops: 1%
Permanent pastures: 31%
Forests and woodland: 10%
Other: 31% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 5,600 km² (1993 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: the extensive system of dikes and dams, protects nearly one-half of the total area from being flooded

Geography
Note: located at mouths of three major European rivers (Rhine, Maas or Meuse, and Schelde)


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Population: 15,649,729 (July 1997 est.)
Growth rate: 0.53% (1997 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Dutchman(men), Dutchwoman(women)
Adjective: Dutch

Ethnic groups: Dutch 96%, Moroccans, Turks, and other 4% (1988)

Languages: Dutch

Religions: Roman Catholic 34%, Protestant 25%, Muslim 3%, other 2%, unaffiliated 36% (1991)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 18% (male 1,466,463; female 1,401,507)
15-64 years: 68% (male 5,432,512; female 5,248,823)
65 years and over: 14% (male 848,853; female 1,251,571) (July 1997 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 0.53% (1997 est.)

Birth rate: 11.84 births/1000 population (1997 est.)

Death rate: 8.69 deaths/1000 population (1997 est.)

Net migration rate: 2.18 migrant(s)/1000 population (1997 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: water pollution in the form of heavy metals, organic compounds, and nutrients such as nitrates and phosphates; air pollution from vehicles and refining activities; acid rain

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 5.2 deaths/1000 live births (1997 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 77.87 years
Male: 75 years
Female: 80.88 years (1997 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.5 children born/woman (1997 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 99% (1979 est.)
Male: NA%
Female: NA%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Kingdom of the Netherlands
Conventional short form: Netherlands
Local long form: Koninkrijk der Nederlanden
Local short form: Nederland

Government type: constitutional monarchy

Capital: Amsterdam; The Hague is the seat of government

Administrative divisions: 12 provinces (provincien, singular - provincie; Drenthe, Flevoland, Friesland, Gelderland, Groningen, Limburg, Noord-Brabant, Noord-Holland, Overijssel, Utrecht, Zeeland, Zuid-Holland

Dependent areas: (2) Aruba, Netherlands Antilles

Independence: 1579 (from Spain)

National holiday: Queen's Day, 30 April (1938)

Constitution: 17 February 1983

Legal system: civil law system incorporating French penal theory; judicial review in the Supreme Court of legislation of lower order rather than Acts of the States General; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: Queen BEATRIX Wilhelmina Armgard (since 30 April 1980); Heir Apparent WILLEM-ALEXANDER (born 27 April 1967), Prince of Orange, son of Queen BEATRIX
Head of government: Prime Minister Wim KOK (since 22 August 1994) and Vice Prime Ministers Hans DIJKSTAL (since 22 August 1994) and Hans VAN MIERLO (since 22 August 1994)
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister
Elections: none; the queen is a constitutional monarch; following Second Chamber elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the queen; vice prime ministers appointed by the queen

Legislative branch: bicameral States General or Staten Generaal consists of the First Chamber or Eerste Kamer (75 seats; members indirectly elected by the country's 12 provincial councils for four-year terms) and the Second Chamber or Tweede Kamer (150 seats; members directly elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
Elections: First Chamber - last held 9 June 1995 (next to be held 9 June 1999); Second Chamber - last held 3 May 1994 (next to be held in 1998)
Election results: First Chamber - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; Second Chamber - percent of vote by party - PvdA 24.3%, CDA 22.3%, VVD 20.4%, D'66 16.5%, other 16.5%; seats by party - PvdA 37, CDA 34, VVD 31, D'66 24, other 24

Judicial branch: Supreme Court or De Hoge Raad, justices are nominated for life by the crown from a list compiled by the Second Chamber of the States General

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, Australia Group, Benelux, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, ESA, ESCAP, EU, FAO, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MTCR, NACC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIBH, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Adriaan Pieter Roetert JACOBOVITS DE SZEGED
In the us chancery: 4,200 Linnean Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 244-5,300
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 362-3,430
In the us consulates general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Kirk Terry DORNBUSH
From the us embassy: Lange Voorhout 102, 2,514 EJ The Hague
From the us mailing address: PSC 71, Box 1000, APO AE 9,715
From the us telephone: [31] (70) 310-9,209
From the us FAX: [31] (70) 361-4,688
From the us consulates general: Amsterdam

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue; similar to the flag of Luxembourg, which uses a lighter blue and is longer

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: This highly developed and affluent economy is based on private enterprise. The government makes its presence felt, however, through many regulations, permit requirements, and welfare programs affecting most aspects of economic activity. Industrial activity features food-processing, oil-refining, and metalworking. The highly mechanized agricultural sector employs only 4% of the labor force but provides large surpluses for export and the domestic food-processing industry. Indeed, the Netherlands ranks third worldwide in value of agricultural exports, behind the US and France. Sharp cuts in subsidy and social security spending have been accompanied by sustained growth in output and employment. The Dutch will almost certainly qualify for the first wave of countries entering the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) in 1999.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 2.7% (1996 est.)

Real gdp per capita ppp

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 3%
Industry: 26%
Services: 71% (1993)

Agriculture products: grains, potatoes, sugar beets, fruits, vegetables; livestock

Industries: agroindustries, metal and engineering products, electrical machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum, fishing, construction, microelectronics

Industrial production growth rate: 2.9% (1996 est.)

Labor force
Total: 6.4 million (1993)
By occupation services: 73%
By occupation manufacturing and construction: 23%
By occupation agriculture: 4% (1994)

Unemployment rate: 6.5% (November 1996)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $107.2 billion
Expenditures: $118.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $N/A (1996 est.)

Public debt

Taxes and other revenues

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Current account balance

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports
Total value: $176.2 billion (f.o.b., 1996)
Commodities: manufactures and machinery, chemicals; processed food and tobacco, agricultural products
Partners: EU 75% (Germany 29%, Belgium-Luxembourg 13%, UK 9%), Central and Eastern Europe 3%, US 4% (1994)

Imports
Total value: $159.7 billion (c.i.f., 1996)
Commodities: raw materials and semifinished products, consumer goods, transportation equipment, crude oil, food products
Partners: EU 61% (Germany 24%, Belgium-Luxembourg 12%, UK 9%), US 8% (1994)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $0

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Netherlands guilders, gulden, or florins (f.) per US$1 - 1.8009 (January 1997), 1.6859 (1996), 1.6057 (1995), 1.8200 (1994), 1.8573 (1993), 1.7585 (1992)


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Electricity access

Electricity production: 78 billion kWh

Electricity consumption
Per capita: 5,140 kWh (1995 est.)

Electricity exports

Electricity imports

Electricity installed generating capacity

Electricity transmission distribution losses

Electricity generation sources

Petroleum

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones fixed lines

Telephones mobile cellular

Telephone system: highly developed and well maintained; extensive redundant system of multiconductor cables, supplemented by microwave radio relay
Domestic: nationwide cellular telephone system; microwave radio relay
International: 5 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Eutelsat, and 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean Regions)

Broadcast media

Internet country code

Internet users

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $8.2 billion (1995)
Percent of gdp: 2.1% (1995)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 28 (1996 est.)
With paved runways total: 25
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 9
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 6
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 3
With paved runways under 914 m: 6 (1996 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 3
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 3 (1996 est.)

Airports with paved runways
Total: 25
Over 3047 m: 1
2438 to 3047 m: 9
15-24 to 2437 m: 6
914 to 1523 m: 3
Under 914 m: 6 (1996 est.)

Airports with unpaved runways
Total: 3
914 to 1523 m: 3 (1996 est.)

Heliports: 1 (1996 est.)

Pipelines: crude oil 418 km; petroleum products 965 km; natural gas 10,230 km

Railways
Total: 2,791 km
Standard gauge: 2,791 km 1.435-m gauge; 2,757 km are in common carrier service (1,991 km electrified) and 34 km serve tourists

Roadways

Waterways: 6,340 km, of which 35% is usable by craft of 1,000 metric ton capacity or larger

Merchant marine
Total: 406 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,333,353 GRT/3,880,155 DWT
Ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 237, chemical tanker 32, combination bulk 3, container 40, liquefied gas tanker 15, livestock carrier 1, multifunction large-load carrier 4, oil tanker 34, passenger 7, refrigerated cargo 16, roll-on/roll-off cargo 11, short-sea passenger 3, specialized tanker 2
Note: many Dutch-owned ships are operating under the registry of Netherlands Antilles (1996 est.)

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: important gateway for cocaine, heroin, and hashish entering Europe; European producer of illicit amphetamines and other synthetic drugs