Map of The Netherlands | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: The Dutch United Provinces declared their independence from Spain in 1579; during the 17th century they became a leading seafaring and commercial power with settlements and colonies around the world. After a 20-year French occupation a 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 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 EEC (now the EU) and participated in the introduction of the euro in 1999.


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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: 41,526 km²
Land: 33,883 km²
Water: 7,643 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
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 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: Zuidplaspolder -7 m
Extremes highest point: Vaalserberg 322 m

Natural resources: natural gas petroleum peat limestone salt sand and gravel arable land

Land use
Arable land: 21.96%
Permanent crops: 0.77%
Other: 77.27% (2005)

Irrigated land: 5,650 km² (2003)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: flooding

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


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Population: 16,491,461 (July 2006 est.)
Growth rate: 0.49% (2006 est.)
Below poverty line: 10.5% NA%

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

Ethnic groups: Dutch 83% other 17% (of which 9% are non-Western origin mainly Turks Moroccans Antilleans Surinamese and Indonesians) (1999 est.)

Languages: Dutch (official) Frisian (official)

Religions: Roman Catholic 31% Dutch Reformed 13% Calvinist 7% Muslim 5.5% other 2.5% none 41% (2002)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 18% (male 1,515,123/female 1,445,390)
15-64 years: 67.8% (male 5,656,448/female 5,525,481)
65 years and over: 14.2% (male 994,723/female 1,354,296) (2006 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age
Total: 39.4 years
Male: 38.6 years
Female: 40.2 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.49% (2006 est.)

Birth rate: 10.9 births/1000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate: 8.68 deaths/1000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate: 2.72 migrant(s)/1000 population (2006 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
International agreements party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.05 male/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male/female
65 years and over: 0.73 male/female
Total population: 0.98 male/female (2006 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 4.96 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 5.52 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 4.38 deaths/1000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 78.96 years
Male: 76.39 years
Female: 81.67 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.66 children born/woman (2006 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.2% (2001 est.)
People living with hivaids: 19,000 (2001 est.)
Deaths: less than 100 (2003 est.)

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%
Male: 99%
Female: 99% (2003 est.)

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
Name: Amsterdam
Geographic coordinates: 52 23 N, 4 54 E
Time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Note: The Hague (seat of government)

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

Dependent areas: (1) Aruba Netherlands Antilles

Independence: 23 January 1579 (the northern provinces of the Low Countries conclude the Union of Utrecht breaking with Spain; on 26 July 1581 they formally declared their independence with an Act of Abjuration; however it was not until 30 January 1648 and the Peace of Westphalia that Spain recognized this independence)

National holiday: Queen's Day (Birthday of Queen-Mother JULIANA in 1909 and accession to the throne of her oldest daughter BEATRIX in 1980) 30 April

Constitution: adopted 1815; amended many times most recently in 2002

Legal system: civil law system incorporating French penal theory; constitution does not permit judicial review of 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 (since 30 April 1980); Heir Apparent WILLEM-ALEXANDER (born 27 April 1967), son of the monarch
Head of government: Prime Minister Jan Peter BALKENENDE (since 22 July 2002) and Deputy Prime Ministers Gerrit ZALM (since 27 May 2003) and Laurens Jan BRINKHORST (since 31 March 2005); note - Prime Minister BALKENENDE tendered his resignation on 30 June 2006
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the monarch
Elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; following Second Chamber elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch; vice prime ministers appointed by the monarch
Note: there is also a Council of State composed of the monarch, heir apparent, and councilors that provides consultations to the cabinet on legislative and administrative policy

Legislative branch
Elections: First Chamber - last held 25 May 2003 (next to be held May 2007); Second Chamber - last held 22 November 2006 (next to be held November 2010)
Election results: First Chamber - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CDA 23, PvdA 19, VVD 15, Green Party 5, Socialist Party 4, D66 3, other 6; Second Chamber - percent of vote by party - CDA 26.5, PvdA 21.2%, Socialist Party 16.6%, VVD 14.6%, Party for Freedom 5.9%, Green Party 4.6%, Christian Union 4.0%; seats by party - CDA 41, PvdA 33, Socialist Party 25, VVD 22, Party for Freedom 9, Green Party 7, Christian Union 6, other 7

Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Hoge Raad (justices are nominated for life by the monarch)

Political parties and leaders: Christian Democratic Appeal or CDA [Ernst Hirsch BALLIN]; Christian Union Party [Andre ROUVOET]; Democrats 66 or D66 [Lousewies VAN DER LAAN]; Green Party [Femke HALSEMA]; Labor Party or PvdA [Wouter BOS]; List Pim Fortuyn [Ton VAN DILLEN]; Party for Freedom [Geert WILDERS]; People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (Liberal) or VVD [Pieter WINSEMIUS]; Socialist Party [Jan MARIJNISSEN]; plus a few minor parties

International organization participation: AfDB Arctic Council (observer) AsDB Australia Group Benelux BIS CBSS (observer) CE CERN EAPC EBRD EIB EMU ESA EU FAO G-10 IADB IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC ICCt ICFTU ICRM IDA IEA IFAD IFC IFRCS IHO ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ISO ITU MIGA MONUC NAM (guest) NATO NEA NSG OAS (observer) OECD OPCW OSCE Paris Club PCA SECI (observer) UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UNMIS UNRWA UNTSO UPU WCL WCO WEU WHO WIPO WMO WToO WTO ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Christiaan Mark Johan KRONER
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, Los Angeles, Miami, New York
In the us consulates: Boston
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Roland E. ARNALL
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) 310-2,209
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; one of the oldest flags in constant use originating with WILLIAM I Prince of Orange in the latter half of the 16th century

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: The Netherlands has a prosperous and open economy which depends heavily on foreign trade. The economy is noted for stable industrial relations moderate unemployment and inflation a sizable current account surplus and an important role as a European transportation hub. Industrial activity is predominantly in food processing chemicals petroleum refining and electrical machinery. A highly mechanized agricultural sector employs no more than 2% of the labor force but provides large surpluses for the food-processing industry and for exports. The Netherlands along with 11 of its EU partners began circulating the euro currency on 1 January 2002. The country continues to be one of the leading European nations for attracting foreign direct investment. Economic growth slowed considerably in 2001-05 as part of the global economic slowdown but for the four years before that annual growth averaged nearly 4% well above the EU average.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $497.9 billion (2005 est.)

Real gdp growth rate: 1.5% (2005 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $30,300 (2005 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 2.1%
Industry: 24.4%
Services: 73.6% (2005 est.)

Agriculture products: grains potatoes sugar beets fruits vegetables; livestock

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

Industrial production growth rate: -1.4% (2005 est.)

Labor force: 7.53 million (2005 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 2%
By occupation industry: 19%
By occupation services: 79% (2004 est.)

Unemployment rate: 6.6% (2005 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 10.5% NA%

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 2.5%
Highest 10: 22.9% (1999)

Distribution of family income gini index: 30.9 (2005)

Budget
Revenues: $291.8 billion
Expenditures: $303.7 billion; including capital expenditures of $N/A (2005 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt: 52.7% of GDP (2005 est.)

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 1.7% (2005 est.)

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: $39.95 billion (2005 est.)

Exports: $365.1 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Commodities: machinery and equipment chemicals fuels; foodstuffs
Partners: Germany 24.9% Belgium 13% France 9.4% UK 9.1% Italy 5.7% US 4.3% Spain 4.1% (2005)

Imports: $326.6 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Commodities: machinery and transport equipment chemicals fuels foodstuffs clothing
Partners: Germany 16.6% Belgium 9.3% China 8.8% US 7.6% UK 5.8% France 4.7% Russia 4.4% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $20.54 billion (2005 est.)

Debt external: $1.645 trillion (30 June 2005)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005) 0.8054 (2004) 0.886 (2003) 1.0626 (2002) 1.1175 (2001)


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Electricity
Production: 95 billion kWh (2004)
Consumption: 101.6 billion kWh (2003)
Exports: 3.8 billion kWh (2003)
Imports: 20.8 billion kWh (2003)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas
Production: 73.13 billion m³ (2003 est.)
Consumption: 50.4 billion m³ (2003 est.)
Exports: 49.28 billion m³ (2001 est.)
Imports: 20.78 billion m³ (2001 est.)
Proven reserves: 1.756 trillion m³ (1 January 2002)

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 7.6 million (2005)
Mobile cellular: 15.834 million (2005)

Telephone system
General assessment: highly developed and well maintained
Domestic: extensive fixed-line fiber-optic network; cellular telephone system is one of the largest in Europe with five major network operators utilizing the third generation of the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM)
International: country code - 31; 9 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Eutelsat, and 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions) (2004)

Broadcast media

Internet
Country code: .nl
Hosts: 8,363,158 (2006)
Users: 10,806,328 (2004)

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: 1.6% (2004)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 20 years of age for an all-volunteer force (2004)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 27 (2006)
With paved runways total: 20
With paved runways over 3047 m: 2
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 9
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 3
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 4
With paved runways under 914 m: 2 (2006)
With unpaved runways total: 7
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 3
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 4 (2006)

Heliports: 1 (2006)

Pipelines: condensate 81 km; gas 7,229 km; oil 578 km; refined products 716 km (2006)

Railways
Total: 2,808 km
Standard gauge: 2,808 km 1.435-m gauge (2,061 km electrified) (2005)

Roadways
Total: 134,000 km (including 3,270 km of expressways) (2004)

Waterways: 6,183 km (navigable for ships of 50 tons) (2005)

Merchant marine
Total: 558 ships (1000 GRT or over) 5,042,775 GRT/5,016,265 DWT
By type: bulk carrier 29, cargo 345, chemical tanker 29, container 59, liquefied gas 12, passenger 14, passenger/cargo 14, petroleum tanker 16, refrigerated cargo 19, roll on/roll off 18, specialized tanker 3
Foreign owned: 157 (Australia 1, Belgium 2, Denmark 9, Finland 13, Germany 56, Ireland 10, Netherlands Antilles 1, Norway 7, Sweden 26, UK 19, US 13)
Registered in other countries: 222 (Antigua and Barbuda 14, Australia 2, Austria 2, Bahamas 24, Canada 1, Cayman Islands 4, Cyprus 18, Gibraltar 5, Isle of Man 1, Liberia 29, Luxembourg 2, Malta 6, Marshall Islands 1, Netherlands Antilles 54, Norway 3, Panama 21, Philippines 19, Portugal 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 5, Singapore 2, UK 3, US 4, unknown 1) (2006)

Ports and terminals: Amsterdam Groningen IJmuiden Rotterdam Terneuzen Vlissingen Zaanstad


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Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: major European producer of ecstasy illicit amphetamines and other synthetic drugs; important gateway for cocaine heroin and hashish entering Europe; major source of US-bound ecstasy; large financial sector vulnerable to money laundering