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
Contiguous zone: 24 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: 89.7 km³ (2005)

Natural hazards: flooding

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


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Population: 16,645,313 (July 2008 est.)
Growth rate: 0.436% (2008 est.)

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

Ethnic groups: Dutch 80.7% EU 5% Indonesian 2.4% Turkish 2.2% Surinamese 2% Moroccan 2% Netherlands Antilles & Aruba 0.8% other 4.8% (2008 est.)

Languages: Dutch (official) Frisian (official)

Religions: Roman Catholic 30% Dutch Reformed 11% Calvinist 6% other Protestant 3% Muslim 5.8% other 2.2% none 42% (2006)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 17.6% (male 1,496,348/female 1,427,297)
15-64 years: 67.8% (male 5,705,003/female 5,583,787)
65 years and over: 14.6% (male 1,040,932/female 1,391,946) (2008 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age
Total: 40 years
Male: 39.2 years
Female: 40.9 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.436% (2008 est.)

Birth rate: 10.53 births/1000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate: 8.71 deaths/1000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate: 2.55 migrant(s)/1000 population (2008 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: 0.75 male/female
Total population: 0.98 male/female (2008 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 4.81 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 5.34 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 4.25 deaths/1000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 79.25 years
Male: 76.66 years
Female: 81.98 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.66 children born/woman (2008 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: fewer 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: 5.3% of GDP (2005)

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
Total: 16 years
Male: 17 years
Female: 16 years (2006)

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 is the seat of government; time descriptions apply to the continental Netherlands only, not to the Caribbean components

Administrative divisions: 12 provinces (provincies singular - provincie); Drenthe Flevoland Friesland (Fryslan) Gelderland Groningen Limburg Noord-Brabant (North Brabant) Noord-Holland (North Holland) Overijssel Utrecht Zeeland (Zealand) Zuid-Holland (South 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 and accession to the throne of her oldest daughter BEATRIX) 30 April (1909 and 1980)

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

Legal system: based on 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); Deputy Prime Ministers Wouter BOS (since 22 February 2007) and Andre ROUVOET (since 22 February 2007)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the monarch
Elections: 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; deputy 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 29 May 2007 (next to be held in May 2011); Second Chamber - last held 22 November 2006 (next to be held by early 2011)
Election results: First Chamber - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CDA 21, PvdA 14, VVD 14, Socialist Party 11, Christian Union 4, Green Left Party 4, D66 2, other 5; 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%, other 6.6%; 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 [Jan Peter BALKENENDE]; Christian Union Party [Andre ROUVOET]; Democrats 66 or D66 [Alexander PECHTOLD]; Green Left Party [Femke HALSEMA]; Labor Party or PvdA [Wouter BOS]; Party for Freedom or PVV [Geert WILDERS]; Party for the Animals or PvdD [Marianne THIEME]; People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (Liberal) or VVD [Mark RUTTE]; Reformed Political Party of SGP [Bas VAN DER VLIES]; Socialist Party [Jan MARIJNISSEN]; plus a few minor parties

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

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Regina 'Renee' JONES-BOS
In the us chancery: 4,200 Linnean Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 244-5,300, [1] 877-388-2,443
In the us fax: [1] (202) 362-3,430
In the us consulates general: Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador James B. CULBERTSON
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 3% 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 and is one of the five largest investors in the US. The economy experienced a slowdown in 2005 but in 2006 recovered to the fastest pace in six years on the back of increased exports and strong investment. The pace of job growth reached 10-year highs in 2007.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $645.5 billion (2007 est.)

Real gdp growth rate: 3.5% (2007 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $39,000 (2007 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 2%
Industry: 24.4%
Services: 73.6% (2007 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: 3.1% (2007 est.)

Labor force: 7.604 million (2007 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 3%
By occupation industry: 21%
By occupation services: 76% (2005 est.)

Unemployment rate: 4.6% (2007 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

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: $359.5 billion
Expenditures: $356.5 billion (2007 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt: 45.5% of GDP (2007 est.)

Revenue

Fiscal year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 1.6% (2007 est.)

Central bank discount rate: NA (31 December 2007)

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 8.72% (31 December 2007)

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit: $1.876 trillion (31 December 2007)

Market value of publicly traded shares: $924.4 billion (November 2007)

Current account balance: $47.31 billion (2007 est.)

Exports: $456.8 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Commodities: machinery and equipment chemicals fuels; foodstuffs
Partners: Germany 24.4% Belgium 13.6% UK 9.1% France 8.5% Italy 5.1% US 4.3% (2007)

Imports: $406.3 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Commodities: machinery and transport equipment chemicals fuels foodstuffs clothing
Partners: Germany 17.7% China 10.5% Belgium 9.3% US 7.3% UK 5.8% Russia 5.1% France 4.4% (2007)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $26.98 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Debt external: $2.277 trillion (30 June 2007)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $673.4 billion (2007 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: $851.3 billion (2007 est.)

Exchange rates: euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.7345 (2007) 0.7964 (2006) 0.8041 (2005) 0.8054 (2004) 0.886 (2003)


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Electricity
Production: 97.33 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Consumption: 109.6 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Exports: 5.565 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Imports: 23.14 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas
Production: 76.33 billion m³ (2007 est.)
Consumption: 46.42 billion m³ (2007 est.)
Exports: 55.66 billion m³ (2007 est.)
Imports: 25.73 billion m³ (2007 est.)
Proven reserves: 1.416 trillion m³ (1 January 2008 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 7.334 million (2007)
Mobile cellular: 17.3 million (2006)

Telephone system
General assessment: highly developed and well maintained
Domestic: extensive fixed-line fiber-optic network; large cellular telephone system with 5 major operators utilizing the third generation of the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) technology
International: country code - 31; submarine cables provide links to the US and Europe; satellite earth stations - 5 (3 Intelsat - 1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean, 1 Eutelsat, and 1 Inmarsat (2007)

Broadcast media

Internet
Country code: .nl
Hosts: 10.983 million (2008)
Users: 15 million (2007)

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures: 1.6% of GDP (2005 est.)

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 (2007)
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 (2007)
With unpaved runways total: 7
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 3
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 4 (2007)

Heliports: 1 (2007)

Pipelines: condensate 81 km; gas 7,394 km; oil 578 km; refined products 716 km (2007)

Railways
Total: 2,797 km
Standard gauge: 2,797 km 1.435-m gauge (2,064 km electrified) (2006)

Roadways
Total: 134,981 km (includes 2,604 km of expressways) (2006)

Waterways: 6,211 km (navigable for ships of 50 tons) (2006)

Merchant marine
Total: 622
By type: bulk carrier 9, cargo 381, carrier 19, chemical tanker 44, container 76, liquefied gas 15, passenger 16, passenger/cargo 15, petroleum tanker 11, refrigerated cargo 10, roll on/roll off 23, specialized tanker 3
Foreign owned: 203 (Belgium 2, Cyprus 8, Denmark 29, Finland 14, France 1, Germany 75, Ireland 10, Italy 1, South Korea 1, Norway 12, Sweden 28, Turkey 1, UAE 5, UK 2, US 14)
Registered in other countries: 178 (Antigua and Barbuda 20, Australia 2, Austria 2, Bahamas 9, Cambodia 1, Canada 1, Cyprus 22, Germany 1, Gibraltar 21, Isle of Man 1, Liberia 6, Luxembourg 2, Marshall Islands 8, Netherlands Antilles 38, Panama 14, Paraguay 1, Philippines 23, Portugal 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 3, US 1, unknown 1) (2008)

Ports and terminals: Amsterdam IJmuiden Rotterdam Terneuzen Vlissingen


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Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: major European producer of synthetic drugs including ecstasy and cannabis cultivator; important gateway for cocaine heroin and hashish entering Europe; major source of US-bound ecstasy; large financial sector vulnerable to money laundering; significant consumer of ecstasy