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.

Map reference: Europe

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

Land boundaries: total 1,027 km, 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

Natural resources: natural gas, petroleum, fertile soil

Land use
Arable land: 26%
Permanent crops: 1%
Meadows and pastures: 32%
Forest and woodland: 9%
Other: 32%

Irrigated land: 5,500 km² (1989 est.)

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

Population: 15,452,903 (July 1995 est.)
Growth rate: 0.52% (1995 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)

Age structure
0-14 years: 18% (female 1,382,057; male 1,445,451)
15-64 years: 68% (female 5,184,224; male 5,369,018)
65 years and over: 14% (female 1,238,336; male 833,817) (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.52% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 12.42 births/1000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 8.48 deaths/1000 population (1995 est.)

Net migration rate: 1.29 migrant(s)/1000 population (1995 est.)

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
Current issues natural hazards: the extensive system of dikes and dams, protects nearly one-half of the total area from being flooded
Current issues international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Biodiversity, Desertification, Law of the Sea

Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 77.95 years
Male: 74.9 years
Female: 81.17 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.56 children born/woman (1995 est.)

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

Country name
Conventional long form: Kingdom of the Netherlands
Conventional short form: Netherlands
Local long form: Koninkrijk de 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

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: Queen BEATRIX Wilhelmina Armgard (since 30 April 1980); Heir Apparent WILLEM-ALEXANDER, Prince of Orange, son of Queen Beatrix (born 27 April 1967)
Head of government: Prime Minister Willem (Wim) KOK (since 22 August 1994); Vice Prime Minister Hans DIJKSTAL and Hans VAN MIERLO (since 22 August 1994)
Cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the prime minister

Legislative branch: bicameral legislature (Staten Generaal)
First Chamber Eerste Kamer: members indirectly elected by the country's 12 provincial councils for four-year terms; elections last held 9 June l991 (next to be held 9 June 1995); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (75 total) number of seats by party NA
Second Chamber Tweede Kamer: members directly elected for four-year terms; elections last held on 3 May 1994 (next to be held in May 1999); results - PvdA 24.3%, CDA 22.3%, VVD 20.4%, D'66 16.5%, other 16.5%; seats - (150 total) PvdA 37, CDA 34, VVD 31, D'66 24, other 24

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (De Hoge Raad)

International organization participation: AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, Australia Group, Benelux, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, EBRD, EC, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, ESA, ESCAP, FAO, G-10, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MTCR, NACC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNAVEM II, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNOMOZ, UNOMUR, UNPROFOR, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Adriaan 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, the Hague; 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

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. The trade and financial services sector contributes over 50% of GDP. Industrial activity provides about 25% of GDP and is led by the food-processing, oil-refining, and metalworking industries. 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. High unemployment and a sizable budget deficit are currently the most serious economic problems. Many of the economic issues of the 1990s will reflect the course of European economic integration.

Real gdp growth rate: 2% (1994 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $17,940 (1994 est.)

Agriculture products: accounts for 4.6% of GDP; animal production predominates; crops - grains, potatoes, sugar beets, fruits, vegetables; shortages of grain, fats, and oils

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

Industrial production growth rate: -1.5% (1993 est.), accounts for 25% of GDP

Labor force: 6.4 million (1993)
By occupation services: 71.4%
By occupation manufacturing and construction: 24.6%
By occupation agriculture: 4.0% (1992)

Unemployment rate: 8.8% (December 1994)

Budget
Revenues: $109.9 billion
Expenditures: $122.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Exports: $153 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
Commodoties: metal products, chemicals, processed food and tobacco, agricultural products
Partners: EC 77% (Germany 27%, Belgium-Luxembourg 15%, UK 10%), Central and Eastern Europe 10%, US 4% (1991)

Imports: $137 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
Commodoties: raw materials and semifinished products, consumer goods, transportation equipment, crude oil, food products
Partners: EC 64% (Germany 26%, Belgium-Luxembourg 14%, UK 8%), US 8% (1991)

Debt external: $0

Exchange rates: Netherlands guilders, gulden, or florins (f.) per US$1 - 1.7178 (January 1995), 1.8200 (1994), 1.8573 (1993), 1.7585 (1992), 1.8697 (1991), 1.8209 (1990)

Electricity
Capacity: 17,520,000 kW
Production: 72.4 billion kWh
Production consumption per capita: 5,100 kWh (1993)

Telephone system: 9,418,000 telephones; highly developed, well maintained, and integrated; extensive redundant system of multiconductor cables, supplemented by microwave radio relay links
Local: nationwide mobile phone system
Intercity: microwave radio relay
International: 5 submarine cables; 3 INTELSAT (1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean) and 1 EUTELSAT earth station

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $7.1 billion, 2.2% of GDP (1994)

Airports: 29
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 9
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 5
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 3
With paved runways under 914 m: 8
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 3

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

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

Merchant marine
Total: 343 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,629,578 GRT/3,337,307 DWT
Ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 195, chemical tanker 21, combination bulk 3, container 33, liquefied gas tanker 12, livestock carrier 1, multifunction large-load carrier 1, oil tanker 37, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 18, roll-on/roll-off cargo 14, short-sea passenger 3, specialized tanker 2
Note: many Dutch-owned ships are also registered on the Netherlands Antilles register

Disputes international: none

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