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.

Geographic coordinates: 52 30 N 5 45 E

Map reference: Europe

Area
Total: 41,543 km²
Rank: 134
Land: 33,893 km²
Water: 7,650 km²
Comparative: slightly less than twice the size of New Jersey

Land boundaries
Total: 1027 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)

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)

Population: 16,715,999 (July 2009 est.)
Rank: 59
Growth rate: 0.412% (2009 est.)
Growth rate rank: 162
Below poverty line: 10.5% (2005)

Nationality
Noun: Dutchman 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)

Age structure
0-14 years: 17.4%
15-64 years: 67.7% (male 5,720,387/female 5,604,014)
65 years and over: 14.9% (male 1,070,496/female 1,418,230) (2009 est.)

Median age
Total: 40.4 years
Male: 39.6 years
Female: 41.2 years (2009 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.412% (2009 est.)
Rank: 162

Birth rate: 10.4 births/1000 population (2009 est.)
Rank: 186

Death rate: 8.74 deaths/1000 population (July 2009 est.)
Rank: 86

Net migration rate: 2.46 migrant(s)/1000 population (2009 est.)
Rank: 34

Urbanization
Urban population: 82% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 0.9% annual rate of change (2005-10 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
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
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 4.73 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 198
Male: 5.25 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 4.19 deaths/1000 live births (2009 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 79.4 years
Rank: 30
Male: 76.8 years
Female: 82.14 years (2009 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.66 children born/woman (2009 est.)
Rank: 174

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.2% (2007 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 107
People living with hivaids: 18,000 (2007 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 82
Deaths: fewer than 200 (2007 est.)
Deaths rank: 122

Education expenditures: 5.3% of GDP (2005)
Rank: 58

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)

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

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: Queen BEATRIX ; 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: 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 to serve four-year terms) and the Second Chamber or Tweede Kamer (150 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
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 [Pieter VAN GEEL]; Christian Union Party [Arie SLOB]; Democrats 66 or D66 [Alexander PECHTOLD]; Green Left Party [Femke HALSEMA]; Labor Party or PvdA [Mariette HAMER]; 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 [Agnes KANT]; plus a few minor parties

International organization participation: ADB (nonregional member) AfDB (nonregional member) 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 consulate general: Chicago Los Angeles Miami New York
In the us consulate: Boston
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador ; Charge d'Affaires Michael GALLAGHER
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 consulate 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; the colors were those of WILLIAM I Prince of Orange who led the Dutch Revolt against Spanish sovereignty in the latter half of the 16th century; originally the upper band was orange but because it tended to fade to red over time the red shade was eventually made the permanent color; the banner is perhaps the oldest tricolor in continuous use

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 has been one of the leading European nations for attracting foreign direct investment and is one of the four largest investors in the US. The pace of job growth reached 10-year highs in 2007 but economic growth fell sharply in 2008 as fallout from the world financial crisis constricted demand and raised the specter of a recession in 2009.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 21
Note: data are in 2008 US dollars

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 161

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 20
Note: data are in 2008 US dollars

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 1.7%
Industry: 25.5%
Services: 72.9% (2008 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: 2.9% (2008 est.)
Rank: 87

Labor force: 7.715 million (2008 est.)
Rank: 57
By occupation agriculture: 2%
By occupation industry: 18%
By occupation services: 80% (2005 est.)

Unemployment rate: 4.6% (2007 est.)
Rank: 48

Population below poverty line: 10.5% (2005)

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

Distribution of family income gini index: 32.6 (1994)
Rank: 108

Budget
Revenues: $405.9 billion
Expenditures: $397.3 billion (2008 est.)

Public debt: 55.8% of GDP (2004 est.)
Rank: 26

Inflation rate consumer prices: 1.6% (2007 est.)
Rank: 26

Central bank discount rate: 5% (31 December 2007)
Rank: 106
Note: this is the European Central Bank's rate on the marginal lending facility which offers overnight credit to banks in the euro area

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 8.72% (31 December 2007)
Rank: 96

Stock of domestic credit: $1.684 trillion (31 December 2007)
Rank: 10

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 18

Current account balance: $59.51 billion (2007 est.)
Rank: 9

Exports: $461 billion (2007 est.)
Rank: 8
Commodities: machinery and equipment chemicals fuels; foodstuffs
Partners: Germany 25.5% Belgium 13.8% France 8.9% UK 8.8% Italy 5.2% (2008)

Imports: $406.2 billion (2007 est.)
Rank: 9
Commodities: machinery and transport equipment chemicals fuels foodstuffs clothing
Partners: Germany 16.6% China 10.1% Belgium 8.7% US 7.5% UK 5.8% Russia 5.4% France 4.4% (2008)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $26.98 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Rank: 45

Debt external: $2.59 trillion (31 December 2007)
Rank: 5

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $724.1 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Rank: 8

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: $876.9 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Rank: 5

Exchange rates: euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6827 (2008 est.) 0.7345 (2007) 0.7964 (2006) 0.8041 (2005) 0.8054 (2004)

Electricity
Production: 97.19 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Production rank: 32
Consumption: 110.2 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Consumption rank: 28
Exports: 9.28 billion kWh (2008 est.)
Imports: 25.01 billion kWh (2008 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 84.69 billion m³ (2008 est.)
Production rank: 8
Consumption: 48.34 billion m³ (2008 est.)
Consumption rank: 17
Exports: 61.72 billion m³ (2008)
Exports rank: 4
Imports: 25.34 billion m³ (2008 est.)
Imports rank: 12
Proven reserves: 1.416 trillion m³ (1 January 2009 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 23

Telephones
Main lines in use: 7.324 million (2008)
Main lines in use rank: 25
Mobile cellular: 19.927 million (2008)
Mobile cellular rank: 39

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; one in five households now use Voice over the Internet Protocol (VoIP) services
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)

Internet
Country code: .nl
Hosts: 12.388 million (2009)
Hosts rank: 9
Users: 14.273 million (2008)
Users rank: 26

Military expenditures: 1.6% of GDP (2005 est.)
Rank: 101

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

Airports: 27 (2009)
Rank: 124
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: 5
With paved runways under 914 m: 1 (2009)
With unpaved runways total: 7
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 3
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 4 (2009)

Heliports: 1 (2009)

Pipelines: gas 3,816 km; oil 365 km; refined products 716 km (2008)

Railways
Total: 2,811 km
Rank: 57
Standard gauge: 2,811 km 1.435-m gauge (2,064 km electrified) (2008)

Roadways
Total: 135,470 km (2007)
Rank: 35

Waterways: 6,215 km (navigable for ships of 50 tons) (2007)
Rank: 22

Merchant marine
Total: 622
Rank: 18
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

Disputes international: none

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