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 German invasion and occupation 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. In October 2010 the former Netherlands Antilles was dissolved and the three smallest islands - Bonaire Sint Eustatius and Saba - became special municipalities in the Netherlands administrative structure. The larger islands of Sint Maarten and Curacao joined the Netherlands and Aruba as constituent countries forming the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Geographic coordinates: 52 30 N 5 45 E

Map reference: Europe

Area
Total: 41,543 km²
Land: 33,893 km²
Water: 7,650 km²
Rank: 135
Comparative: slightly less than twice the size of New Jersey

Land boundaries
Total: 1053 km
Border countries: (2) Belgium 478 km; Germany 575 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: Mount Scenery 862 m
Extremes note: the highest point on continental Netherlands is Vaalserberg at 322 m

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

Land use
Agricultural land: 55.1%
Forest: 10.8%
Other: 34.1%

Irrigated land: 4,572 km² (2007)

Total renewable water resources: 91 km³ (2011)

Natural hazards: flooding

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

Population: 16,947,904 (July 2015 est.)
Rank: 66
Growth rate: 0.41% (2015 est.)
Growth rate rank: 164
Below poverty line: 9.1% (2013 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Dutchman Dutchwoman(women)
Adjective: Dutch

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

Languages: Dutch (official)
Note: Frisian is an official language in Fryslan province; Frisian Low Saxon and Limburgish are recognized as regional languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages; for the three special municipalities of the Caribbean Netherlands English is widely used on the islands of Sint Eustatius and Saba while Papiamento is the primary language on Bonaire

Religions: Roman Catholic 28% Protestant 19% (includes Dutch Reformed 9% Protestant Church of The Netherlands 7% Calvinist 3%) other 11% (includes about 5% Muslim and lesser numbers of Hindu Buddhist Jehovah's Witness and Orthodox) none 42% (2009 est.)

Age structure
0-14 years: 16.73%
15-24 years: 12.15%
25-54 years: 40.12%
55-64 years: 13.02%
65 years and over: 17.97% (2015 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 53.3%
Youth dependency ratio: 25.3%
Elderly dependency ratio: 27.9%
Potential support ratio: 3.6%

Median age
Total: 42.3 years
Male: 41.3 years
Female: 43.2 years

Population growth rate: 0.41% (2015 est.)
Rank: 164

Birth rate: 10.83 births/1000 population (2015 est.)
Rank: 181

Death rate: 8.66 deaths/1000 population (2015 est.)
Rank: 74

Net migration rate: 1.95 migrant(s)/1000 population (2015 est.)
Rank: 52

Urbanization
Urban population: 90.5% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 1.05% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: AMSTERDAM (capital) 1.091 million; Rotterdam 993,000; The Hague (seat of government) 650,000 (2015)

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 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
0-14 years: 1.05 male/female
15-24 years: 1.04 male/female
25-54 years: 1.01 male/female
55-64 years: 0.99 male/female
65 years and over: 0.82 male/female
Total population: 0.98 male/female

Infant mortality rate
Total: 3.62 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 3.91 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 3.32 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 201

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 81.23 years
Male: 79.11 years
Female: 83.47 years
Rank: 24

Total fertility rate: 1.78 children born/woman (2015 est.)
Rank: 155

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 69%
Note: percent of women aged 18-45

Drinking water source:

Hospital bed density: 4.7 beds/1000 population (2009)

Sanitation facility access:

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: NA
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 21.9% (2014)
Rank: 103

Education expenditures: 5.9% of GDP (2011)
Rank: 45

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 18 years
Male: 18 years
Female: 18 years

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; note - The Hague is the seat of government
Geographic coordinates: 52 21 N 4 55 E
Time difference: UTC+1
Daylight saving time: +1hr begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Note: time descriptions apply to the continental Netherlands only not to the Caribbean components

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

Dependent areas: (1) Aruba Curacao Sint Maarten

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: King's Day (the King's birthday of 27 April (1967); celebrated on 26 April if 27 April is a Sunday)

Constitution: previous 1597 1798; latest adopted 24 August 1815 (substantially revised in 1848); amended many times last in 2010 (2013)

Legal system: civil law system based on the French system; constitution does not permit judicial review of acts of the States General

International law organization participation: accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: King WILLEM-ALEXANDER
Head of government: Prime Minister Mark RUTTE ; Deputy Prime Minister Lodewijk ASSCHER (since 5 November 2012); note - Mark RUTTE heads his second cabinet since 5 November 2012
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the monarch; note -there is also a Council of State composed of the monarch heir apparent and councilors that provides advice to the cabinet on legislative and administrative policy
Electionsappointments: the monarchy is hereditary; following Second Chamber elections the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the monarch; deputy prime ministers appointed by the monarch

Legislative branch
Description: bicameral States General or Staten Generaal consists of the First Chamber or Eerste Kamer and the Second Chamber or Tweede Kamer (150 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote to serve up to 4-year terms)
Elections: First Chamber - last held on May 2011 ; Second Chamber - last held on 12 September 2012 (next to be held by March 2017)
Election results: First Chamber - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - VVD 16 PvdA 14 CDA 11 PVV 10 SP 8 D66 5 GL 5 other 6; Second Chamber - percent of vote by party - VVD 26.6% PvdA 24.8% PVV 10.1% SP 9.7% CDA 8.5% D66 8.0% CU 3.1% GL 6.7% other 2.5%; seats by party - VVD 41 PvdA 38 PVV 15 SP 15 CDA 13 D66 12 CU 5 GL 4 other 7

Judicial branch
Highest court: Supreme Court or Hoge Raad ; the court is divided into criminal civil tax and ombuds chambers
Judge selection and term of office: justices appointed by the monarch from a list provided by the Second Chamber of the States General; justices appointed for life or until mandatory retirement at age 70
Subordinate courts: courts of appeal; district courts each with up to 5 subdistrict courts

Political parties and leaders:

International organization participation: ADB (nonregional member) AfDB (nonregional member) Arctic Council (observer) Australia Group Benelux BIS CBSS (observer) CD CE CERN EAPC EBRD ECB EIB EITI (implementing country) EMU ESA EU FAO FATF G-10 IADB IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC (national committees) ICCt ICRM IDA IEA IFAD IFC IFRCS IGAD (partners) IHO ILO IMF IMO IMSO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ISO ITSO ITU ITUC (NGOs) MIGA MINUSMA NATO NEA NSG OAS (observer) OECD OPCW OSCE Pacific Alliance (observer) Paris Club PCA Schengen Convention SELEC (observer) UN UNCTAD UNDOF UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UNMISS UNRWA UNTSO UNWTO UPU WCO WHO WIPO WMO WTO ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Henne SCHUWER
In the us chancery: 4,200 Linnean Avenue NW Washington DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] 244-5,300 [1] 877-388-2,443
In the us FAX: [1] 362-3,430
In the us consulate general: Chicago Miami New York San Francisco
In the us consulate: Boston
From the us chief of mission: ambassador Timothy M. BROAS
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] 310-2,209
From the us FAX: [31] 310-2,207
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

National symbols: lion tulip; national color: orange

National anthem
Name: 'Het Wilhelmus'
Lyrics and music: Philips VAN MARNIX van Sint Aldegonde /unknown
Note: adopted 1932 in use since the 17th century making it the oldest national anthem in the world; also known as 'Wilhelmus van Nassouwe' it is in the form of an acrostic where the first letter of each stanza spells the name of the leader of the Dutch Revolt

Economy overview: The Netherlands the sixth-largest economy in the European Union plays an important role as a European transportation hub with a persistently high trade surplus stable industrial relations and moderate unemployment. Industry focuses on food processing chemicals petroleum refining and electrical machinery. A highly mechanized agricultural sector employs only 2% of the labor force but provides large surpluses for food-processing and underpins the country’s status as the world’s second largest agricultural exporter. The Netherlands is part of the Eurozone and as such its monetary policy is controlled by the European Central Bank. The Dutch financial sector is highly concentrated with four commercial banks possessing over 90% of banking assets. The sector suffered as a result of the global financial crisis and required billions of dollars of government support but the European Banking Authority completed stringent reviews in 2014 and deemed Dutch banks to be well-capitalized. To address the 2009 and 2010 economic downturns the government sought to stimulate the domestic economy by accelerating infrastructure programs offering corporate tax breaks for employers to retain workers and expanding export credits. The stimulus programs and bank bailouts however resulted in a government budget deficit of 5.3% of GDP in 2010 that contrasted sharply with a surplus of 0.7% in 2008. The government of Prime Minister Mark RUTTE has since implemented significant austerity measures to improve public finances and has instituted broad structural reforms in key policy areas including the labor market the housing sector the energy market and the pension system. As a result the government budget deficit at the end of 2014 dropped to 1.8% of GDP. Following a protracted recession during which unemployment doubled to 7.4% and household consumption contracted for nearly three consecutive years the year 2014 saw fragile GDP growth of 0.8 percent and a rise in most economic indicators. Drivers of growth included increased exports and business investments as well as newly invigorated household consumption.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2014 US dollars
Rank: 28

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 192

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2012 US dollars
Rank: 22

Gross national saving:
Rank: 36

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 44.7%
Government consumption: 26.2%
Investment in fixed capital: 18.8%
Investment in inventories: 0.1%
Exports of goods and services: 83.6%
Imports of goods and services: -73.4%: (2014 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 2.8%
Industry: 22.3%
Services: 74.8%

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: -1.5% (2014 est.)
Rank: 182

Labor force: 8.214 million (2014 est.)
Rank: 61
By occupation agriculture: 1.8%
By occupation industry: 17%
By occupation services: 81.2%

Unemployment rate:
Rank: 79

Population below poverty line: 9.1% (2013 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 2.1%
Highest 10: 24.5%

Distribution of family income gini index:
Rank: 134

Budget
Revenues: $413.8 billion
Expenditures: $437.3 billion
Surplus or deficit: -2.7% of GDP (2014 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 102

Taxes and other revenues: 47% of GDP (2014 est.)
Rank: 19

Public debt:
Note: data cover general government debt and includes debt instruments issued by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data include debt issued by subnational entities as well as intra-governmental debt; intra-governmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds such as for retirement medical care and unemployment debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions
Rank: 42

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 37

Central bank discount rate:
Note: this is the European Central Bank's rate on the marginal lending facility which offers overnight credit to banks in the euro area
Rank: 129

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
Rank: 180

Stock of narrow money:
Note: see entry for the European Union for money supply for the entire euro area; the European Central Bank controls monetary policy for the 18 members of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU); individual members of the EMU do not control the quantity of money circulating within their own borders
Rank: 13

Stock of broad money:
Rank: 17

Stock of domestic credit:
Rank: 14

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 20

Current account balance:
Rank: 4

Exports:
Rank: 8
Commodities: machinery and equipment chemicals fuels; foodstuffs
Partners: Germany 25.3% Belgium 12.9% UK 8.9% France 8.6% Italy 4.3% (2014)

Imports:
Rank: 11
Commodities: machinery and transport equipment chemicals fuels foodstuffs clothing
Partners: Germany 14.5% China 13% Belgium 8.4% US 6.5% UK 6.1% Russia 5.7% Norway 4.1% (2014)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Rank: 32

Debt external:
Rank: 9

Stock of direct foreign investment at home:
Rank: 15

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad:
Rank: 10

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Production: 98.57 billion kWh (2013 est.)
Production rank: 33
Consumption: 116.8 billion kWh (2013 est.)
Consumption rank: 28
Exports: 15.02 billion kWh (2013 est.)
Exports rank: 14
Imports: 33.25 billion kWh (2013 est.)
Imports rank: 6
Installed generating capacity: 29.92 million kW (2012)
Installed generating capacity rank: 28
Generation sources fossil fuels: 85.1% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 88
Generation sources nuclear: 1.6% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 30
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 0.1% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 151
Generation sources other renewable sources: 13.2% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 22

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 38,540 bbl/day (2013 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 62
Crude oil exports: 35,500 bbl/day (2013 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 48
Crude oil imports: 999,700 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 12
Crude oil proven reserves: 302.6 million bbl (1 January 2014 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 55

Refined petroleum
Products production: 1.221 million bbl/day (2012 est.)
Products production rank: 19
Products consumption: 983,300 bbl/day (2013 est.)
Products consumption rank: 22
Products exports: 2.138 million bbl/day (2012 est.)
Products exports rank: 4
Products imports: 2.131 million bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products imports rank: 2

Natural gas
Production: 66.32 billion m³
Production note: the Netherlands has curbed gas production due to seismic activity in the province of Groningen largest source of gas reserves
Production rank: 10
Consumption: 38.39 billion m³ (2014 est.)
Consumption rank: 21
Exports: 55.38 billion m³ (2014 est.)
Exports rank: 6
Imports: 27.38 billion m³ (2014 est.)
Imports rank: 12
Proven reserves: 1.044 trillion m³ (1 January 2014 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 25

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 239.6 million Mt (2012 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 26

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 7.13 million
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 42
Fixed lines rank: 25
Mobile cellular total: 19.6 million
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 116
Mobile cellular rank: 58

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 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

Broadcast media: more than 90% of households are connected to cable or satellite TV systems that provide a wide range of domestic and foreign channels; public service broadcast system includes multiple broadcasters 3 with a national reach and the remainder operating in regional and local markets; 2 major nationwide commercial television companies each with 3 or more stations and many commercial TV stations in regional and local markets; nearly 600 radio stations with a mix of public and private stations providing national or regional coverage (2008)

Internet
Country code: .nl
Users total: 16.2 million
Users percent of population: 96.1%
Users rank: 34

Military expenditures:
Rank: 79

Military service age and obligation: 17 years of age for an all-volunteer force (2014)

Airports: 29 (2013)
Rank: 120
With paved runways total: 23
With paved runways over 3047 m: 3
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 11
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 6
With paved runways under 914 m: 2
With unpaved runways total: 6
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 4
With unpaved runways: 2 (2013)

Heliports: 1 (2013)

Pipelines: condensate 81 km; gas 8,531 km; oil 578 km; refined products 716 km (2013)

Railways
Total: 3,223 km
Standard gauge: 3,223 km 1.435-m gauge (2014)
Rank: 56

Roadways
Total: 138,641 km (2014)
Rank: 36

Waterways: 6,237 km (navigable by ships up to 50 tons) (2012)
Rank: 21

Merchant marine
Total: 744
By type: bulk carrier 4 cargo 514 carrier 15 chemical tanker 56 container 67 liquefied gas 21 passenger 17 passenger/cargo 14 petroleum tanker 4 refrigerated cargo 10 roll on/roll off 19 specialized tanker 3
Foreign owned: 196
Registered in other countries: 233 (2010)
Rank: 15

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: IJmuiden Vlissingen
River port: Amsterdam ; Moerdijk (Hollands Diep River); Rotterdam (Rhine River); Terneuzen (Western Scheldt River)
Container port: Rotterdam (11,876,920)
LNG terminal: Rotterdam

Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees: 18,687 (Somalia); 14,396 (Iraq); 8,692 (Syria); 6,294 (Eritrea); 6,244 (Afghanistan) (2014)
Stateless persons: 1951

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