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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 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 (now the EU), and participated in
the introduction of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) in
1999. |
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Location:
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Western Europe,
bordering the North Sea, between Belgium and Germany |
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Map references:
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Europe |
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Area:
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total:
41,526 sq km
water: 7,643 sq km
land: 33,883 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly less
than twice the size of New Jersey |
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Land boundaries:
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total:
1,027 km
border countries: Belgium 450 km, Germany 577 km |
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Coastline:
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451 km |
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Climate:
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temperate;
marine; cool summers and mild winters |
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Terrain:
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mostly coastal
lowland and reclaimed land (polders); some hills in southeast |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point:
Zuidplaspolder -7 m
highest point: Vaalserberg 322 m |
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Natural resources:
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natural gas,
petroleum, peat, limestone, salt, sand and gravel, arable land |
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Land use:
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arable land:
26.53%
other: 72.44% (1998 est.)
permanent crops: 1.03% |
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Irrigated land:
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5,650 sq km (1998
est.) |
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Natural hazards:
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flooding |
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Environment - current issues:
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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 |
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Environment - international agreements:
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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 |
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Geography - note:
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located at mouths
of three major European rivers (Rhine, Maas or Meuse, and
Schelde) |
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Population:
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16,318,199 (July
2004 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years:
18.3% (male 1,527,316; female 1,457,192)
15-64 years: 67.8% (male 5,598,706; female 5,459,936)
65 years and over: 13.9% (male 953,370; female
1,321,679) (2004 est.) |
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Median age:
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total:
38.7 years
male: 37.9 years
female: 39.6 years (2004 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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0.57% (2004 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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11.41
births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
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Death rate:
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8.67 deaths/1,000
population (2004 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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2.91 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2004 est.) |
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Sex ratio:
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at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
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Infant mortality rate:
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total:
5.11 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4.51 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 5.68 deaths/1,000 live births |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total
population: 78.68 years
male: 76.15 years
female: 81.34 years (2004 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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0.2% (2001 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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17,000 (2001
est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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110 (2001 est.) |
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Nationality:
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noun:
Dutchman(men), Dutchwoman(women)
adjective: Dutch |
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Ethnic groups:
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Dutch 83%, other
17% (of which 9% are non-Western origin mainly Turks,
Moroccans, Antilleans, Surinamese and Indonesians) (1999 est.) |
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Religions:
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Roman Catholic
31%, Protestant 21%, Muslim 4.4%, other 3.6%, unaffiliated 40%
(1998) |
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Languages:
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Dutch (official
language), Frisian (official language) |
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Literacy:
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definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% (2000 est.)
male: NA%
female: NA% |
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Country name:
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conventional
long form: Kingdom of the Netherlands
conventional short form: Netherlands
local long form: Koninkrijk der Nederlanden
local short form: Nederland |
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Government type:
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constitutional
monarchy |
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Capital:
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Amsterdam; The
Hague is the seat of government |
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Administrative divisions:
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12 provinces (provincies,
singular - provincie); Drenthe, Flevoland, Friesland,
Gelderland, Groningen, Limburg, Noord-Brabant, Noord-Holland,
Overijssel, Utrecht, Zeeland, Zuid-Holland |
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Dependent areas:
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Aruba,
Netherlands Antilles |
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Independence:
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1579 (from
Spain); note - the northern provinces of the Low Country
concluded the Union of Utrecht, but it was not until 1648 that
Spain recognized their independence |
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National holiday:
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Queen's Day
(Birthday of Queen-Mother JULIANA in 1909 and accession to the
throne of her oldest daughter BEATRIX in 1980), 30 April |
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Constitution:
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adopted 1814;
amended many times, last time 17 February 1983 |
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Legal system:
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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 |
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Executive branch:
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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 Thom DE GRAAF (since 27 May 2003)
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 prime minister on legislative and
administrative policy |
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Legislative branch:
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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 for four-year terms) and the
Second Chamber or Tweede Kamer (150 seats; members directly
elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: First Chamber - last held 25 May 2003 (next
to be held NA May 2007); Second Chamber - last held 22 January
2003 (next to be held NA January 2007)
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 28.6%, PvdA 27.3%, VVD 12.9%,
Socialist Party 6.3%, List Pim Fortuyn 5.7%, Green Party 5.1%,
D66 4.1%; seats by party - CDA 44, PvdA 42, VVD 28, Socialist
Party 9, List Pim Fortuyn 8, Green Party 8, D66 6, other 5 |
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Judicial branch:
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Supreme Court or
Hoge Raad (justices are nominated for life by the monarch) |
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Political parties and leaders:
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Christian
Democratic Appeal or CDA [Maxime Jacques Marcel VERHAGEN];
Christian Union Party [Andre ROUVOET]; Democrats 66 or D66
[Boris DITTRICH]; Green Party [Femke HALSEMA]; Labor Party or
PvdA [Wouter BOS]; List Pim Fortuyn [Mat HERBEN]; People's
Party for Freedom and Democracy (Liberal) or VVD [Gerrit ZALM];
Socialist Party [Jan MARIJNISSEN]; a host of minor parties |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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Federation of
Netherlands Trade Union Movement (comprising Socialist and
Catholic trade unions) and a Protestant trade union;
Federation of Catholic and Protestant Employers Associations;
Interchurch Peace Council or IKV; large multinational firms;
the nondenominational Federation of Netherlands Enterprises |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief of
mission: Ambassador Boudewijn J. VAN EENENNAAM
consulate(s): Boston
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles,
Miami, New York
FAX: [1] (202) 362-3430
telephone: [1] (202) 244-5300
chancery: 4200 Linnean Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 |
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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chief of
mission: Ambassador Clifford M. SOBEL
embassy: Lange Voorhout 102, 2514 EJ, The Hague
mailing address: PSC 71, Box 1000, APO AE 09715
telephone: [31] (70) 310-9209
FAX: [31] (70) 361-4688
consulate(s) general: Amsterdam |
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Economy - overview:
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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 4% 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 2001-03, as part of the global
economic slowdown, but for the four years before that, annual
growth averaged nearly 4%, well above the EU average. The
government is wrestling with a deteriorating budget position,
and is moving toward the EU 3% of GDP budget deficit limit. |
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GDP:
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purchasing
power parity - $461.4 billion (2003 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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-0.7%
(2003 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing
power parity - $28,600 (2003 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture:
2.6%
industry: 25%
services: 72.4% (2002 est.) |
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Population below poverty line:
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NA% |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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2%
(2003 est.) |
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Labor force:
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7.2
million (2000) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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services
73%, industry 23%, agriculture 4% (1998 est.) |
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Unemployment rate:
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4.2%
(2003 est.) |
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Budget:
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revenues:
$134 billion
expenditures: $134 billion, including capital
expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
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Industries:
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agroindustries,
metal and engineering products, electrical machinery and
equipment, chemicals, petroleum, construction,
microelectronics, fishing |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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-1.9%
(2003 est.) |
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Electricity - production:
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88.32
billion kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil
fuel: 89.9%
hydro: 0.1%
other: 5.7% (2001)
nuclear: 4.3% |
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Electricity - consumption:
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99.42
billion kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - exports:
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4.209
billion kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - imports:
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21.49
billion kWh (2001) |
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Oil - production:
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46,200
bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Oil - consumption:
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895,300
bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Oil - exports:
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1.418
million bbl/day (2001) |
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Oil - imports:
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2.284
million bbl/day (2001) |
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Oil - proved reserves:
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88.06
million bbl (1 January 2002) |
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Natural gas - production:
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77.75
billion cu m (2001 est.) |
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Natural gas - consumption:
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49.72
billion cu m (2001 est.) |
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Natural gas - exports:
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49.28
billion cu m (2001 est.) |
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Natural gas - imports:
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20.78
billion cu m (2001 est.) |
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Natural gas - proved reserves:
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1.693
trillion cu m (1 January 2002) |
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Agriculture - products:
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grains,
potatoes, sugar beets, fruits, vegetables; livestock |
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Exports:
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$253.2
billion f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
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Exports - commodities:
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machinery
and equipment, chemicals, fuels; foodstuffs |
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Exports - partners:
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Germany
25.1%, Belgium 12.7%, UK 10.7%, France 10.2%, Italy 6%, US
4.6% (2002) |
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Imports:
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$217.7
billion f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
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Imports - commodities:
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machinery
and transport equipment, chemicals, fuels; foodstuffs,
clothing |
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Imports - partners:
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Germany
17.9%, Belgium 9.7%, US 9.1%, UK 6.9%, France 5.5%, China
5.1%, Japan 4% (2002) |
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Economic aid - donor:
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ODA,
$3.3 billion (2002 est.) |
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Currency:
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euro
(EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union
introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by
financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002,
the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions
within the member countries |
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Currency code:
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EUR |
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Exchange rates:
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euros
per US dollar - 0.89 (2003), 1.06 (2002), 1.12 (2001), 1.09
(2000), 0.94 (1999) |
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Fiscal year:
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calendar
year |
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Telephones - main lines in use:
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10.004 million
(2002) |
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Telephones - mobile cellular:
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12.06 million
(2002) |
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Telephone system:
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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) |
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Radio broadcast stations:
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AM 4, FM 246,
shortwave 3 (2004) |
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Television broadcast stations:
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21 (plus 26
repeaters) (1995) |
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Internet country code:
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.nl |
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Internet hosts:
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3,137,203 (2002) |
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Internet users:
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8.2 million
(2002) |
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Railways:
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total:
2,808 km
standard gauge: 2,808 km 1.435-m gauge (2,061 km
electrified) (2002) |
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Highways:
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total:
116,500 km
paved: 104,850 km (including 2,235 km of expressways)
unpaved: 11,650 km (1999) |
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Waterways:
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5,046 km (of
which 3,745 km are canals)
note: 47% of total route length is usable by craft of
1,000-metric-ton capacity or larger |
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Pipelines:
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condensate 325
km; gas 6,998 km; oil 590 km; refined products 716 km (2003) |
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Ports and harbors:
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Amsterdam,
Delfzijl, Dordrecht, Eemshaven, Groningen, Haarlem, IJmuiden,
Maastricht, Rotterdam, Terneuzen, Utrecht, Vlissingen |
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Merchant marine:
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total: 635
ships (1,000 GRT or over) 4,796,460 GRT/5,212,557 DWT
registered in other countries: 241 (2003 est.)
foreign-owned: Belgium 2, Denmark 4, Finland 9, Germany
54, Ireland 14, Norway 9, Singapore 1, Sweden 19, Thailand 1,
United Kingdom 31, United States 16
by type: bulk 1, cargo 375, chemical tanker 59,
combination bulk 1, container 71, liquefied gas 13,
multi-functional large load carrier 15, passenger 12,
petroleum tanker 28, refrigerated cargo 37, roll on/roll off
14, short-sea/passenger 2, specialized tanker 7 |
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Airports:
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27 (2003 est.) |
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Airports - with paved runways:
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total: 20
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 8
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 2 (2003 est.)
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 |
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Airports - with unpaved runways:
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total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 5 (2003 est.) |
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Heliports:
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1 (2003 est.) |
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Military branches:
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Royal Netherlands
Army, Royal Netherlands Navy (including Naval Air Service and
Marine Corps), Royal Netherlands Air Force, Royal
Constabulary, Defense Interservice Command |
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Military manpower - military age:
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20 years of age
(2004 est.) |
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Military manpower - availability:
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males age
15-49: 4,070,043 (2004 est.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service:
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males age
15-49: 3,534,392 (2004 est.) |
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Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
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males:
97,624
note: Netherlands has an all-volunteer, 74,100 force in
2001 (2004 est.) |
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Military expenditures - dollar figure:
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$8,044.4 million
(2003) |
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Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
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1.6% (2003) |
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Disputes - international:
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none |
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Illicit drugs:
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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 |
This page was last updated on 11 May, 2004
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