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Map of Netherlands
Introduction Netherlands
Background:
 Kingdom of Netherlands previously formed in 1815. In 1830 Belgium seceded and formed a separate kingdom. Netherlands remained neutral in World War I, but suffered invasion and occupation by Germany in World War II. A modern, industrialized nation, Netherlands is also a large exporter of agricultural products. country previously a founding member of NATO and EC (now EU), and participated in introduction of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) in 1999.
Geography Netherlands
Location:
 Western Europe, bordering North Sea, between Belgium and Germany
Geographic coordinates:
 52 30 N, 5 45 E
Map references:
 Europe
Area:
 total: 41,526 sq km
water: 7,643 sq km
land: 33,883 sq km
Area - comparative:
 slightly less than twice size of New Jersey
Land boundaries:
 total: 1,027 km
border countries: 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
Elevation extremes:
 lowest point: Zuidplaspolder -7 m
highest point: Vaalserberg 322 m
Natural resources:
 natural gas, petroleum, arable land
Land use:
 arable land: 26.53%
other: 72.44% (1998 est.)
permanent crops: 1.03%
Irrigated land:
 5,650 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
 flooding
Environment - current issues:
 water pollution in form of heavy metals, organic compounds, and nutrients such as nitrates and phosphates; air pollution from vehicles and refining activities; acid rain
Environment - international agreements:
 party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Kyoto Protocol, Law of Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
Geography - note:
 located at mouths of three major European rivers (Rhine, Maas or Meuse, and Schelde)
People Netherlands
Total Population:
 16,150,511 (July 2003 est.)
Age structure:
 0-14 years: 18.2% (male 1,501,127; female 1,436,453)
15-64 years: 67.9% (male 5,576,141; female 5,389,764)
65 years and over: 13.9% (male 929,087; female 1,317,939) (2003 est.)
Median age:
 total: 38.6 years
male: 37.7 years
female: 39.5 years (2002)
Population growth rate:
 0.5% (2003 est.)
Birth rate:
 11.31 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Death rate:
 8.66 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Net migration rate:
 2.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Sex ratio:
 at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
Population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
 total: 4.26 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 3.82 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
male: 4.68 deaths/1,000 live births
Life Expectancy:
 Population: 78.74 years
male: 75.85 years
female: 81.76 years (2003 est.)
Total fertility rate:
 1.65 children born/woman (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
 0.2% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
 17,000 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
 110 (2001 est.)
Nationality:
 noun: Dutchman(men), Dutchwoman(women)
adjective: Dutch
Ethnic groups:
 Dutch 83%, other 17% (of which 9% are non-western origin mainly Turks, Moroccans, Antilleans, Surinamese and Indonesians) (1999 est.)
Religions:
 Roman Catholic 31%, Protestant 21%, Muslim 4.4%, other 3.6%, unaffiliated 40% (1998)
Languages:
 Dutch (official language), Frisian (official language)
Literacy:
 definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Population: 99% (2000 est.)
male: NA%
female: NA%
Government Netherlands
Country name:
 conventional long form: Kingdom of Netherlands
conventional short form: Netherlands
local long form: Koninkrijk der Nederlanden
local short form: Nederland
Government type:
 constitutional monarchy
Capital:
 Amsterdam; Hague is seat of government
Administrative divisions:
 12 provinces (provincies, singular - provincie); Drenthe, Flevoland, Friesland, Gelderland, Groningen, Limburg, Noord-Brabant, Noord-Holland, Overijssel, Utrecht, Zeeland, Zuid-Holland
Dependent areas:
 Aruba, Netherlands Antilles
Independence:
 1579 (from Spain); note - northern provinces of Low Country concluded Union of Utrecht, but it previously 1648 before Spain finally recognized their independence
National holiday:
 Queen's Day (Birthday of Queen-Mother JULIANA in 1909 and accession to throne of her oldest daughter BEATRIX in 1980), 30 April
Constitution:
 adopted 1814; amended many times, last time 17 February 1983
Legal system:
 civil law system incorporating French penal theory; constitution does not permit judicial review of acts of States General; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
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 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 monarch
elections: none; monarchy is hereditary; following Second Chamber elections, leader of majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by monarch; vice prime ministers appointed by monarch
note: there is also a Council of State composed of monarch, heir apparent, and councilors that provides consultations to prime minister on legislative and administrative policy
Legislative branch:
 bicameral States General or Staten Generaal consists of First Chamber or Eerste Kamer (75 seats; members indirectly elected by countries 12 provincial councils for four-year terms) and 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
Judicial branch:
 Supreme Court or Hoge Raad (justices are nominated for life by monarch)
Political parties and leaders:
 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
Political pressure groups and leaders:
 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; nondenominational Federation of Netherlands Enterprises
International organization participation:
 AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, Benelux, BIS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, EMU, ESA, ESCAP, EU, FAO, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in US:
 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
Diplomatic representation from US:
 chief of mission: Ambassador Clifford M. SOBEL
embassy: Lange Voorhout 102, 2514 EJ, Hague
mailing address: PSC 71, Box 1000, APO AE 09715
telephone: [31] (70) 310-9209
FAX: [31] (70) 361-4688
consulate(s) general: Amsterdam
Flag description:
 three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue; similar to flag of Luxembourg, which uses a lighter blue and is longer; one of oldest flags in constant use, originating with William I, Prince of Orange, in latter half of 16th century
Economy Netherlands
Economy - overview:
 Netherlands is a prosperous and open economy depending heavily on foreign trade. 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 labor force but provides large surpluses for food-processing industry and for exports. Netherlands, along with 11 of its EU partners, began circulating euro currency on 1 January 2002. country continues to be one of leading European nations for attracting foreign direct investment. Economic growth slowed considerably in 2001-03, as part of globel economic slowdown, but for four years before that, annual growth averaged nearly 4%, well above EU average. government is wrestling with a deteriorating budget position, and is moving toward EU 3% limit.
GDP:
 buying power parity - $437.8 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
 0.2% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita:
 buying power parity - $27,200 (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
 agriculture: 3.1%
industry: 25.7%
services: 71.2% (2001 est.)
Population below poverty line:
 NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
 lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 25.1% (1994)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
 32.6 (1994)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
 3.4% (2002 est.)
Labor force:
 7.2 million (2000)
Labor force - by occupation:
 services 73%, industry 23%, agriculture 4% (1998 est.)
Unemployment rate:
 3% (2002 est.)
Budget:
 revenues: $134 billion
expenditures: $134 billion, includes capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)
Industries:
 agroindustries, metal and engineering products, electrical machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum, construction, microelectronics, fishing
Industrial production growth rate:
 0% (2002 est.)
Electricity - production:
 88.32 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source:
 fossil fuel: 89.9%
hydro: 0.1%
other: 5.7% (2001)
nuclear: 4.3%
Electricity - consumption:
 99.42 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports:
 4.209 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports:
 21.49 billion kWh (2001)
Oil - production:
 46,200 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
 895,300 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
 1.418 million bbl/day (2001)
Oil - imports:
 2.284 million bbl/day (2001)
Oil - proved reserves:
 88.06 million bbl (37257)
Natural gas - production:
 77.75 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
 49.72 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
 49.28 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
 20.78 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
 1.693 trillion cu m (37257)
Agriculture - products:
 grains, potatoes, sugar beets, fruits, vegetables; livestock
Exports:
 $243.3 billion f.o.b. (2002)
Exports - commodities:
 machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels; foodstuffs
Exports - partners:
 Germany 25.1%, Belgium 12.7%, UK 10.7%, France 10.2%, Italy 6%, US 4.6% (2002)
Imports:
 $201.1 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.)
Imports - commodities:
 machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, fuels; foodstuffs, clothing
Imports - partners:
 Germany 17.8%, Belgium 9.7%, US 9.1%, UK 6.9%, France 5.5%, China 5.1%, Japan 4% (2002)
Economic aid - donor:
 ODA, $3.5 billion (2000 est.)
Currency:
 euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, European Monetary Union introduced euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, euro became sole currency for everyday transactions within member countries
Currency code:
 EUR
Exchange rates:
 euros per US dollar - 1.06 (2002), 1.12 (2001), 1.09 (2000), 0.94 (1999)
Fiscal year:
 calendar year
Communications Netherlands
Telephones - main lines in use:
 9,132,400 (1999)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
 4,081,891 (April 1999)
Telephone system:
 general assessment: highly developed and well maintained
domestic: existing system of multi-conductor cables is gradually being replaced by fiber-optic cables; density of cellular telephone traffic is rapidly increasing and further modernization of system is expected in 2001, with introduction of third generation of globel System for Mobile Communications (GSM)
international: 5 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Eutelsat, and 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions) (1996)
Radio broadcast stations:
 AM 4, FM 58, shortwave 3 (1998)
Radios:
 15.3 million (1996)
Television broadcast stations:
 21 (plus 26 repeaters) (1995)
Televisions:
 8.1 million (1997)
Internet country code:
 .nl
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
 52 (2000)
Internet users:
 9.73 million (2002)
Transportation Netherlands
Railways:
 total: 2,808 km
standard gauge: 2,808 km 1.435-m gauge (2,061 km electrified) (2002)
Highways:
 total: 116,500 km
paved: 104,850 km (including 2,235 km of expressways)
unpaved: 11,650 km (1999)
Waterways:
 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
Pipelines:
 condensate 325 km; gas 6,998 km; oil 590 km; refined products 716 km (2003)
Ports and harbors:
 Amsterdam, Delfzijl, Dordrecht, Eemshaven, Groningen, Haarlem, IJmuiden, Maastricht, Rotterdam, Terneuzen, Utrecht, Vlissingen
Merchant marine:
 total: 616 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 4,664,711 GRT/5,226,912 DWT
note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Belgium 1, Canada 1, Denmark 5, Finland 5, Germany 55, Ireland 12, Norway 12, Sweden 17, UK 33, US 12 (2002 est.)
ships by type: bulk 3, cargo 371, chemical tanker 51, container 70, liquefied gas 13, livestock carrier 1, multi-functional large-load carrier 15, passenger 10, petroleum tanker 24, refrigerated cargo 34, roll on/roll off 16, short-sea passenger 2, specialized tanker 6
Airports:
 28 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways:
 total: 21
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 2 (2002)
1,524 to 2,437 m: 6
Airports - with unpaved runways:
 total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 5 (2002)
Heliports:
 1 (2002)
Military Netherlands
Military branches:
 Royal Netherlands Army, Royal Netherlands Navy (including Naval Air Service and Marine Corps), Royal Netherlands Air Force, Royal Constabulary
Military manpower - military age:
 20 years of age (note - age 17 for cadets and midshipmen) (2003 est.)
Military manpower - availability:
 males age 15-49: 4,071,891 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service:
 males age 15-49: 3,536,586 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
 males: 94,034
note: Netherlands has an all-volunteer, 74,100 force in 2001 (2003 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
 $6.5 billion (FY00/01 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
 1.5% (FY00/01 est.)
Transnational Issues Netherlands
Disputes - international:
 none
Illicit drugs:
 major European producer of illicit amphetamine 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