Netherlands

constitutional monarchyIndependence 1579 (from Spain)

Netherlands as the 1990 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 73 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalAmsterdam, but government resides at The Hague

Area37,290 km2

Populationas each edition published it

14.94 million July 1990 · 17.83m in 2025

Population growth% a year

Not in this edition 0.63% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 38.6 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

Not in this edition 77.55 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

1.6 children per woman 1990 · 1.62 in 2025

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

7 deaths per 1,000 live births 1990 · 3.6 in 2025

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

Not in this edition $17,200 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

Not in this edition 1.6% in 1993

Geography

12 fields

Land useshare of 37,290 km2

arable land 25%permanent crops 1%meadows and pastures 34%forest and woodland 9%other 31%includes 15% irrigated

Total area

37,290km2

land area: 33,940 km2Comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of New Jersey

Coastline

451km

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Land boundaries

1,027km total

Belgium 450 km, FRG 577 km

Climate

temperate;
marine;
cool summers and mild winters

Terrain

mostly coastal lowland and reclaimed land (polders); some hills in southeast

Environment

27% of the land area is below sea level and protected from the North Sea by dikes

Note

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

People

14 fields

Population

14,936,032

(July 1990), growth rate 0.6% (1990)

Per 1,000 population(1990)

Birth

13Death

8Net migration

Literacy

99%

Nationality

noun--Dutchman(men), Dutchwoman(women); adjective--Dutch

Ethnic divisions

96% Dutch, 4% Moroccans, Turks, and others (1988)

Religion

36% Roman Catholic, 27% Protestant, 4% other, 33% unaffiliated (1986)

Labor force

5,300,000; 50.1% services, 28.2% manufacturing and construction, 15.9% government, 5.8% agriculture (1986)

Government

Constitutional monarchy

19 fields

Capital

Amsterdam, but government resides at The Hague

Administrative divisions

12 provinces (provincien, singular--provincie);
Drenthe, Flevoland, Friesland, Gelderland, Groningen, Limburg, Noord-Brabant, Noord-Holland, Overijssel, Utrecht, Zeeland, Zuid-Holland

Legal system

civil law system incorporating French penal theory;
judicial review in the Supreme Court of legislation of lower order rather than Acts of Parliament;
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Executive branch

monarch, prime minister, vice prime minister, Cabinet, Cabinet of Ministers

Legislative branch

bicameral States General (Staten Generaal) consists of an upper chamber or First Chamber (Eerste Kamer) and a lower chamber or Second Chamber (Tweede Kamer)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court (De Hoge Raad) 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 Ruud (Rudolph) F. M. LUBBERS (since 4 November 1982);
Deputy Prime Minister Wim KOK (since 2 November 1989)

Political parties and leaders

Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), Willem van Velzen;
Labor (PvdA), Wim Kok;
Liberal (VVD), Joris Voorhoeve;
Democrats '66 (D'66), Hans van Mierio;
Communist (CPN), Henk Hoekstra;
a host of minor parties

Suffrage

universal at age 18 First Chamber--last held on 9 June l987 (next to be held 9 June 1991);
results--elected by the country's 12 provincial councils;
seats--(75 total) percent of seats by party NA;
Second Chamber--last held on 6 September 1989 (next to be held by September 1993);
results--CDA 35.3%, PvdA 31.9%, VVD 14.6%, D'66 7.9%, others 10.3%;
seats--(150 total) CDA 54, PvdA 49, VVD 22, D'66 12, others 13

Other political or pressure groups

large multinational firms;
Federation of Netherlands Trade Union Movement (comprising Socialist and Catholic trade unions) and a Protestant trade union;
Federation of Catholic and Protestant Employers Associations;
the nondenominational Federation of Netherlands Enterprises;
and IKV--Interchurch Peace Council

ADB, Benelux, CCC, Council of Europe, DAC, EC, ECE, EIB, EMS, ESA, ESCAP, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICES, ICO, IDA, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, ILZSG, IMF, IMO, INRO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, IRC, ITC, ITU, IWC--International Wheat Council (with respect to interests of the Netherlands Antilles and Suriname), NATO, OAS (observer), OECD, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WEU, WHO,

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador Richard H. FEIN;
Chancery at 4200 Linnean Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone (202) 244-5300;
there are Dutch Consulates General in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco;
US--Ambassador C. Howard WILKINS;
Embassy at Lange Voorhout 102, 2514 EJ The Hague (mailing address APO New York 09159);
telephone [31] (70) 62-49-11;
there is a US Consulate General in Amsterdam

Flag

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

This highly developed and affluent economy is based on private enterprise.

16 fields

GDP, purchasing power parity

$205.9billion

per capita $13,900; real growth rate 4.2% (1989 est.)

Inflation, consumer prices

1.5%

(1989 est.)

Unemployment rate

8.6%

(1989 est.)

Budget

Revenues

$71 billionExpenditures

$82 billion

expenditures, including capital expenditures of $NA billion (1989)

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, including construction, provides about 25% of GDP, and is led by the food-processing, oil-refining, and metal-working industries.

The highly mechanized agricultural sector employs only 6% of the labor force, but provides large surpluses for export and the domestic food-processing industry. An unemployment rate of over 8.6% and a sizable budget deficit are currently the most serious economic problems.

Exports

$110.3 billion (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities--agricultural products, processed foods and tobacco, natural gas, chemicals, metal products, textiles, clothing;
partners--EC 74.9% (FRG 28.3%, Belgium-Luxembourg 14.2%, France 10.7%, UK 10.2%), US 4.7% (1988)

Imports

$100.9 billion (c.i.f., 1989);
commodities--raw materials and semifinished products, consumer goods, transportation equipment, crude oil, food products;
partners--EC 63.8% (FRG 26.5%, Belgium-Luxembourg 23.1%, UK 8.1%), US 7.9% (1988)

External debt

none

Industrial production

growth rate 4.8% (1989 est.)

Electricity

22,216,000 kW capacity; 63,570 million kWh produced, 4,300 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries

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

Agriculture

accounts for 4% of GDP;
animal production predominates;
crops--grains, potatoes, sugar beets, fruits, vegetables;
shortages of grain, fats, and oils

Aid

donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-87), $15.8 billion

Currency

Netherlands guilder, gulden, or florin (plural--guilders, gulden, or florins); 1 Netherlands guilder, gulden, or florin (f.) = 100 cents

Exchange rates

Netherlands guilders, gulden, or florins (f.) per US$1--2.2906 (January 1990), 2.1207 (1989), 1.9766 (1988), 2.0257 (1987), 2.4500 (1986), 3.3214 (1985)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

9 fields

Merchant marine, 345 ships by type

short-sea passenger 2cargo 187refrigerated cargo 42container 23roll-on/roll-off cargo 9livestock carrier 3multifunction large-load carrier 12petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker 15chemical tanker 27liquefied gas 11specialized tanker 2combinatio n ore/oil 1bulk 9combination bulk; note--many Dutch-owned ships are also registered in the captive Netherlands Antilles register 2345 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,661,822 GRT/3,732,282 DWT

Airports, 28 total, 28 usable

permanent-surface runways

19runways over 3,659 m

nonerunways 2,440-3,659 m

12runways 1,220-2,439 m

Networkskm

Highways

108,360Railroads

3,037Inland waterways

6,340Pipelines

418

Highways: ; 92,525 km paved (including 2,185 km of limited access, divided highways); 15,835 km gravel, crushed stone · Railroads: (includes 1,871 km electrified and 1,800 km double track; 2,871 km 1.435-meter standard gauge operated by Netherlands Railways (NS); 166 km privately owned · Inland waterways: , of which 35% is usable by craft of 1,000 metric ton capacity or larger · Pipelines: ; 965 km refined products; 10,230 km natural gas

Railroads

3,037 km track (includes 1,871 km electrified and 1,800 km double track; 2,871 km 1.435-meter standard gauge operated by Netherlands Railways (NS); 166 km privately owned

Highways

108,360 km total;
92,525 km paved (including 2,185 km of limited access, divided highways);
15,835 km gravel, crushed stone

Inland waterways

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

Pipelines

418 km crude oil;
965 km refined products;
10,230 km natural gas

highly developed, well maintained, and integrated;
extensive system of multiconductor cables, supplemented by radio relay links;
9,418,000 telephones;
stations--6 AM, 20 (32 repeaters) FM, 21 (8 repeaters) TV;
5 submarine cables;
communication satellite earth stations operating in INTELSAT (1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean) and EUTELSAT systems

Defense Forces

Royal Netherlands Army, Royal Netherlands Navy/Marine Corps, Royal Netherlands Air Force

3 fields

Military manpower

males 15-49

4,134,006fit for military service

3,660,048reach military age (20) annually

111,948

Defense expenditures

2.9%of GDP

or $6.0 billion (1989 est.)

Branches