Netherlands

• temperate;
• marine;
• cool summers and mild winters

agricultural land:

55.1%;

• arable land 29.8%;
• permanent crops 1.1%;
• permanent pasture 24.2%

forest:

10.8%

other:

34.1% (2011 est.)

total:

10.61 cu km/yr (12%/88%/1%)

per capita:

636.7 cu m/yr (2008)

• 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

noun:

Dutchman(men), Dutchwoman(women)

adjective:

Dutch

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.01 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.99 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.82 male(s)/female

total population:

0.98 male(s)/female (2015 est.)

conventional long form:

Kingdom of the Netherlands

conventional short form:

Netherlands

local long form:

Koninkrijk der Nederlanden

local short form:

Nederland

name:

Amsterdam; note - The Hague is the seat of government

geographic coordinates:

52 21 N, 4 55 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: time descriptions apply to the continental Netherlands only, not to the Caribbean components

• 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)

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

chief of state:

King WILLEM-ALEXANDER (since 30 April 2013)

head of government:

• Prime Minister Mark RUTTE (since 14 October 2010);
• 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

elections/appointments:

• 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

description:

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 council members by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms) 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 (next to be held in May 2015); 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

highest court(s):

• Supreme Court or Hoge Raad (consists of 41 judges: the president, 6 vice-presidents, 31 justices or raadsheren, and 3 justices in exceptional service, referred to as buitengewone dienst);
• 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

• Christian Trade Union Federation or CNV [Maurice LIMMEN]
• Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers or VNO-NCW [Hans DE BOER]
• Federation for Small and Medium-sized Businesses or MKB [Michael VAN STRAALAN]
• Netherlands Trade Union Federation or FNV [Ton HEERTS]
• Social Economic Council or SER [Mariette HAMER]
• Trade Union Federation of Middle and High Personnel or CMHP [Reginald VISSER]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Henne SCHUWER (since 17 September 2015)

chancery:

4200 Linnean Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 244-5300, [1] 877-388-2443

FAX:

[1] (202) 362-3430

consulate(s) general:

Chicago, Miami, New York, San Francisco

consulate(s):

Boston

chief of mission:

ambassador Timothy M. BROAS (since 19 March 2014)

embassy:

Lange Voorhout 102, 2514 EJ, The Hague

mailing address:

PSC 71, Box 1000, APO AE 09715

telephone:

[31] (70) 310-2209

FAX:

[31] (70) 310-2207

consulate(s) general:

Amsterdam

• 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

agriculture:

1.8%

industry:

17%

services:

81.2% (2013 est.)

lowest 10%:

2.1%

highest 10%:

24.5% (2012 est.)

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 (2011)

• 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)

total:

3,223 km

standard gauge:

3,223 km 1.435-m gauge (2,321 km electrified) (2014)

country comparison to the world: 56

major seaport(s):

IJmuiden, Vlissingen

river port(s):

• Amsterdam (Nordsee Kanaal);
• Moerdijk (Hollands Diep River);
• Rotterdam (Rhine River);
• Terneuzen (Western Scheldt River)

container port(s) (TEUs):

Rotterdam (11,876,920)

LNG terminal(s) (import):

Rotterdam

males age 16-49:

3,734,610

females age 16-49:

3,687,940 (2014 est.)

males age 16-49:

3,479,509

females age 16-49:

3,435,564 (2014 est.)

male:

100,446

female:

94,750 (2014 est.)

refugees (country of origin):

• 18,687 (Somalia);
• 14,396 (Iraq);
• 8,692 (Syria);
• 6,294 (Eritrea);
• 6,244 (Afghanistan) (2014)

stateless persons:

1,951 (2014)

• 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