Netherlands

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

mean elevation:

30 m

lowest point:

Zuidplaspolder -7 m

highest point:

Mount Scenery (on the island of Saba in the Caribbean, now considered an integral part of the Netherlands following the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles) 862 m

note: the highest point on continental Netherlands is Vaalserberg at 322 m

• an area known as the Randstad, anchored by the cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, the Hague, and Utrecht, is the most densely populated region;
• the north tends to be less dense, though sizeable communities can be found throughout the entire country

flooding volcanism:

• Mount Scenery (887 m), located on the island of Saba in the Caribbean, last erupted in 1640;;
• Round Hill (601 m), a dormant volcano also known as The Quill, is located on the island of St. Eustatius in the Caribbean;;
• these islands are at the northern end of the volcanic island arc of the Lesser Antilles that extends south to Grenada

• water and air pollution are significant environmental problems;
• pollution of the country's rivers from industrial and agricultural chemicals, including heavy metals, organic compounds, nitrates, and phosphates;
• air pollution from vehicles and refining activities

• located at mouths of three major European rivers (Rhine, Maas or Meuse, and Schelde);
• about a quarter of the country lies below sea level and only about half of the land exceeds one meter above sea level

noun:

Dutchman(men), Dutchwoman(women)

adjective:

Dutch

0-14 years:

16.28% (male 1,428,837 /female 1,362,686)

15-24 years:

12.03% (male 1,052,357 /female 1,011,710)

25-54 years:

39.18% (male 3,371,698 /female 3,348,595)

55-64 years:

13.41% (male 1,143,824 /female 1,155,751)

65 years and over:

19.1% (male 1,487,278 /female 1,788,492) (2018 est.)

total dependency ratio:

53.1 (2015 est.)

youth dependency ratio:

25.6 (2015 est.)

elderly dependency ratio:

27.4 (2015 est.)

potential support ratio:

3.6 (2015 est.)

total:

42.7 years (2018 est.)

male:

41.6 years

female:

43.8 years

• an area known as the Randstad, anchored by the cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, the Hague, and Utrecht, is the most densely populated region;
• the north tends to be less dense, though sizeable communities can be found throughout the entire country

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:

0.83 male(s)/female

total population:

0.98 male(s)/female (2018 est.)

total:

3.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2018 est.)

male:

3.8 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

3.3 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

81.5 years (2018 est.)

male:

79.3 years

female:

83.8 years

conventional long form:

Kingdom of the Netherlands

conventional short form:

Netherlands

local long form:

Koninkrijk der Nederlanden

local short form:

Nederland

abbreviation:

NL

etymology:

the country name literally means "the lowlands" and refers to the geographic features of the land being both flat and down river from higher areas (i.e., at the estuaries of the Scheldt, Meuse, and Rhine Rivers; only about half of the Netherlands is more than 1 meter above sea level)

• King's Day (birthday of King WILLEM-ALEXANDER), 27 April (1967);
• note - King's or Queen's Day are observed on the ruling monarch's birthday;
• currently celebrated on 26 April if 27 April is a Sunday

history:

previous 1597, 1798; latest adopted 24 August 1815 (substantially revised in 1848)

amendments:

• proposed as an Act of Parliament by or on behalf of the king or by the Second Chamber of the States General;
• the Second Chamber is dissolved after its first reading of the Act;
• passage requires a second reading by both the First Chamber and the newly elected Second Chamber, followed by at least two-thirds majority vote of both chambers, and ratification by the king;
• amended many times, last in 2010 (2016)

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of the Netherlands

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

5 years

chief of state:

King WILLEM-ALEXANDER (since 30 April 2013); Heir Apparent Princess Catharina-Amalia (daughter of King WILLEM-ALEXANDER, born 7 December 2003)

head of government:

Prime Minister Mark RUTTE (since 14 October 2010; Deputy Prime Ministers (since 26 October 2017) Hugo DE JONGE, Karin Kajsa OLLONGREN, and Carola SCHOUTEN (since 26 October 2017); note - Mark RUTTE heads his third cabinet put in place since 26 October 2017

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the monarch

elections/appointments:

• the monarchy is hereditary;
• following Second Chamber elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch;
• deputy prime ministers are appointed by the monarch

highest courts:

• 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;
• Netherlands Commercial Court

chief of mission:

Ambassador Peter HOEKSTRA (since 10 January 2018)

telephone:

[31] (70) 310-2209

embassy:

John Adams Park 1, 2244 BZ Wassenaar

mailing address:

PSC 71, Box 1000, APO AE 09715

FAX:

[31] (70) 310-2207

consulate(s) general:

Amsterdam

• three equal horizontal bands of red (bright vermilion; top), white, and blue (cobalt);
• similar to the flag of Luxembourg, which uses a lighter blue and is longer;
• the colors were derived from 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 its dye tended to turn red over time, the red shade was eventually made the permanent color;
• the banner is perhaps the oldest tricolor in continuous use

agriculture:

1.6% (2017 est.)

industry:

17.9% (2017 est.)

services:

70.2% (2017 est.)

agriculture:

1.2%

industry:

17.2%

services:

81.6% (2015 est.)

lowest 10%:

2.3%

highest 10%:

24.9% (2014 est.)

general assessment:

• highly developed and well maintained;
• while fixed-line voice market is in decline the VoIP (voice over Internet protocol) and mobile platforms advance;
• one of the highest fixed broadband penetration rates in the world;
• government investments;
• preparations for 5G trials, plans for 3G network shutdown in 2022;
• LTE-A services;
• MNOs and banks launch m-payments system (2019)

domestic:

• extensive fixed-line, fiber-optic network;
• large cellular telephone system with five 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 services;
• fixed-line 38 per 100 and mobile-cellular 120 per 100 persons (2018)

international:

• country code - 31;
• landing points for Farland North, TAT-14, Circe North, Concerto, Ulysses 2, AC-1, UK-Netherlands 14, and COBRAcable submarine cables which 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) (2019)

• 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

number of registered air carriers:

8 (2015)

inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 244 (2015)

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

34,870,204 (2015)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

5,292,794,685 mt-km (2015)

total:

3,058 km (2016)

standard gauge:

3,058 km 1.435-m gauge (2,314 km electrified) (2016)

total:

1,233

by type:

bulk carrier 13, container ship 41, general cargo 586, oil tanker 21, other 572 (2018)

major seaport(s):

IJmuiden, Vlissingen

container port(s) (TEUs):

Rotterdam (13,734,000) (2017)

LNG terminal(s) (import):

Rotterdam

river port(s):

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

refugees (country of origin):

32,092 (Syria), 15,478 (Somalia), 14,931 (Eritrea), 9,259 (Iraq), 6,267 (Afghanistan) (2017)

stateless persons:

1,951 (2018)

• 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 and a significant consumer of ecstasy;
• a large financial sector vulnerable to money laundering