Netherlands

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

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

lowest point:

Zuidplaspolder -7 m

mean elevation:

30 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

• located at mouths of three major European rivers (Rhine, Maas or Meuse, and Scheldt);
• 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

• Dutch (official);
• note - Frisian is an official language in Fryslan province;
• Frisian, Low Saxon, Limburgish, Romani, and Yiddish have protected status under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages;
• Dutch is the official language of the three special municipalities of the Caribbean Netherlands;
• English is a recognized regional language on Sint Eustatius and Saba;
• Papiamento is a recognized regional language on Bonaire

major-language sample(s):

Het Wereld Feitenboek, een onmisbare bron van informatie. (Dutch); The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

• 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:

0.67 male(s)/female

total population:

0.98 male(s)/female (2022 est.)

total:

8.23 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

3.95 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

2.92 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

1.36 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total:

22.2% (2020 est.)

male:

24.4% (2020 est.)

female:

19.9% (2020 est.)

total population:

NA

male:

NA

female:

NA

• 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

particulate matter emissions:

12.07 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

170.78 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

17.79 megatons (2020 est.)

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

urban population:

93.2% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

0.59% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

municipal solid waste generated annually:

8.855 million tons (2015 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually:

2,179,216 tons (2015 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled:

24.6% (2015 est.)

municipal:

1.26 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

industrial:

14.74 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

agricultural:

76.5 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

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:

many previous to adoption of the "Basic Law of the Kingdom of the Netherlands" on 24 August 1815; revised 8 times, the latest in 1983

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 2018

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 Sigrid KAAG and Wopke HOEKSTRA (since 10 January 2022) and Carola SCHOUTEN (since 26 October 2017);
• note - Mark RUTTE heads his fourth cabinet

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 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;
• Netherlands Commercial Court

• Christian Democratic Appeal or CDA [Wopke HOEKSTRA]
• Christian Union or CU [Gert-Jan SEGERS]
• Democrats 66 or D66 [Sigrid KAAG]
• Denk [Farid AZARKAN]
• 50Plus [Martin van ROOIJEN]
• Forum for Democracy or FvD [Thierry BAUDET]
• Green Left (GroenLinks) or GL [Jesse KLAVER]
• Labor Party or PvdA (vacant)
• Party for Freedom or PVV [Geert WILDERS]
• Party for the Animals or PvdD [Esther OUWENHAND]
• People's Party for Freedom and Democracy or VVD [Mark RUTTE]
• Reformed Political Party or SGP [Kees VAN DER STAAIJ]
• Socialist Party or SP [Lilian MARIJNISSEN]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Andre HASPELS (since 16 September 2019)

chancery:

4200 Linnean Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 244-5300

FAX:

[1] (202) 362-3430

email address and website:

https://www.netherlandsworldwide.nl/countries/united-states/about-us/embassy-in-washington-dc

consulate(s) general:

Atlanta, Chicago, Miami, New York, San Francisco

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Marja VERLOOP (since 17 January 2021)

embassy:

John Adams Park 1, 2244 BZ Wassenaar

mailing address:

5780 Amsterdam Place, Washington DC 20521-5780

telephone:

[31] (70) 310-2209

FAX:

[31] (70) 310-2207

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://nl.usembassy.gov/

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

total World Heritage Sites:

12 (11 cultural, 1 natural); note - includes one site in Curacao

selected World Heritage Site locales:

• Schokland and Surroundings (c);
• Dutch Water Defense Lines (c);
• Van Nellefabriek (c);
• Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout (c);
• Droogmakerij de Beemster (Beemster Polder) (c);
• Rietveld Schröderhuis (Rietveld Schröder House) (c);
• Wadden Sea (n);
• Seventeenth Century Canal Ring Area of Amsterdam inside the Singelgracht (c);
• Colonies of Benevolence (c);
• Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Lower German Limes (c)

Fitch rating:

AAA (1994)

Moody's rating:

Aaa (1986)

Standard & Poors rating: AAA (2015)

note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.

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.)

total:

9.3%

male:

9.7%

female:

9% (2021 est.)

lowest 10%:

2.3%

highest 10%:

24.9% (2014 est.)

production:

1.879 million metric tons (2020 est.)

consumption:

8.241 million metric tons (2020 est.)

exports:

20.164 million metric tons (2020 est.)

imports:

21.552 million metric tons (2020 est.)

proven reserves:

497 million metric tons (2019 est.)

total petroleum production:

76,100 bbl/day (2021 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

915,200 bbl/day (2019 est.)

crude oil and lease condensate exports:

8,800 bbl/day (2018 est.)

crude oil and lease condensate imports:

1,096,500 bbl/day (2018 est.)

crude oil estimated reserves:

137.7 million barrels (2021 est.)

production:

32,857,597,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)

consumption:

44,752,918,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)

exports:

42,827,461,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)

imports:

55,767,276,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)

proven reserves:

132.608 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)

• 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 (2020); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 238

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

43,996,044 (2018)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

5,886,510,000 (2018) mt-km

total:

3,058 km (2016)

standard gauge:

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

total:

1,199

by type:

bulk carrier 10, container ship 40, general cargo 559, oil tanker 26, other 564 (2021)

major seaport(s):

IJmuiden, Vlissingen

container port(s) (TEUs):

Rotterdam (14,810,804) (2019)

LNG terminal(s) (import):

Gate (Rotterdam)

river port(s):

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