Netherlands

Background:

The Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed in 1815. In 1830 Belgium seceded and formed a separate kingdom. The Netherlands remained neutral in World War I, but suffered invasion and occupation by Germany in World War II. A modern, industrialized nation, the Netherlands is also a large exporter of agricultural products. The country was a founding member of NATO and the EC (now the EU), and participated in the introduction of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) in 1999.

Geography Netherlands

Location:
Western Europe, bordering the 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 the size of New Jersey

Land boundaries:
total: 1,027 km
border countries: Belgium 450 km, Germany 577 km

Coastline:
451 km

Maritime claims - as described in UNCLOS 1982 (see Notes and Definitions):
territorial sea: 12 NM
exclusive fishing zone: 200 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, peat, limestone, salt, sand and gravel, 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 the 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-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, 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

Population:
16,318,199 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 18.3% (male 1,527,316; female 1,457,192)
15-64 years: 67.8% (male 5,598,706; female 5,459,936)
65 years and over: 13.9% (male 953,370; female 1,321,679) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 38.7 years
male: 37.9 years
female: 39.6 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.57% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
11.41 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
8.67 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
2.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 5.11 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4.51 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 5.68 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 78.68 years
male: 76.15 years
female: 81.34 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.66 children born/woman (2004 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
total population: 99% (2000 est.)
male: NA%
female: NA%

Government Netherlands

Country name:
conventional long form: Kingdom of the Netherlands
conventional short form: Netherlands
local long form: Koninkrijk der Nederlanden
local short form: Nederland

Government type:
constitutional monarchy

Capital:
Amsterdam; The Hague is the 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 - the northern provinces of the Low Country concluded the Union of Utrecht, but it was not until 1648 that Spain recognized their independence

National holiday:
Queen's Day (Birthday of Queen-Mother JULIANA in 1909 and accession to the 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 the 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 the 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 the monarch
elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; following Second Chamber elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch; vice prime ministers appointed by the monarch
note: there is also a Council of State composed of the monarch, heir apparent, and councilors that provides consultations to the prime minister on legislative and administrative policy

Legislative branch:
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 councils for four-year terms) and the 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 the 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; the nondenominational Federation of Netherlands Enterprises

International organization participation:
AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, Benelux, BIS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, 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, Paris Club, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMIL, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the 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 the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Clifford M. SOBEL
embassy: Lange Voorhout 102, 2514 EJ, The 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 the flag of Luxembourg, which uses a lighter blue and is longer; one of the oldest flags in constant use, originating with William I, Prince of Orange, in the latter half of the 16th century

Economy Netherlands

Economy - overview:
The Netherlands has a prosperous and open economy, which depends heavily on foreign trade. The 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 the labor force but provides large surpluses for the food-processing industry and for exports. The Netherlands, along with 11 of its EU partners, began circulating the euro currency on 1 January 2002. The country continues to be one of the leading European nations for attracting foreign direct investment. Economic growth slowed considerably in 2001-03, as part of the global economic slowdown, but for the four years before that, annual growth averaged nearly 4%, well above the EU average. The government is wrestling with a deteriorating budget position, and is moving toward the EU 3% of GDP budget deficit limit.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $461.4 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
-0.7% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $28,600 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 2.6%
industry: 25%
services: 72.4% (2002 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):
2% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
7.2 million (2000)

Labor force - by occupation:
services 73%, industry 23%, agriculture 4% (1998 est.)

Unemployment rate:
4.2% (2003 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $134 billion
expenditures: $134 billion, including 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:
-1.9% (2003 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 (1 January 2002)

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 (1 January 2002)

Agriculture - products:
grains, potatoes, sugar beets, fruits, vegetables; livestock

Exports:
$253.2 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

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:
$217.7 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, fuels; foodstuffs, clothing

Imports - partners:
Germany 17.9%, Belgium 9.7%, US 9.1%, UK 6.9%, France 5.5%, China 5.1%, Japan 4% (2002)

Economic aid - donor:
ODA, $3.3 billion (2002 est.)

Currency:
euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries

Currency code:
EUR

Exchange rates:
euros per US dollar - 0.89 (2003), 1.06 (2002), 1.12 (2001), 1.09 (2000), 0.94 (1999)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Netherlands

Telephones - main lines in use:
10.004 million (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
12.06 million (2002)

Telephone system:
general assessment: highly developed and well maintained
domestic: extensive fixed-line fiber-optic network; cellular telephone system is one of the largest in Europe with five major network operators utilizing the third generation of the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM)
international: country code - 31; 9 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Eutelsat, and 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions) (2004)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 4, FM 246, shortwave 3 (2004)

Radios:
15.3 million (1996)

Television broadcast stations:
21 (plus 26 repeaters) (1995)

Televisions:
8.1 million (1997)

Internet country code:
.nl

Internet hosts:
3,137,203 (2002)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
52 (2000)

Internet users:
8.2 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: 635 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 4,796,460 GRT/5,212,557 DWT
registered in other countries: 241 (2003 est.)
foreign-owned: Belgium 2, Denmark 4, Finland 9, Germany 54, Ireland 14, Norway 9, Singapore 1, Sweden 19, Thailand 1, United Kingdom 31, United States 16
by type: bulk 1, cargo 375, chemical tanker 59, combination bulk 1, container 71, liquefied gas 13, multi-functional large load carrier 15, passenger 12, petroleum tanker 28, refrigerated cargo 37, roll on/roll off 14, short-sea/passenger 2, specialized tanker 7

Airports:
27 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 20
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 8
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 2 (2003 est.)
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 5 (2003 est.)

Heliports:
1 (2003 est.)

Military Netherlands

Military branches:
Royal Netherlands Army, Royal Netherlands Navy (including Naval Air Service and Marine Corps), Royal Netherlands Air Force, Royal Constabulary, Defense Interservice Command

Military manpower - military age:
20 years of age (2004 est.)

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 4,070,043 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 3,534,392 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 97,624
note: Netherlands has an all-volunteer, 74,100 force in 2001 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$8,044.4 million (2003)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
1.6% (2003)

Transnational Issues Netherlands

Disputes - international:
none

Illicit drugs:
major European producer of ecstasy, illicit amphetamines, 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