Head of state: Queen Beatrix Prime minister: Mark Rutte
President: Dilma Rousseff
Population
16,730,632
199,321,413
Life Expectancy
80.910 years
72.790 years
Capital City
Amsterdam
Brasilia
Largest city
Amsterdam (population: 741,636)
Sao Paulo (population: 10,021,300)
Human Development Index
0.958
0.807
GDP per capita
$42,700 US
$11,900 US
Literacy Rate
99%
88.6%
Corruption Perception Index
8.9
3.5
Percentage of Women in Parliament
37.8%
9.4%
Wealthiest Citizens
Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken ($4.6bn US)
Eike Batista ($7.5bn US)
Unemployment Rate
4.400%
6.000%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Abolished except for special circumstances
Political System
constitutional monarchy
federal republic
Independence date
23 January 1579 (the northern provinces of the Low Countries conclude the Union of Utrecht breaking with Spain; on 26 July 1581 they formally declared their independence with an Act of Abjuration; however, it was not until 30 January 1648 and the Peace of Westphalia that Spain recognized this independence)
7 September 1822 (from Portugal)
Religions
Roman Catholic 30%, Dutch Reformed 11%, Calvinist 6%, other Protestant 3%, Muslim 5.8%, other 2.2%, none 42% (2006)
Roman Catholic (nominal) 73.6%, Protestant 15.4%, Spiritualist 1.3%, Bantu/voodoo 0.3%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.2%, none 7.4% (2000 census)
Languages
Dutch (official), Frisian (official)
Portuguese (official and most widely spoken language); note - less common languages include Spanish (border areas and schools), German, Italian, Japanese, English, and a large number of minor Amerindian languages
Exports
machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels; foodstuffs
transport equipment, iron ore, soybeans, footwear, coffee, autos
External Debt
$2,655,000,000,000 $
$397,500,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6734 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
reals (BRL) per US dollar - 1.8644 (2008 est.), 1.85 (2007 est.), 2.1761 (2006), 2.4344 (2005), 2.9251 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.600%
1.700%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
16
15
Location
Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between Belgium and Germany
Eastern South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean
