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| Introduction | 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. |
| 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 1815; amended many times, last time 2002 |
| 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 [Jozias VAN AARTSEN]; 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 |
| Communications | Netherlands |
| Telephones - main lines in use: | 10.004 million (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular: | 12.5 million (2003) |
| 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: | 4,518,226 (2004) |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 52 (2000) |
| Internet users: | 8.5 million (2003) |
| Transportation | Netherlands |
| Railways: | total: 2,808 km standard gauge: 2,808 km 1.435-m gauge (2,061 km electrified) (2003) |
| Highways: | total: 116,500 km paved: 104,850 km (including 2,235 km of expressways) unpaved: 11,650 km (1999) |
| Waterways: | 5,046 km (navigable for ships of 50 tons) (2004) |
| Pipelines: | condensate 325 km; gas 6,998 km; oil 590 km; refined products 716 km (2004) |
| 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 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 registered in other countries: 241 (2003 est.) 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 (2004 est.) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 |
| Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 5 (2004 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 and obligation: | 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 (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 |
| This page was last updated on 16 December, 2004 |
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