Netherlands
Official Country Name
Netherlands
Netherlands Overview
The Dutch United Provinces declared their independence from Spain in 1579; during the 17th century, they became a leading seafaring and commercial power, with settlements and colonies around the world. After a 20-year French occupation, a 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 EEC (now the EU), and participated in the introduction of the euro in 1999.
Netherlands Economy
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 2% 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 2001-06, as part of the global economic slowdown, but for the four years before that, annual growth averaged nearly 4%, well above the EU average.
Netherlands Location
Netherlands is located in Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between Belgium and Germany
Region
Netherlands is located in Europe
Netherlands Population
Netherlands has population of 16,491,461 (July 2006 est.)
Netherlands Climate
Netherlands has temperate; marine; cool summers and mild winters
Netherlands Terrain
mostly coastal lowland and reclaimed land (polders); some hills in southeast
Netherlands Natural Resources
natural gas, petroleum, peat, limestone, salt, sand and gravel, arable land
Ethnic Groups in Netherlands
Netherlands has the following ethnic groups - Dutch 83%, other 17% (of which 9% are non-Western origin mainly Turks, Moroccans, Antilleans, Surinamese, and Indonesians) (1999 est.)
Netherlands Religions
Roman Catholic 31%, Dutch Reformed 13%, Calvinist 7%, Muslim 5.5%, other 2.5%, none 41% (2002)
Netherlands Languages
Dutch (official), Frisian (official)
Netherlands Capital
Netherlands capital is Amsterdam
Netherlands Currency
Netherlands currency is euro
Map of Netherlands
