Form of government Constitutional monarchy, parliamentary democracy
Head of state: Queen Beatrix
Administrative divisions 12 provinces; Drenthe, Flevoland, Friesland, Gelderland, Groningen,
Limburg, Noord-Brabant, Noord-Holland, Overijssel, Utrecht, Zeeland,
Zuid-Holland.
Dependent areas Aruba, NetherlandsAntilles
Currency Euro
Location Western Europe, bordering the North Sea,
between Belgium and Germany
Capital Amsterdam
Largest cities Amsterdam: 743 393 inhabitants
Rotterdam: 599 859 inhabitants
The Hague: 472.087 inhabitants
Utrecht: 281 011 inhabitants
Area Total: 41,526 square kilometers
Land: 33,883 square kilometers
Water: 7,643 square kilometers
Land boundaries Total: 1,027 kilometers
Belgium : 450 kilometers, Germany: 577 kilometers
Coastline 451 kilometers
Climate Temperate; marine; cool summers and mild winters
Terrain Mostly coastal lowland and reclaimed land (polders)
Elevation extremes Lowest point: Zuidvlaspolder 7 m below sea level
Highest point: Vaalserberg 322 m above sea level
Natural resources Natural gas, petroleum, peat, limestone, salt, sand and gravel,
arable land
Population16,410,046 (March 2008)
Age structure0 - 20: 24,2%
20 – 45: 34,4%
40 – 65: 26,9%
65 – 80: 10,8%
80 or older: 3,7%
Population growth rate0. 28% (46,000 people) (2007)
Migration balance
(Immigration minus emigration)- 32,000 (2006)
Ethnic groups Dutch 81%, other 19% (of which 10% are non-Western origin mainly Turks, Moroccans, Antilleans, Surinamese and Indonesians (2007)
Religions Roman Catholic 31%, Dutch Reformed 13%, Calvinist 7%,
Muslim 5.5%, other 2.5%, none 41% (2002) Languages Dutch (official), Frisian (official)
Economy GDP560 billion euro (2007)
GDP per capita Purchasing power parity $37,300 (2006)
Economic growth 3,5% (2007)
Working population 7,606 million (1 e kwartaal 2006)
Unemployed 344.000 (2007)
Economic growth Europe 2,6 % (2007)Inflation rate 1,6 (mei 2007)
Inflation in EU 2,1% (June 2007)
International trade Exports 420 billion euro (2007) (goods and services)
Imports 377 billion euro (2007) (goods and services)
Exports commodities Machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs
Imports commodities Machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs, clothing
Export partners Germany 24,8%; Belgium 12.5%; UK 8,9%; France 8,2%,
Italy 5.0%; US 5.0% (2006)
Import partners Germany 19,4%; Belgium 10.9%; US 8,3%; China 8.1%; UK 6,2%;
France 5,0% (2006)
Source: Statistics Netherlands/Eurostat/
