Netherlands

The Netherlands (Dutch: Nederland

[ˈneːdərlɑnt] ( listen)), informally
Holland,[12][13] is a country located in
northwestern Europe with overseas
territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest
of four constituent countries of the
Kingdom of the Netherlands.[14] The
Netherlands consists of twelve provinces;
it borders Germany to the east, and
Belgium to the south, with a North Sea
coastline to the north and west. It shares
maritime borders with the United Kingdom,
Germany and Belgium in the North Sea.[15]
The country's official language is Dutch,
with West Frisian as a secondary official
language in the province of Friesland.[1]
Dutch, English and Papiamento are official
in the Caribbean territories.[1]
 Netherlands
Nederland (Dutch)
Constituent country in the Kingdom of the
Netherlands

Flag Coat of arms

Motto: Je maintiendrai (French)
(English: "I will maintain")
Anthem: Wilhelmus (Dutch)
(English: "William of Nassau")
0:49

The Netherlands on the globe centred on

Europe
 Metropolitan Netherlands in Europe
Caribbean municipalities
Show all
Location of Netherlands (dark green)
– in Europe (green & dark grey)
– in the European Union (green)
Sovereign state Kingdom of the
Netherlands

Before Spanish Netherlands

independence
Act of Abjuration 26 July 1581
Peace of Münster 30 January 1648
Kingdom 16 March 1815
established
Liberation Day 5 May 1945
Kingdom Charter 15 December 1954
Caribbean 10 October 2010
reorganisation
Capital Amsterdam[a]
and largest city 52°22′N 4°53′E (http
s://geohack.toolforg
 e.org/geohack.php?
pagename=Netherla
nds&params=52_22_
N_4_53_E_type:city)
Government seat The Hague[a]
Official languages Dutch
Regional languages West Frisian ·
Papiamento ·
English[b]
Recognised Dutch Low Saxon ·
languages Dutch Sign
Language ·
Limburgish · Sinte
Romani · Yiddish[c]

Ethnic groups 74.8% Dutch

(2022) 8.3% other European[d]
2.4% Turkish
2.4% Moroccan
2.0% Indonesian
2.0% Surinamese
8.1% other[3]
Religion (2020) 55.4% no religion
37.5% Christianity
19.8% Catholicism
14.4% Protestantism
3.3% other Christian
5.2% Islam
1.1% Hinduism
0.8% other[4]

Demonym(s) Dutch

Government Unitary
parliamentary
constitutional
monarchy
• Monarch Willem-Alexander
• Prime Minister Mark Rutte
Legislature States General
• Upper house Senate
• Lower house House of
Representatives
 European Parliament
• Netherlands 26 seats
constituency

Area
• Total 41,543 km2
(16,040 sq mi)
(134th)
• Water (%) 18.41[5]

Highest elevation 322.4 m (1,057.7 ft)

(Vaalserberg)

Population
• 9 July 2023 17,887,100[6] (67th)
estimate
• 2011 census 16,655,799[7]
• Density 520/km2
(1,346.8/sq mi)
(16th)

GDP (PPP) 2023 estimate
• Total $1.290 trillion[8]
(28th)
• Per capita $69,715[8] (12th)

GDP (nominal) 2023 estimate
• Total $1.080 trillion[8]
(17th)
• Per capita $61,098[8] (13th)

Gini (2021)  26.4[9]
low

HDI (2021)  0.941[10]
very high · 10th

Currency Euro (€) (EUR) ·

United States dollar
(US$) (USD)[e]

Time zone UTC+01:00 (CET) ·

UTC−04:00 (AST)[f]
 • Summer (DST) UTC+02:00 (CEST) ·
UTC−04:00 (AST)
 Date format dd-mm-yyyy

Mains electricity 230 V–50 Hz

Driving side right

Calling code +31, +599[g]

ISO 3166 code NL

Internet TLD .nl, .bq[h]

The four largest cities in the Netherlands

are Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague
and Utrecht.[16] Amsterdam is the
country's most populous city and the
nominal capital.[17] The Hague holds the
seat of the States General, Cabinet and
Supreme Court.[18] The Port of Rotterdam
is the busiest seaport in Europe.[19]
Schiphol is the busiest airport in the
Netherlands, and the third busiest in
Europe. The Netherlands is a founding
member of the European Union, Eurozone,
G10, NATO, OECD, and WTO, as well as a
part of the Schengen Area and the
trilateral Benelux Union. It hosts several
intergovernmental organisations and
international courts, many of which are
centred in The Hague.[20]

Netherlands literally means "lower

countries" in reference to its low elevation
and flat topography, with nearly 26% falling
below sea level.[21] Most of the areas
below sea level, known as polders, are the
result of land reclamation that began in
the 14th century.[22] In the Republican
period, which began in 1588, the
Netherlands entered a unique era of
political, economic, and cultural greatness,
ranked among the most powerful and
influential in Europe and the world; this
period is known as the Dutch Golden
Age.[23] During this time, its trading
companies, the Dutch East India Company
and the Dutch West India Company,
established colonies and trading posts all
over the world.[24][25]

With a population of 17.8 million people,

all living within a total area of 41,850 km2
(16,160 sq mi)—of which the land area is
33,500 km2 (12,900 sq mi)—the
Netherlands is the 16th most densely
populated country in the world and the
second-most densely populated country in
the European Union, with a density of 531
people per square kilometre (1,380
people/sq mi). Nevertheless, it is the
world's second-largest exporter of food
and agricultural products by value, owing
to its fertile soil, mild climate, intensive
agriculture, and inventiveness.[26][27][28]

The Netherlands has been a parliamentary

constitutional monarchy with a unitary
structure since 1848. The country has a
tradition of pillarisation and a long record
of social tolerance, having legalised
prostitution and euthanasia, along with
maintaining a liberal drug policy. The
Netherlands allowed women's suffrage in
1919 and was the first country to legalise
same-sex marriage in 2001. Its mixed-
market advanced economy has the
thirteenth-highest per capita income
globally.

Etymology

Netherlands and the Low Countries

The region called the Low Countries

(comprising Belgium, the Netherlands and
Luxembourg) has the same toponymy.
Place names with Neder, Nieder, Nedre,
Nether, Lage(r) or Low(er) (in Germanic
languages) and Bas or Inferior (in
Romance languages) are in use in low-
lying places all over Europe. In the case of
the Low Countries and the Netherlands,
the geographical location of the lower
region has been more or less downstream
and near the sea. The Romans made a
distinction between the Roman provinces
of downstream Germania Inferior
(nowadays part of Belgium and the
Netherlands) and upstream Germania
Superior. The designation 'Low' returned in
the 10th-century Duchy of Lower Lorraine,
which covered much of the Low
Countries.[29][30]

The Dukes of Burgundy used the term les

pays de par deçà ("the lands over here") for
the Low Countries.[31] Under Habsburg
rule, Les pays de par deçà developed in
pays d'embas ("lands down-here").[32] This
was translated as Neder-landen in
contemporary Dutch official
documents.[33] From a regional point of
view, Niderlant was also the area between
the Meuse and the lower Rhine in the late
Middle Ages. From the mid-sixteenth
century, the "Low Countries" and the
"Netherlands" lost their original deictic
meaning.

In most Romance languages, the term

"Low Countries" is officially used as the
name for the Netherlands.

Holland and Dutch

The Netherlands is informally referred to

as Holland in various languages, including
Dutch[34] and English. In other languages,
Holland is the formal name for the
Netherlands. Holland can also refer to a
region within the Netherlands that
consists of North and South Holland.
Formerly these were a single province, and
earlier the County of Holland, a remnant of
the dissolved Frisian Kingdom that also
included parts of present-day Utrecht.
Following the decline of the Duchy of
Brabant and the County of Flanders,
Holland became the most economically
and politically important county in the Low
Countries region. The emphasis on
Holland during the formation of the Dutch
Republic, the Eighty Years' War, and the
Anglo-Dutch Wars in the 16th, 17th, and
18th centuries, made Holland a pars pro
toto for the entire country.[35][36]
Dutch is used as the adjective for the
Netherlands, as well as the demonym. The
origins of the word go back to Proto-
Germanic *þiudiskaz, Latinised into
Theodiscus, meaning "popular" or "of the
people"; akin to Old Dutch Dietsch, Old
High German duitsch, and Old English
þeodisc, all meaning "(of) the common
(Germanic) people". At first, the English
language used Dutch to refer to any or all
speakers of West Germanic languages.
Gradually its meaning shifted to the West
Germanic people they had the most
contact with, because of their
geographical proximity and rivalry in trade
and overseas territories.
History

Prehistory (before 800 BC)

Oak figurine found in Willemstad (4500 BC)

The prehistory of the area that is now the

Netherlands was largely shaped by the sea
and the rivers that constantly shifted the
low-lying geography. The oldest human
(Neanderthal) traces, believed to be about
250,000 years old, were found in higher
soils near Maastricht.[37] At the end of the
Ice Age, the nomadic late Upper
Palaeolithic Hamburg culture (13,000–
10,000 BC) hunted reindeer in the area,
using spears. The later Ahrensburg culture
(11,200–9,500 BC) used bow and arrow.
From Mesolithic Maglemosian-like tribes
(c. 8000 BC), the world's oldest canoe was
found in Drenthe.[38]

Indigenous late Mesolithic hunter-

gatherers from the Swifterbant culture (c.
5600 BC), related to the southern
Scandinavian Ertebølle culture, were
strongly linked to rivers and open water.[39]
Between 4800 and 4500 BC, the
Swifterbant people started to adopt from
the neighbouring Linear Pottery culture the
practice of animal husbandry, and between
4300 and 4000 BC the practice of
agriculture.[40] The Funnelbeaker culture
(4300–2800 BC), related to the
Swifterbant culture, erected the dolmens,
large stone grave monuments found in
Drenthe. There was a quick and smooth
transition from the Funnelbeaker farming
culture to the pan-European Corded Ware
pastoralist culture (c. 2950 BC). In the
southwest, the Seine-Oise-Marne culture —
related to the Vlaardingen culture (c. 2600
BC), an apparently more primitive culture
of hunter-gatherers — survived well into
the Neolithic period, until it too was
succeeded by the Corded Ware culture.

The Netherlands in Bronze Age cultures in the

5500 BC Netherlands

The subsequent Bell Beaker culture

(2700–2100 BC)[41] introduced metalwork
in copper, gold and later bronze and
opened international trade routes not seen
before, reflected in copper artifacts. Finds
of rare bronze objects suggest that
Drenthe was a trading centre in the Bronze
Age (2000–800 BC). The Bell Beaker
culture developed locally into the Barbed-
Wire Beaker culture (2100–1800 BC) and
later the Elp culture (1800–800 BC),[42] a
Middle Bronze Age archaeological culture
with earthenware low-quality pottery as a
marker. The initial phase of the Elp culture
was characterised by tumuli (1800–1200
BC). The subsequent phase was that of
cremating the dead and placing their
ashes in urns which were then buried in
fields, following the customs of the
Urnfield culture (1200–800 BC). The
southern region became dominated by the
related Hilversum culture (1800–800 BC),
with apparently cultural ties with Britain of
the previous Barbed-Wire Beaker culture.

Celts, Germanic tribes and Romans

(800 BC–410 AD)

   Diachronic distribution of Celts from 500 BC

   Expansion into the southern Low Countries by 270 BC

From 800 BC onwards, the Iron Age Celtic

Hallstatt culture became influential,
replacing the Hilversum culture. Iron ore
brought a measure of prosperity and was
available throughout the country, including
bog iron. Smiths travelled from settlement
to settlement with bronze and iron,
fabricating tools on demand. The King's
grave of Oss (700 BC) was found in a
burial mound, the largest of its kind in
Western Europe and containing an iron
sword with an inlay of gold and coral.

The deteriorating climate in Scandinavia

around 850 BC further deteriorated around
650 BC and might have triggered the
migration of Germanic tribes from the
North. By the time this migration was
complete, around 250 BC, a few general
cultural and linguistic groups had
emerged.[43][44] The North Sea Germanic
Ingaevones inhabited the northern part of
the Low Countries. They would later
develop into the Frisii and the early
Saxons.[44] A second grouping, the Weser-
Rhine Germanic (or Istvaeones), extended
along the middle Rhine and Weser and
inhabited the Low Countries south of the
great rivers. This group consisted of tribes
that would eventually develop into the
Salian Franks.[44] Also the Celtic La Tène
culture (c. 450 BC up to the Roman
conquest) had expanded over a wide
range, including the southern area of the
Low Countries. Some scholars have
speculated that even a third ethnic identity
and language, neither Germanic nor Celtic,
survived in the Netherlands until the
Roman period, the Iron Age Nordwestblock
culture,[45][46] that eventually was absorbed
by the Celts to the south and the Germanic
peoples from the east.

The Rhine frontier around 70 AD

The first author to describe the coast of

Holland and Flanders was the Greek
geographer Pytheas, who noted in c. 325
BC that in these regions, "more people
died in the struggle against water than in
the struggle against men."[47] During the
Gallic Wars, the area south and west of the
Rhine was conquered by Roman forces
under Julius Caesar from 57 BC to 53
BC.[46] Caesar describes two main Celtic
tribes living in what is now the southern
Netherlands: the Menapii and the
Eburones. Under Augustus, the Roman
Empire would conquer the entirety of the
modern day Netherlands, incorporating it
into the province of Germania Antiqua in 7
BC, but would be repelled back across the
Rhine after the Battle of Teutoburg Forest
in 9 AD, with the Rhine becoming fixed as
Rome's permanent northern frontier
around 12 AD. Notable towns would arise
along the Limes Germanicus: Nijmegen
and Voorburg. In the first part of Gallia
Belgica, the area south of the Limes
became part of the Roman province of
Germania Inferior. The area to the north of
the Rhine, inhabited by the Frisii, remained
outside Roman rule (but not its presence
and control), while the Germanic border
tribes of the Batavi and Cananefates
served in the Roman cavalry.[48] The Batavi
rose against the Romans in the Batavian
rebellion of 69 AD but were eventually
defeated. The Batavi later merged with
other tribes into the confederation of the
Salian Franks, whose identity emerged in
the first half of the third century.[49] Salian
Franks appear in Roman texts as both
allies and enemies. They were forced by
the confederation of the Saxons from the
east to move over the Rhine into Roman
territory in the fourth century. From their
new base in West Flanders and the
Southwest Netherlands, they were raiding
the English Channel. Roman forces
pacified the region but did not expel the
Franks, who continued to be feared at
least until the time of Julian the Apostate
(358) when Salian Franks were allowed to
settle as foederati in Texandria.[49] It has
been postulated that after deteriorating
climate conditions and the Romans'
withdrawal, the Frisii disappeared as laeti
in c. 296, leaving the coastal lands largely
unpopulated for the next two centuries.[50]
However, recent excavations in
Kennemerland show a clear indication of
permanent habitation.[51][52]

Early Middle Ages (411–1000)

Franks, Frisians and Saxons (710s AD) with Traiectum and Dorestad in the middle

After the Roman government in the area

collapsed, the Franks expanded their
territories into numerous kingdoms. By the
490s, Clovis I had conquered and united all
these territories in the southern
Netherlands in one Frankish kingdom, and
from there continued his conquests into
Gaul. During this expansion, Franks
migrating to the south (modern territory of
France and Walloon part of Belgium)
eventually adopted the Vulgar Latin of the
local population.[44] A widening cultural
divide grew with the Franks remaining in
their original homeland in the north (i.e.
the southern Netherlands and Flanders),
who kept on speaking Old Frankish, which
by the ninth century had evolved into Old
Low Franconian or Old Dutch.[44] A Dutch-
French language boundary hence came
into existence.[44][53]

Frankish expansion (481 to 870 AD)

To the north of the Franks, climatic

conditions improved, and during the
Migration Period Saxons, the closely
related Angles, Jutes and Frisii settled the
coastal land.[54] Many moved on to
England and came to be known as Anglo-
Saxons, but those who stayed would be
referred to as Frisians and their language
as Frisian, named after the land that was
once inhabited by Frisii.[54] Frisian was
spoken along the entire southern North
Sea coast, and it is still the language most
closely related to English among the living
languages of continental Europe. By the
seventh century, a Frisian Kingdom (650–
734) under King Aldegisel and King
Redbad emerged with Traiectum (Utrecht)
as its centre of power,[54][55] while
Dorestad was a flourishing trading
place.[56][57] Between 600 and around 719
the cities were often fought over between
the Frisians and the Franks. In 734, at the
Battle of the Boarn, the Frisians were
defeated after a series of wars. With the
approval of the Franks, the Anglo-Saxon
missionary Willibrord converted the Frisian
people to Christianity. He established the
Archdiocese of Utrecht and became the
bishop of the Frisians. However, his
successor Boniface was murdered by the
Frisians in Dokkum, in 754.
Rorik of Dorestad, Viking ruler of Friesland (romantic 1912 depiction)

The Frankish Carolingian empire modelled

itself on the Roman Empire and controlled
much of Western Europe. However, in 843,
it was divided into three parts—East,
Middle, and West Francia. Most of present-
day Netherlands became part of Middle
Francia, which was a weak kingdom and
subject to numerous partitions and
annexation attempts by its stronger
neighbours. It comprised territories from
Frisia in the north to the Kingdom of Italy
in the south. Around 850, Lothair I of
Middle Francia acknowledged the Viking
Rorik of Dorestad as ruler of most of
Frisia.[58] When the kingdom of Middle
Francia was partitioned in 855, the lands
north of the Alps passed to Lothair II and
subsequently were named Lotharingia.
After he died in 869, Lotharingia was
partitioned, into Upper and Lower
Lotharingia, the latter part comprising the
Low Countries that technically became
part of East Francia in 870, although it was
effectively under the control of Vikings,
who raided the largely defenceless Frisian
and Frankish towns lying on the Frisian
coast and along the rivers. Around 879,
another Viking expedition led by Godfrid,
Duke of Frisia, raided the Frisian lands.
The Viking raids made the sway of French
and German lords in the area weak.
Resistance to the Vikings, if any, came
from local nobles, who gained in stature
as a result, and that laid the basis for the
disintegration of Lower Lotharingia into
semi-independent states. One of these
local nobles was Gerolf of Holland, who
assumed lordship in Frisia after he helped
to assassinate Godfrid, and Viking rule
came to an end.[59]
High Middle Ages (1000–1384)

A medieval tomb of the Brabantian knight Arnold van der Sluijs

The Holy Roman Empire (the successor

state of East Francia and then Lotharingia)
ruled much of the Low Countries in the
10th and 11th century but was not able to
maintain political unity. Powerful local
nobles turned their cities, counties and
duchies into private kingdoms that felt
little sense of obligation to the emperor.[60]
Holland, Hainaut, Flanders, Gelre, Brabant,
and Utrecht were in a state of almost
continual war or paradoxically formed
personal unions. The language and culture
of most of the people who lived in the
County of Holland were originally Frisian.
As Frankish settlement progressed from
Flanders and Brabant, the area quickly
became Old Low Franconian (or Old
Dutch). The rest of Frisia in the north (now
Friesland and Groningen) continued to
maintain its independence and had its own
institutions (collectively called the "Frisian
freedom"), which resented the imposition
of the feudal system.
Around 1000 AD, due to several
agricultural developments, the economy
started to develop at a fast pace, and the
higher productivity allowed workers to
farm more land or become tradesmen.
Towns grew around monasteries and
castles, and a mercantile middle class
began to develop in these urban areas,
especially in Flanders and later also
Brabant. Wealthy cities started to buy
certain privileges for themselves from the
sovereign. In practice, this meant that
Bruges and Antwerp became quasi-
independent republics in their own right
and would later develop into some of the
most important cities and ports in Europe.
Around 1100 AD, farmers from Flanders
and Utrecht began draining and cultivating
uninhabited swampy land in the western
Netherlands, making the emergence of the
County of Holland as the centre of power
possible. The title of Count of Holland was
fought over in the Hook and Cod Wars
(Dutch: Hoekse en Kabeljauwse twisten)
between 1350 and 1490. The Cod faction
consisted of the more progressive cities,
while the Hook faction consisted of the
conservative noblemen. These noblemen
invited Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy
— who was also Count of Flanders — to
conquer Holland.
Burgundian, Habsburg and Spanish
Habsburg Netherlands (1384–1581)

Habsburg Netherlands

Charles V, Lord of the Netherlands at the

Battle of Mühlberg (1547), by Titian

The Low Countries in William I, Prince of

the late 14th century Orange, leader of
the Dutch Revolt, by
Adriaen Thomasz.
Key
Most of the Imperial and French fiefs in
what is now the Netherlands and Belgium
were united in a personal union by Philip
the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1433. The
House of Valois-Burgundy and their
Habsburg heirs would rule the Low
Countries in the period from 1384 to 1581.
Before the Burgundian union, the Dutch
identified themselves by the town they
lived in or their local duchy or county. The
Burgundian period is when the road to
nationhood began. The new rulers
defended Dutch trading interests, which
then developed rapidly. The fleets of the
County of Holland defeated the fleets of
the Hanseatic League several times.
Amsterdam grew and in the 15th century
became the primary trading port in Europe
for grain from the Baltic region.
Amsterdam distributed grain to the major
cities of Belgium, Northern France and
England. This trade was vital because
Holland could no longer produce enough
grain to feed itself. Land drainage had
caused the peat of the former wetlands to
reduce to a level that was too low for
drainage to be maintained.[61]

Under Habsburg Charles V, ruler of the

Holy Roman Empire and King of Spain, all
fiefs in the current Netherlands region
were united into the Seventeen Provinces,
which also included most of present-day
Belgium, Luxembourg, and some adjacent
land in what is now France and Germany.
In 1568, under Phillip II, the Eighty Years'
War between the Provinces and their
Spanish ruler began. The level of ferocity
exhibited by both sides can be gleaned
from a Dutch chronicler's report:[62]

On more than one occasion men

were seen hanging their own
brothers, who had been taken
prisoners in the enemy's ranks...
A Spaniard had ceased to be
human in their eyes. On one
 occasion, a surgeon at Veer cut
the heart from a Spanish
prisoner, nailed it on a vessel's
prow, and invited the townsmen
to come and fasten their teeth in
it, which many did with savage
satisfaction.

The Duke of Alba ruthlessly attempted to

suppress the Protestant movement in the
Netherlands. Netherlanders were "burned,
strangled, beheaded, or buried alive" by his
"Blood Council" and his Spanish soldiers.
Severed heads and decapitated corpses
were displayed along streets and roads to
terrorise the population into submission.
Alba boasted of having executed
18,600,[63][64] but this figure does not
include those who perished by war and
famine.[65]

The first great siege was Alba's effort to

capture Haarlem and thereby cut Holland
in half. It dragged on from December 1572
to the next summer, when Haarlemers
finally surrendered on 13 July upon the
promise that the city would be spared
from being sacked. It was a stipulation
Don Fadrique was unable to honour, when
his soldiers mutinied, angered over pay
owed and the miserable conditions they
endured during the long, cold months of
the campaign.[66] On 4 November 1576,
Spanish tercios seized Antwerp and
subjected it to the worst pillage in the
Netherlands' history. The citizens resisted
but were overcome; seven thousand of
them were killed; a thousand buildings
were torched; men, women, and children
were slaughtered by soldiers, who invoked
the name of Spain's patron saint, ¡Santiago!
¡España! ¡A sangre, a carne, a fuego, a
sacco! (Saint James! Spain! To blood, to
the flesh, to fire, to sack!)[67]
Map of the Habsburg dominions. From 1556 the dynasty's lands in the Low Countries were retained by the Spanish
Habsburgs.

The Spanish Fury at Maastricht, 1579

Following the sack of Antwerp, delegates

from Catholic Brabant, Protestant Holland
and Zeeland agreed, at Ghent, to join
Utrecht and William the Silent in driving
out all Spanish troops and forming a new
government for the Netherlands. Don Juan
of Austria, the new Spanish governor, was
forced to concede initially, but within
months returned to active hostilities. As
the fighting restarted, the Dutch began to
look for help from the Protestant Elizabeth
I of England, but she initially stood by her
commitments to the Spanish in the Treaty
of Bristol of 1574. The result was that
when the next large-scale battle did occur
at Gembloux in 1578, the Spanish forces
easily won the day, killing at least 10,000
rebels, with the Spanish suffering few
losses.[68] In light of the defeat at
Gembloux, the southern states of the
Seventeen Provinces (today in northern
France and Belgium) distanced
themselves from the rebels in the north
with the 1579 Union of Arras, which
expressed their loyalty to Philip II of Spain.
Opposing them, the northern half of the
Seventeen Provinces forged the Union of
Utrecht (also of 1579) in which they
committed to support each other in their
defence against the Spanish army.[69] The
Union of Utrecht is seen as the foundation
of the modern Netherlands.[70]

Spanish troops sacked Maastricht in 1579,

killing over 10,000 civilians and thereby
ensuring the rebellion continued.[71] In
1581, the northern provinces adopted the
Act of Abjuration, the declaration of
independence in which the provinces
officially deposed Philip II as reigning
monarch in the northern provinces.[72]
Against the rebels Philip could draw on the
resources of the Spanish Empire, including
in Iberia, Spanish America, Spanish Italy,
and the Spanish Netherlands. Queen
Elizabeth I of England sympathised with
the Dutch struggle against England's
Spanish rival and sent an army of 7,600
soldiers to aid the Dutch in their war with
the Catholic Spanish.[73] English forces
under the Earl of Leicester and then Lord
Willoughby faced the Spanish in the
Netherlands under the Duke of Parma in a
series of largely indecisive actions that
tied down significant numbers of Spanish
troops and bought time for the Dutch to
reorganise their defences.[74] The war
continued until 1648, when Spain under
King Philip IV finally recognised the
independence of the seven north-western
provinces in the Peace of Münster. Parts
of the southern provinces became de facto
colonies of the new republican-mercantile
empire.[75]

Dutch Republic (1581–1795)

Dutch East India Company factory in Hugli-Chuchura, Mughal Bengal by Hendrik van Schuylenburgh, 1665
Following the declaration of independence,
the provinces of Holland, Zeeland,
Groningen, Friesland, Utrecht, Overijssel,
and Gelderland entered into a
confederation. All these duchies, lordships
and counties enjoyed a significant degree
of autonomy and was governed by its own
administrative body known as the States-
Provincial. The confederal government,
known as the States General, was
headquartered in The Hague and
comprised representatives from each of
the seven provinces. The sparsely
populated region of Drenthe was also part
of the republic, albeit not considered a
province in its own right. Moreover, during
the Eighty Years' War, the Republic came
to occupy a number of Generality Lands
located in Flanders, Brabant and Limburg.
These areas were primarily inhabited by
Roman Catholics and lacked a distinct
governmental structure of their own. They
were utilized as a buffer zone between the
Republic and the Spanish-controlled
Southern Netherlands.[76]

Winter landscape with skaters near the city of Kampen by Hendrick Avercamp (1620s)
Amsterdam's Dam Square in 1656

In the Dutch Golden Age, spanning much

of the 17th century, the Dutch Empire grew
to become one of the major seafaring and
economic powers, alongside Portugal,
Spain, France and England. Science,
military and art (especially painting) were
among the most acclaimed in the world.
By 1650, the Dutch owned 16,000
merchant ships.[77] The Dutch East India
Company and the Dutch West India
Company established colonies and trading
posts all over the world. The Dutch
settlement in North America began with
the founding of New Amsterdam on the
southern part of Manhattan in 1614. In
South Africa, the Dutch settled the Cape
Colony in 1652. Dutch colonies in South
America were established along the many
rivers in the fertile Guyana plains, among
them Colony of Surinam (now Suriname).
In Asia, the Dutch established a presence
in India, the Dutch East Indies (now
Indonesia), Formosa (now Taiwan), and
the only western trading post in Japan,
Dejima.[78]
During the period of Proto-
industrialisation, the empire received 50%
of textiles and 80% of silks import from
the India's Mughal Empire, chiefly from its
most developed region known as Bengal
Subah.[79][80][81][82]

Many economic historians regard the

Netherlands as the first thoroughly
capitalist country in the world. In early
modern Europe, it had the wealthiest
trading city (Amsterdam) and the first full-
time stock exchange. The inventiveness of
the traders led to insurance and retirement
funds as well as phenomena such as the
boom-bust cycle, the world's first asset-
inflation bubble, the tulip mania of 1636–
1637, and the world's first bear raider,
Isaac le Maire, who forced prices down by
dumping stock and then buying it back at
a discount.[83] In 1672 – known in Dutch
history as the Rampjaar (Disaster Year) –
the Dutch Republic was attacked by
France, England and three German
Bishoprics simultaneously, in what would
became known as the Franco-Dutch War.
At sea, it could successfully prevent the
English and French navies from entering
and blockading the western shores. On
land, however, it was almost taken over
internally by the advancing French and
German armies coming from the east. It
managed to turn the tide by inundating
parts of Holland.[84]

Dutch troops led by the Prince of Orange assault the French at the battle of Malplaquet

From 1672 to 1712, the Republic, led by

William III of Orange and Anthonie
Heinsius would regularly clash with France
in what some historians have come to call
the Forty Years' War. In the Nine Years' War
and the War of the Spanish Succession,
the Republic was engaged in a massive
struggle and was at the centre of anti-
French coalitions. The Dutch ultimately
successfully defended the Spanish
Netherlands, established a barrier there,
and their troops proved central to the
alliance which halted French territorial
expansion in Europe until a new cycle
began in 1792.[85] However, the wars left
them effectively bankrupt, and inflicted
permanent damage on the Dutch
merchant navy; while they remained the
dominant economic power in the Far East,
Britain took over as the pre-eminent global
commercial and maritime power.[86] From
1590 to 1713, the United Provinces had, at
all times, possessed one of the largest and
most proficient armies in Eurpe. But after
the end of the War of the Spanish
Succession, other powers like Prussia,
Austria, Britain and Russia all maintained
considerably larger armies than they had
in the past. The Republic could not keep
up, which ment it slowly assumed the role
of a middle ranking power, though it is also
true, as regards the period down to the
1750s, that historians have often tended to
exaggerate the extent of this decline.[87]

Batavian Republic and Kingdom

(1795–1890)

In the 18th century the Dutch Republic had

seen a state of a general decline, with
economic competition from England and
long-standing rivalries between the two
main factions in Dutch society, the
republican Staatsgezinden and the
supporters of the stadtholder the
Prinsgezinden as main political
factions.[84] With the armed support of
revolutionary France, Dutch republicans
proclaimed the Batavian Republic,
modelled after the French Republic and
rendering the Netherlands a unitary state
on 19 January 1795. The stadtholder
William V of Orange had fled to England.
But from 1806 to 1810, the Kingdom of
Holland was set up by Napoleon
Bonaparte as a puppet kingdom governed
by his brother Louis Bonaparte to control
the Netherlands more effectively. However,
King Louis Bonaparte tried to serve Dutch
interests instead of his brother's, and he
was forced to abdicate on 1 July 1810.
The Emperor sent in an army and the
Netherlands became part of the French
Empire until the autumn of 1813 when
Napoleon was defeated in the Battle of
Leipzig.

Map of the Dutch colonial empire. Light green: territories administered by or originating from territories administered by
the Dutch East India Company; dark green: the Dutch West India Company. In yellow are the territories occupied later,
during the 19th century.
William Frederick, son of the last
stadtholder, returned to the Netherlands in
1813 and proclaimed himself Sovereign
Prince of the Netherlands. Two years later,
the Congress of Vienna added the
southern Netherlands to the north to
create a strong country on the northern
border of France. William Frederick raised
this United Netherlands to the status of a
kingdom and proclaimed himself as King
William I in 1815.[88] In addition, William
became hereditary Grand Duke of
Luxembourg in exchange for his German
possessions. However, the Southern
Netherlands had been culturally separate
from the north since 1581, and rebelled.
The south gained independence in 1830
as Belgium (recognised by the Northern
Netherlands in 1839 as the Kingdom of the
Netherlands was created by decree), while
the personal union between Luxembourg
and the Netherlands was severed in 1890,
when William III died with no surviving
male heirs. Ascendancy laws prevented
his daughter Queen Wilhelmina from
becoming the next Grand Duchess.[89]

The Belgian Revolution at home and the

Java War in the Dutch East Indies brought
the Netherlands to the brink of bankruptcy.
However, the Cultivation System was
introduced in 1830; in the Dutch East
Indies, 20% of village land had to be
devoted to government crops for export.
The policy brought the Dutch enormous
wealth and made the colony self-
sufficient.[90]

The Netherlands abolished slavery in its

colonies in 1863.[91] Enslaved people in
Suriname would be fully free only in 1873,
since the law stipulated that there was to
be a mandatory 10-year transition.[92]
World wars and beyond (1890–
present)

Rotterdam after German air raids in 1940

The Netherlands was able to remain

neutral during World War I, in part because
the import of goods through the
Netherlands proved essential to German
survival until the blockade by the British
Royal Navy in 1916.[93] That changed in
World War II, when Nazi Germany invaded
the Netherlands on 10 May 1940. The
Rotterdam Blitz forced the main element
of the Dutch army to surrender four days
later. During the occupation, over 100,000
Dutch Jews[94] were rounded up and
transported to Nazi extermination camps;
only a few of them survived. Dutch
workers were conscripted for forced
labour in Germany, civilians who resisted
were killed in reprisal for attacks on
German soldiers, and the countryside was
plundered for food. Although there were
thousands of Dutch who risked their lives
by hiding Jews from the Germans, over
20,000 Dutch fascists joined the Waffen
SS,[95] fighting on the Eastern Front.[96]
Political collaborators were members of
the fascist NSB, the only legal political
party in the occupied Netherlands. On 8
December 1941, the Dutch government-in-
exile in London declared war on Japan,[97]
but could not prevent the Japanese
occupation of the Dutch East Indies.[98] In
1944–45, the First Canadian Army, which
included Canadian, British and Polish
troops, was responsible for liberating
much of the Netherlands.[99] Soon after VE
Day, the Dutch fought a colonial war
against the new Republic of
Indonesia.[100][101]
Former Prime Ministers Wim Kok, Dries van Agt, Piet de Jong, Ruud Lubbers and Jan Peter Balkenende with Prime
Minister Mark Rutte, in 2011

Decolonisation

In 1954, the Charter for the Kingdom of the

Netherlands reformed the political
structure of the Netherlands, which was a
result of international pressure to carry out
decolonisation. The Dutch colonies of
Surinam and Curaçao and Dependencies
and the European country all became
countries within the Kingdom, on a basis
of equality. Indonesia had declared its
independence in August 1945 (recognised
in 1949), and thus was never part of the
reformed Kingdom. Suriname followed in
1975. After the war, the Netherlands left
behind an era of neutrality and gained
closer ties with neighbouring states. The
Netherlands was one of the founding
members of Benelux and NATO.[102][103] In
the 1950s, the Netherlands became one of
the six founding countries of the European
Communities, following the 1952
establishment of the European Coal and
Steel Community, and subsequent 1958
creations of the European Economic
Community and European Atomic Energy
Community.[104] In 1993, the former two of
these were incorporated into the European
Union.[104]

Government-encouraged emigration
efforts to reduce population density
prompted some 500,000 Dutch people to
leave the country after the war.[105] The
1960s and 1970s were a time of great
social and cultural change, such as rapid
de-pillarisation characterised by the decay
of the old divisions along political and
religious lines. Students and other youth
rejected traditional mores and pushed for
change in matters such as women's rights,
sexuality, disarmament and environmental
issues. In 2002 the euro was introduced as
fiat money, and in 2010 the Netherlands
Antilles was dissolved. Referendums were
held on each island to determine their
future status. As a result, the islands of
Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (the BES
islands) were to obtain closer ties with the
Netherlands. This led to the incorporation
of these three islands into the country of
the Netherlands as special municipalities
upon the dissolution of the Netherlands
Antilles. The special municipalities are
collectively known as the Caribbean
Netherlands.[106]
Geography

Relief map of the European Netherlands

The European Netherlands has a total area

of 41,543 km2 (16,040 sq mi), including
water bodies; and a land area of
33,481 km2 (12,927 sq mi). The Caribbean
Netherlands has a total area of 328 km2
(127 sq mi)[107] It lies between latitudes
50° and 54° N, and longitudes 3° and 8° E.

The Netherlands is geographically very low

relative to sea level and is considered a
flat country, with about 26% of its area[21]
and 21% of its population[108] located
below sea level. The European part of the
country is for the most part flat, with the
exception of foothills in the far southeast,
up to a height of no more than 321 metres,
and some low hill ranges in the central
parts. Most of the areas below sea level
are caused by peat extraction or achieved
through land reclamation. Since the late
16th century, large polder areas are
preserved through elaborate drainage
systems that include dikes, canals and
pumping stations. Nearly 17% of the
country's land area is reclaimed from the
sea and from lakes.

Much of the country was originally formed

by the estuaries of three large European
rivers: the Rhine (Rijn), the Meuse (Maas)
and the Scheldt (Schelde), as well as their
tributaries. The south-western part of the
Netherlands is to this day a river delta of
these three rivers, the Rhine–Meuse–
Scheldt delta.[109]
The European Netherlands is divided into
north and south parts by the Rhine, the
Waal, its main tributary branch, and the
Meuse. In the past, these rivers functioned
as a natural barrier between fiefdoms and
hence historically created a cultural divide,
as is evident in some phonetic traits that
are recognisable on either side of what the
Dutch call their "Great Rivers" (de Grote
Rivieren). Another significant branch of the
Rhine, the IJssel river, discharges into Lake
IJssel, the former Zuiderzee ('southern
sea'). Just like the previous, this river
forms a linguistic divide: people to the
northeast of this river speak Dutch Low
Saxon dialects (except for the province of
Friesland, which has its own
language).[110]

Geology

The modern Netherlands formed as a

result of the interplay of the four main
rivers (Rhine, Meuse, Schelde and IJssel)
and the influence of the North Sea. The
Netherlands is mostly composed of
deltaic, coastal and eolian derived
sediments during the Pleistocene glacial
and interglacial periods.[110]

Almost the entire west Netherlands is

composed of the Rhine-Meuse river
estuary, but human intervention greatly
modified the natural processes at work.
Most of the western Netherlands is below
sea level due to the human process of
turning standing bodies of water into
usable land, a polder.[111]

In the east of the Netherlands, remains are

found of the last ice age, which ended
approximately ten thousand years ago. As
the continental ice sheet moved in from
the north, it pushed moraine forward. The
ice sheet halted as it covered the eastern
half of the Netherlands. After the ice age
ended, the moraine remained in the form
of a long hill-line. The cities of Arnhem and
Nijmegen are built upon these hills.[112]

Floods

The Christmas flood of 1717 was the result of a northwesterly storm that resulted in the death of thousands.

Over the centuries, the Dutch coastline has

changed considerably as a result of
natural disasters and human intervention.

On 14 December 1287, St. Lucia's flood

affected the Netherlands and Germany,
killing more than 50,000 people in one of
the most destructive floods in recorded
history.[113] The St. Elizabeth flood of 1421
and the mismanagement in its aftermath
destroyed a newly reclaimed polder,
replacing it with the 72 km2 (28 sq mi)
Biesbosch tidal floodplains in the south-
centre. The huge North Sea flood of
February 1953 caused the collapse of
several dikes in the south-west of the
Netherlands; more than 1,800 people
drowned in the flood. The Dutch
government subsequently instituted a
large-scale programme, the "Delta Works",
to protect the country against future
flooding, which was completed over a
period of more than thirty years.

Map illustrating areas of the Netherlands below sea level

The impact of disasters was, to an extent,

increased through human activity.
Relatively high-lying swampland was
drained to be used as farmland. The
drainage caused the fertile peat to
contract and ground levels to drop, upon
which groundwater levels were lowered to
compensate for the drop in ground level,
causing the underlying peat to contract
further. Additionally, until the 19th-century
peat was mined, dried, and used for fuel,
further exacerbating the problem.
Centuries of extensive and poorly
controlled peat extraction lowered an
already low land surface by several
metres. Even in flooded areas, peat
extraction continued through turf
dredging.

Because of the flooding, farming was

difficult, which encouraged foreign trade,
the result of which was that the Dutch
were involved in world affairs since the
early 14th/15th century.[114]

A polder at 5.53 metres below sea level

To guard against floods, a series of

defences against the water were
contrived. In the first millennium AD,
villages and farmhouses were built on hills
called terps. Later, these terps were
connected by dikes. In the 12th century,
local government agencies called
"waterschappen" ("water boards") or
"hoogheemraadschappen" ("high home
councils") started to appear, whose job it
was to maintain the water level and to
protect a region from floods; these
agencies continue to exist. As the ground
level dropped, the dikes by necessity grew
and merged into an integrated system. By
the 13th century windmills had come into
use to pump water out of areas below sea
level. The windmills were later used to
drain lakes, creating the famous
polders.[115]

In 1932 the Afsluitdijk ("Closure Dike") was

completed, blocking the former Zuiderzee
(Southern Sea) from the North Sea and
thus creating the IJsselmeer (IJssel Lake).
It became part of the larger Zuiderzee
Works in which four polders totalling 2,500
square kilometres (965 sq mi) were
reclaimed from the sea.[116][117]

The Netherlands is one of the countries

that may suffer most from climate change.
Not only is the rising sea a problem, but
erratic weather patterns may cause the
rivers to overflow.[118][119][120]
Delta Works

The Delta Works are located in the provinces of South Holland and Zeeland.

After the 1953 disaster, the Delta Works

was constructed, which is a
comprehensive set of civil works
throughout the Dutch coast. The project
started in 1958 and was largely completed
in 1997 with the completion of the
Maeslantkering. Since then, new projects
have been periodically started to renovate
and renew the Delta Works. The main goal
of the Delta project was to reduce the risk
of flooding in South Holland and Zeeland
to once per 10,000 years (compared to
once per 4000 years for the rest of the
country). This was achieved by raising
3,000 km (1,900 mi) of outer sea-dikes and
10,000 km (6,200 mi) of the inner, canal,
and river dikes, and by closing off the sea
estuaries of the Zeeland province. New
risk assessments occasionally show
problems requiring additional Delta project
dike reinforcements. The Delta project is
considered by the American Society of
Civil Engineers as one of the seven
wonders of the modern world.[121]

It is anticipated that global warming in the

21st century will result in a rise in sea
level. The Netherlands is actively preparing
for a sea-level rise. A politically neutral
Delta Commission has formulated an
action plan to cope with a sea-level rise of
1.10 m (4 ft) and a simultaneous land
height decline of 10 cm (4 in). The plan
encompasses the reinforcement of the
existing coastal defences like dikes and
dunes with 1.30 m (4.3 ft) of additional
flood protection. Climate change will not
only threaten the Netherlands from the
seaside but could also alter rainfall
patterns and river run-off. To protect the
country from river flooding, another
programme is already being executed. The
Room for the River plan grants more flow
space to rivers, protects the major
populated areas and allows for periodic
flooding of indefensible lands. The few
residents who lived in these so-called
"overflow areas" have been moved to
higher ground, with some of that ground
having been raised above anticipated flood
levels.[122]
Climate change

Sea level rise is measured by Copernicus satellites

Climate change in the Netherlands is

already affecting the country. The average
temperature in the Netherlands rose by
more than 2 °C from 1901 to 2020.[123]
Climate change has resulted in increased
frequency of droughts and heatwaves.
Because significant portions of the
Netherlands have been reclaimed from the
sea or otherwise are very near sea level,
the Netherlands is very vulnerable to sea
level rise.

The Netherlands has the fourth largest

greenhouse gas emissions per capita of
the European Union,[124] in part due to the
large number of cows.[125] The Dutch
government has set goals to lower
emissions in the next few decades. The
Dutch response to climate change is
driven by a number of unique factors,
including larger green recovery plans by
the European Union in the face of the
COVID-19 and a climate change litigation
case, State of the Netherlands v. Urgenda
Foundation, which created mandatory
climate change mitigation through
emissions reductions 25% below 1990
levels.[126][127] In 2021 CO2 emissions were
down 14% compared to 1990 levels.[128]
The goal of the Dutch government is to
reduce emissions in 2030 by 49%.[129]

Nature

The Netherlands has 21 national parks[130]

and hundreds of other nature reserves,
that include lakes, heathland, woods,
dunes, and other habitats. Most of these
are owned by Staatsbosbeheer, the
national department for forestry and
nature conservation and
Natuurmonumenten (literally 'Natures
monuments'), a private organisation that
buys, protects and manages nature
reserves. The Wadden Sea in the north,
with its tidal flats and wetlands, is rich in
biological diversity, and is a UNESCO
World Heritage Nature Site.[131]

Common seals on Terschelling, a Wadden Sea island

The Oosterschelde, formerly the northeast

estuary of the river Scheldt was
designated a national park in 2002,
thereby making it the largest national park
in the Netherlands at an area of 370 km2
(140 sq mi). It consists primarily of the
salt waters of the Oosterschelde but also
includes mudflats, meadows, and shoals.
Because of the large variety of sea life,
including unique regional species, the park
is popular with Scuba divers. Other
activities include sailing, fishing, cycling,
and bird watching.

Phytogeographically, the European

Netherlands is shared between the
Atlantic European and Central European
provinces of the Circumboreal Region
within the Boreal Kingdom. According to
the World Wide Fund for Nature, the
European territory of the Netherlands
belongs to the ecoregion of Atlantic mixed
forests.[132] In 1871, the last old original
natural woods were cut down,[133] and
most woods today are planted
monocultures of trees like Scots pine and
trees that are not native to the
Netherlands. These woods were planted
on anthropogenic heaths and sand-drifts
(overgrazed heaths) (Veluwe). The
Netherlands had a 2019 Forest Landscape
Integrity Index mean score of 0.6/10,
ranking it 169th globally out of 172
countries.[134]
Nitrogen pollution is a problem.[135] The
number of flying insects in the
Netherlands has dropped by 75% since the
1990s.[136]

Caribbean islands

In the Lesser Antilles islands of the

Caribbean, the territories of Curaçao,
Aruba and Sint Maarten have a constituent
country status within the wider Kingdom
of the Netherlands. Another three
territories which make up the Caribbean
Netherlands are designated as special
municipalities of the Netherlands. The
Caribbean Netherlands have maritime
borders with Anguilla, Curaçao, France
(Saint Barthélemy), Saint Kitts and Nevis,
Sint Maarten, the U.S. Virgin Islands and
Venezuela.[137] The islands of the
Caribbean Netherlands enjoy a tropical
climate with warm weather all year
round.[138]

Underwater life of Klein Bonaire

Within this island group:

Bonaire is part of the ABC islands within
the Leeward Antilles island chain off the
Venezuelan coast. The Leeward Antilles
have a mixed volcanic and coral origin.
Saba and Sint Eustatius are part of the
SSS islands. They are located east of
Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Although in the English language they
are considered part of the Leeward
Islands, French, Spanish, Dutch and the
English spoken locally consider them
part of the Windward Islands. The
Windward Islands are all of volcanic
origin and hilly, leaving little ground
suitable for agriculture. The highest
 point is Mount Scenery, 887 m (2,910 ft),
on Saba. This is the highest point in the
country and is also the highest point of
the entire Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Government and politics

The Binnenhof, where the lower and upper houses of the States General meet

The Netherlands has been a constitutional

monarchy since 1815, and due to the
efforts of Johan Rudolph Thorbecke[139]
became a parliamentary democracy in
1848. The Netherlands is described as a
consociational state. Dutch politics and
governance are characterised by an effort
to achieve broad consensus on important
issues, within both the political community
and society as a whole. The Netherlands
was ranked as the 17th best electoral
democracy in the world by V-Dem
Democracy indices in 2023[140] and 9th
most democratic country in the world by
the Democracy Index (The Economist) in
2022.[141]

The monarch is the head of state, at

present King Willem-Alexander of the
Netherlands. Constitutionally, the position
is equipped with limited powers. By law,
the King has the right to be periodically
briefed and consulted on government
affairs. Depending on the personalities
and relationships of the King and the
ministers, the monarch might have
influence beyond the power granted by the
Constitution of the Netherlands.

Willem-Alexander Mark Rutte

King of the Netherlands Prime Minister of the
since 30 April 2013 Netherlands
since 14 October 2010
The executive power is formed by the
Council of Ministers, the deliberative organ
of the Dutch cabinet. The cabinet usually
consists of 13 to 16 ministers and a
varying number of state secretaries. One
to three ministers are ministers without
portfolio. The head of government is the
Prime Minister of the Netherlands, who
often is the leader of the largest party of
the coalition. The Prime Minister is a
primus inter pares, with no explicit powers
beyond those of the other ministers. Mark
Rutte has been Prime Minister since
October 2010; the Prime Minister had been
the leader of the largest party of the
governing coalition continuously since
1973.

The cabinet is responsible to the

bicameral parliament, the States General,
which also has legislative powers. The 150
members of the House of Representatives,
the lower house, are elected in direct
elections on the basis of party-list
proportional representation. These are
held every four years, or sooner in case the
cabinet falls (for example: when one of the
chambers carries a motion of no
confidence, the cabinet offers its
resignation to the monarch). The
provincial assemblies, the States
Provincial, are directly elected every four
years as well. The members of the
provincial assemblies elect the 75
members of the Senate, the upper house,
which has the power to reject laws, but not
propose or amend them.

Political culture

De Wallen, Amsterdam's red-light district offers activities such as legal prostitution, symbolizing the Dutch political culture
and tradition of tolerance.
Both trade unions and employers
organisations are consulted beforehand in
policymaking in the financial, economic
and social areas. They meet regularly with
the government in the Social-Economic
Council. This body advises government
and its advice cannot be put aside easily.

The Netherlands has a tradition of social

tolerance.[142] In the 18th century, while the
Dutch Reformed Church was the state
religion, Catholicism, other forms of
Protestantism, such as Baptists and
Lutherans, as well as Judaism were
tolerated but discriminated against.[143]
In the late 19th century this Dutch tradition
of religious tolerance transformed into a
system of pillarisation, in which religious
groups coexisted separately and only
interacted at the level of government.[144]
This tradition of tolerance influences
Dutch criminal justice policies on
recreational drugs, prostitution, LGBT
rights, euthanasia, and abortion, which are
among the most liberal in the world.
Political parties

The Netherlands has a culture of respectful and friendly debate. From left to right, members of the House of
Representatives Sander de Rouwe (CDA), Ineke van Gent (GL), Han ten Broeke (VVD), Kees Verhoeven (D66) and Farshad
Bashir (SP), 2010

No single party has held a majority in

parliament since the 19th century, and as a
result, coalition cabinets had to be formed.
Since suffrage became universal in 1917,
the Dutch political system has been
dominated by three families of political
parties: Christian Democrats (currently the
CDA), Social Democrats (currently the
PvdA), and Liberals (currently the VVD).

These parties co-operated in coalition

cabinets in which the Christian Democrats
had always been a partner: so either a
centre-left coalition of the Christian
Democrats and Social Democrats was
ruling or a centre-right coalition of
Christian Democrats and Liberals. In the
1970s, the party system became more
volatile: the Christian Democratic parties
lost seats, while new parties became
successful, such as the radical democrat
and progressive liberal Democrats 66
(D66) or the ecologist party GroenLinks
(GL).

In the 1994 election, the CDA lost its

dominant position. A "purple" cabinet was
formed by the VVD, D66, and PvdA. In the
2002 elections, this cabinet lost its
majority, because of an increased support
for the CDA and the rise of the right-wing
LPF, a new political party, around Pim
Fortuyn, who was assassinated a week
before the elections. A short-lived cabinet
was formed by CDA, VVD, and LPF, which
was led by the CDA Leader Jan Peter
Balkenende. After the 2003 elections, in
which the LPF lost most of its seats, a
cabinet was formed by the CDA, VVD, and
D66. The cabinet initiated an ambitious
programme of reforming the welfare state,
the healthcare system, and immigration
policy.

In June 2006, the cabinet fell after D66

voted in favour of a motion of no
confidence against the Minister of
Immigration and Integration, Rita Verdonk,
who had instigated an investigation of the
asylum procedure of Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a VVD
MP. A caretaker cabinet was formed by the
CDA and VVD, and general elections were
held on 22 November 2006. In these
elections, the CDA remained the largest
party and the Socialist Party made the
largest gains. The formation of a new
cabinet took three months, resulting in a
coalition of CDA, PvdA, and Christian
Union.

On 20 February 2010, the cabinet fell when

the PvdA refused to prolong the
involvement of the Dutch Army in Uruzgan,
Afghanistan.[145] Snap elections were held
on 9 June 2010, with devastating results
for the previously largest party, the CDA,
which lost about half of its seats, resulting
in 21 seats. The VVD became the largest
party with 31 seats, closely followed by the
PvdA with 30 seats. The big winner of the
2010 elections was Geert Wilders, whose
right wing PVV,[146] the ideological
successor to the LPF, more than doubled
its number of seats.[147] Negotiation talks
for a new government resulted in a
minority government, led by VVD (a first) in
coalition with CDA, which was sworn in on
14 October 2010. This unprecedented
minority government was supported by
PVV, but proved ultimately to be
unstable,[148] when on 21 April 2012,
Wilders, leader of PVV, unexpectedly
'torpedoed seven weeks of austerity talks'
on new austerity measures, paving the way
for early elections.[149][150][151]
VVD and PvdA won a majority in the
House of Representatives during the 2012
general election. On 5 November 2012
they formed the second Rutte cabinet.
After the 2017 general election, VVD,
Christian Democratic Appeal, Democrats
66 and ChristenUnie formed the third Rutte
cabinet. This cabinet resigned in January
2021, two months before the general
election, after a child welfare fraud
scandal.[152] In March 2021, centre-right
VVD of Prime Minister Mark Rutte was the
winner of the elections, securing 34 out of
150 seats. The second biggest party was
the centre-left D66 with 24 seats. Geert
Wilders' far-right party lost support. Prime
Minister Mark Rutte, in power since 2010,
formed his fourth coalition government,
the Fourth Rutte cabinet, consisting of the
same parties as the previous one.[153]

Administrative divisions

Provinces and territories of the Netherlands

The Netherlands is divided into twelve

provinces, each under a King's
Commissioner (Commissaris van de
Koning). Informally, in Limburg province,
this position is named Governor
(Gouverneur). All provinces are divided into
municipalities (gemeenten), of which there
are 342 (2023).[154]

The country is also subdivided into 21

water districts, governed by a water board
(waterschap or hoogheemraadschap), each
having authority in matters concerning
water management.[155][156] The creation
of water boards actually pre-dates that of
the nation itself, the first appearing in
1196. The Dutch water boards are among
the oldest democratic entities in the world
still in existence. Direct elections of the
water boards take place every four years.

The administrative structure on the three

BES islands, collectively known as the
Caribbean Netherlands, is outside the
twelve provinces. These islands have the
status of openbare lichamen (public
bodies).[157] In the Netherlands these
administrative units are often referred to
as special municipalities.

Within the Dutch town of Baarle-Nassau,

are 22 Belgian exclaves[158] and within
those are 8 Dutch enclaves.
 Population[160]
Largest Total
Flag Province Capital Land area (November
city area[159]
2019)

2,680 km2 2,634 km2
Drenthe Assen Emmen 493,449
(1,030 sq mi) (1,017 sq mi)

2,413 km2 1,413 km2
Flevoland Lelystad Almere 422,202
(932 sq mi) (546 sq mi)

5,749 km2 3,324 km2
Friesland Leeuwarden 649,988
(2,220 sq mi) (1,283 sq mi)

5,136 km2 4,967 km2
Gelderland Arnhem Nijmegen 2,084,478
(1,983 sq mi) (1,918 sq mi)

2,960 km2 2,325 km2
Groningen Groningen 585,881
(1,140 sq mi) (898 sq mi)

2,210 km2 2,148 km2
Limburg Maastricht 1,118,223
(850 sq mi) (829 sq mi)

North 's- 5,082 km2 4,908 km2

Eindhoven 2,562,566
Brabant Hertogenbosch (1,962 sq mi) (1,895 sq mi)

North 4,092 km2 2,662 km2

Haarlem Amsterdam 2,877,909
Holland (1,580 sq mi) (1,028 sq mi)

3,421 km2 3,323 km2
Overijssel Zwolle Enschede 1,162,215
(1,321 sq mi) (1,283 sq mi)

South 3,419 km2 2,814 km2

The Hague Rotterdam 3,705,625
Holland (1,320 sq mi) (1,086 sq mi)

1,449 km2 1,380 km2
Utrecht Utrecht 1,353,596
(559 sq mi) (530 sq mi)

2,934 km2 1,783 km2
Zeeland Middelburg 383,689
(1,133 sq mi) (688 sq mi)

41,545 km2 33,481 km2
Total 17,399,821
(16,041 sq mi) (12,927 sq mi)
 Population[161]
Flag Name Capital Area[161] (January Density
2019)

294 km2 69/km2
Bonaire Kralendijk 20,104
(114 sq mi) (180/sq mi)

13 km2 148/km2
Saba The Bottom 1,915
(5.0 sq mi) (380/sq mi)

21 km2 150/km2
Sint Eustatius Oranjestad 3,138
(8.1 sq mi) (390/sq mi)

328 km2 77/km2
Total 25,157
(127 sq mi) (200/sq mi)

Foreign relations

The Peace Palace (Vredespaleis), in The Hague

The history of Dutch foreign policy has
been characterised by its neutrality. Since
World War II, the Netherlands has become
a member of a large number of
international organisations, most
prominently the UN, NATO and the EU. The
Dutch economy is very open and relies
strongly on international trade.

The foreign policy of the Netherlands is

based on four basic commitments: to
Atlantic co-operation, to European
integration, to international development
and to international law. One of the more
controversial international issues
surrounding the Netherlands is its liberal
policy towards soft drugs.

The historical ties inherited from its

colonial past in Indonesia and Surinam
still influence the foreign relations of the
Netherlands. In addition, many people
from these countries are living
permanently in the Netherlands.

Military
General Onno Eichelsheim is the current Chief of Defence.

The Netherlands has one of the oldest

standing armies in Europe; it was first
established as such by Maurice of Nassau
in the late 1500s. The Dutch army was
used throughout the Dutch Empire. After
the defeat of Napoleon, the Dutch army
was transformed into a conscription army.
The army was unsuccessfully deployed
during the Belgian Revolution in 1830.
After 1830, it was deployed mainly in the
Dutch colonies, as the Netherlands
remained neutral in European wars
(including the First World War), until the
Netherlands was invaded in World War II
and defeated by the Wehrmacht in May
1940.

Zr. Ms. Holland, a Royal Netherlands Navy offshore patrol vessel

The Netherlands abandoned its neutrality

in 1948 when it signed the Treaty of
Brussels, and became a founding member
of NATO in 1949. The Dutch military was
therefore part of the NATO strength in
Cold War Europe, deploying its army to
several bases in Germany. More than
3,000 Dutch soldiers were assigned to the
2nd Infantry Division of the United States
Army during the Korean War. In 1996
conscription was suspended, and the
Dutch army was once again transformed
into a professional army. Since the 1990s
the Dutch army has been involved in the
Bosnian War and the Kosovo War, it held a
province in Iraq after the defeat of Saddam
Hussein, and it was engaged in
Afghanistan. The Netherlands has ratified
many international conventions
concerning war law. The Netherlands
decided not to sign the UN treaty on the
Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.[162]
The military is composed of four branches,
all of which carry the prefix Koninklijke
(Royal):

Koninklijke Marine (KM), the Royal

Netherlands Navy, including the Naval
Air Service and Marine Corps;
Koninklijke Landmacht (KL), the Royal
Netherlands Army;
Koninklijke Luchtmacht (KLu), the Royal
Netherlands Air Force;
Koninklijke Marechaussee (KMar), the
Royal Marechaussee (Military Police),
tasks include military police and border
control.
The submarine service opened to women
on 1 January 2017. The Korps
Commandotroepen, the Special
Operations Force of the Netherlands Army,
is open to women, but because of the
extremely high physical demands for initial
training, it is almost impossible for a
woman to become a commando.[163] The
Dutch Ministry of Defence employs more
than 70,000 personnel, including over
20,000 civilians and over 50,000 military
personnel.[164]
Economy

Historical GDP per capita development (Our World in Data)

A proportional representation of Netherlands exports, 2019

The Netherlands has a developed

economy and has been playing a special
role in the European economy for many
centuries. Since the 16th century, shipping,
fishing, agriculture, trade, and banking
have been leading sectors of the Dutch
economy. The Netherlands has a high level
of economic freedom. The Netherlands is
one of the top countries in the Global
Enabling Trade Report (2nd in 2016), and
was ranked the fifth most competitive
economy in the world by the Swiss
International Institute for Management
Development in 2017.[165] In addition, the
country was ranked the 5th most
innovative nation in the world in the 2022
Global Innovation Index down from 2nd in
2018.[166][167]
As of 2020, the key trading partners of the
Netherlands were Germany, Belgium, the
United Kingdom, the United States, France,
Italy, China and Russia.[168] The
Netherlands is one of the world's 10
leading exporting countries. Foodstuffs
form the largest industrial sector. Other
major industries include chemicals,
metallurgy, machinery, electrical goods,
trade, services and tourism. Examples of
international Dutch companies operating
in the Netherlands include Randstad,
Heineken, KLM, financial services (ING,
ABN AMRO, Rabobank), chemicals (DSM,
AKZO), petroleum refining (Royal Dutch
Shell), electronic machinery (Philips,
ASML), and satellite navigation (TomTom).

The Netherlands has the 17th-largest

economy in the world, and ranks 11th in
GDP (nominal) per capita. The Netherlands
has low income inequality, but wealth
inequality is relatively high.[169] Despite
ranking 11th in GDP per capita, UNICEF
ranked the Netherlands 1st in child well-
being in rich countries, both in 2007 and in
2013.[170][171][172]

Amsterdam is the financial and business

capital of the Netherlands.[173] The
Amsterdam Stock Exchange (AEX), part of
Euronext, is the world's oldest stock
exchange and is one of Europe's largest
bourses. It is situated near Dam Square in
the city's centre. As a founding member of
the euro, the Netherlands replaced (for
accounting purposes) its former currency,
the "gulden" (guilder), on 1 January 1999,
along with 15 other adopters of the euro.
Actual euro coins and banknotes followed
on 1 January 2002. One euro was
equivalent to 2.20371 Dutch guilders. In
the Caribbean Netherlands, the United
States dollar is used instead of the
euro.[174] The Netherlands is a "conduit
country" that helps to funnel profits from
high-tax countries to tax havens.[175] It has
been ranked as the 4th largest tax haven in
the world.[176]

The Netherlands is part of a monetary union, the Eurozone (dark blue), and the EU single market.

The Dutch location gives it prime access

to markets in the United Kingdom and
Germany, with the Port of Rotterdam being
the largest port in Europe. Other important
parts of the economy are international
trade (Dutch colonialism started with co-
operative private enterprises such as the
Dutch East India Company), banking and
transport. The Netherlands successfully
addressed the issue of public finances and
stagnating job growth long before its
European partners. Amsterdam is the 5th-
busiest tourist destination in Europe, with
more than 4.2 million international
visitors.[177] Since the enlargement of the
EU, large numbers of migrant workers
have arrived in the Netherlands from
Central and Eastern Europe.[178]

The Netherlands continues to be one of

the leading European nations for attracting
foreign direct investment and is one of the
five largest investors in the United States.
The economy experienced a slowdown in
2005, but in 2006 recovered to the fastest
pace in six years on the back of increased
exports and strong investment. The pace
of job growth reached 10-year highs in
2007. The Netherlands is the fourth-most
competitive economy in the world,
according to the World Economic Forum's
Global Competitiveness Report.[179]
Energy

Natural gas concessions in the Netherlands. The Netherlands accounts for more than 25% of all natural gas reserves in
the EU.

The Groningen gas field whose discovery in 1959 transformed the Dutch economy, is one of the largest natural-gas fields
in the world

Beginning in the 1950s, the Netherlands

discovered huge natural gas resources.
The sale of natural gas generated
enormous revenues for the Netherlands
for decades, adding, over sixty years,
hundreds of billions of euros to the
government's budget.[180] However, the
unforeseen consequences of the country's
huge energy wealth impacted the
competitiveness of other sectors of the
economy, leading to the theory of Dutch
disease.[180] The field is operated by
government-owned Gasunie and output is
jointly exploited by the government, Royal
Dutch Shell, and ExxonMobil. Gas
production caused earthquakes which
damaged housing. After a large public
backlash, the government decided to
phase out gas production from the
field.[181]

The Netherlands has made notable

progress in its transition to a carbon-
neutral economy. Thanks to increasing
energy efficiency, energy demand shows
signs of decoupling from economic
growth. The share of energy from
renewable sources doubled from 2008 to
2019, with especially strong growth in
offshore wind and rooftop solar. However,
the Netherlands remains heavily reliant on
fossil fuels and has a concentration of
energy- and emission-intensive industries
that will not be easy to decarbonise. Its
2019 Climate Agreement defines policies
and measures to support the achievement
of Dutch climate targets and was
developed through a collaborative process
involving parties from across Dutch
society.[182] As of 2018, the Netherlands
had one of the highest rates of carbon
dioxide emissions per person in the
European Union.[183]

Agriculture and natural resources

Cows near the city of Arnhem

From a biological resource perspective,

the Netherlands has a low endowment: the
Netherlands' biocapacity totals only 0.8
global hectares per person in 2016, 0.2 of
which are dedicated to agriculture.[184] The
Dutch biocapacity per person is just about
half of the 1.6 global hectares of
biocapacity per person available
worldwide.[185] In contrast, in 2016, the
Dutch used on average 4.8 global hectares
of biocapacity - their ecological footprint
of consumption. This means the Dutch
required nearly six times as much
biocapacity as the Netherlands contains.
As a result, the Netherlands was running a
biocapacity deficit of 4.0 global hectares
per person in 2016.[184] In addition, the
Dutch waste more food than any other EU
citizen, at over three times the EU
average.[186]

The Dutch agricultural sector is highly

mechanised, and has a strong focus on
international exports. It employs about 4%
of the Dutch labour force but produces
large surpluses in the food-processing
industry and accounts for 21% of the
Dutch total export value.[187] The Dutch
rank first in the European Union and
second worldwide in value of agricultural
exports, behind only the United States,[188]
with agricultural exports earning
€80.7 billion in 2014,[189] up from
€75.4 billion in 2012.[27] In 2019
agricultural exports were worth
€94.5 billion.[190] In an effort to reduce
agricultural pollution, the Dutch
government is imposing strict limits on the
productivity of the farming sector,
triggering Dutch farmers' protests, who
fear for their livelihoods.[191]

One-third of the world's exports of chilis,

tomatoes, and cucumbers go through the
country. The Netherlands also exports
one-fifteenth of the world's apples.[192] A
significant portion of Dutch agricultural
exports consists of fresh-cut plants,
flowers, and flower bulbs, with the
Netherlands exporting two-thirds of the
world's total.[192]

Demographics
The Netherlands had an estimated
population of 17,493,969 as of 30 April
2021.[160] It is the 5th most densely
populated country in Europe, and except
for Malta and very small city-states like
Monaco, Vatican City and San Marino, it is
the most densely populated country in
Europe. It is also the 16th most densely
populated country in the world with a
density of 424 per square kilometre
(1,100/sq mi) and the 67th most populous
country in the world. Between 1900 and
1950, the country's population almost
doubled from 5.1 to 10 million. From 1950
to 2000, the population further increased,
to 15.9 million, though this represented a
lower rate of population growth.[193]

Population pyramid of the Netherlands in 2017

The fertility rate in the Netherlands is 1.78
children per woman (2018 estimate),[194]
which is high compared with many other
European countries, but below the rate of
2.1 children per woman required for
natural population replacement, it remains
considerably below the high of 5.39
children born per woman in 1879.[195] The
Netherlands subsequently has one of the
oldest populations in the world, with the
average age of 42.7 years.[194] Life
expectancy is high in the Netherlands:
84.3 years for newborn girls and 79.7 for
boys (2020 estimate).[194] The Dutch are
the tallest people in the world, by
nationality,[196] with an average height of
1.81 metres (5 ft 11.3 in) for men and 1.67
metres (5 ft 5.7 in) for women in 2009.[197]
The average height of young men in the
Netherlands increased from 5 feet, 4
inches to approximately 6 feet between
the 1850s until the early 2000s.[198]

The country has a migration rate of 1.9

migrants per 1,000 inhabitants per
year.[194] The majority of the population of
the Netherlands is ethnically Dutch. In
2022, the population was 74.8% ethnically
Dutch, 8.3% other European, 2.4% Turkish,
2.4% Moroccan, 2.0% Indonesian, 2.0%
Surinamese, and 8.1% others.[3] Some
150,000 to 200,000 people living in the
Netherlands are expatriates, mostly
concentrated in and around Amsterdam
and The Hague, now constituting almost
10% of the population of these
cities.[199][200]

In Rotterdam almost half the population has an immigrant background.

According to Eurostat, in 2010 there were

1.8 million foreign-born residents in the
Netherlands, corresponding to 11.1% of
the total population. Of these, 1.4 million
(8.5%) were born outside the EU and 0.43
million (2.6%) were born in another EU
Member State.[201] On 21 November 2016,
there were 3.8 million residents in the
Netherlands with at least one foreign-born
parent ("migration background").[202] Over
half the young people in Amsterdam and
Rotterdam have a non-western
background.[203] Dutch people, or
descendants of Dutch people, are also
found in migrant communities worldwide,
notably in Canada, Australia, South Africa
and the United States. According to the
United States Census Bureau (2006), more
than 5 million Americans claim total or
partial Dutch ancestry.[204] There are close
to 3 million Dutch-descended Afrikaners
living in South Africa.[205]

The Randstad is the country's largest

conurbation located in the west of the
country and contains the four largest
cities: Amsterdam in the province North
Holland, Rotterdam and The Hague in the
province South Holland, and Utrecht in the
province Utrecht. The Randstad has a
population of about 8.2 million
inhabitants[206] and is the 5th largest
metropolitan area in Europe. According to
Dutch Central Statistics Bureau, in 2015,
28 per cent of the Dutch population had a
spendable income above 45,000 euros
(which does not include spending on
health care or education).[207]
 Largest municipalities in t

v · t · e (https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tem

Statistics Ne
Rank Name Province Pop.
North
1 Amsterdam 905,234
Holland
Amsterdam
South
2 Rotterdam 656,050
Holland
Rotterdam South
3 The Hague 552,995
Holland
4 Utrecht Utrecht 361,924
North
5 Eindhoven 238,478
Brabant
6 Groningen Groningen 234,649
North
7 Tilburg 224,702
Brabant
 8 Almere Flevoland 218,096

North
9 Breda 184,716
Brabant

10 Nijmegen Gelderland 179,073

Language

Knowledge of foreign languages in the Netherlands, among population 15 and older, in 2006[209]

The official language is Dutch, which is

spoken by the vast majority of the
inhabitants. The dialects most spoken in
the Netherlands are the Brabantian-
Hollandic dialects.[210]

Besides Dutch, West Frisian is recognised

as a second official language in the
northern province of Friesland (Fryslân in
West Frisian).[211] West Frisian has a
formal status for government
correspondence in that province. Four
other languages are protected under the
European Charter for Regional or Minority
Languages.[212] The first of these
recognised regional languages is Low
Saxon (Nedersaksisch in Dutch). Low
Saxon consists of several dialects of the
Low German language spoken in the north
and east of the Netherlands, like Tweants
in the region of Twente, and Drents in the
province of Drenthe.

Secondly, Limburgish is also recognised

as a regional language. It consists of
Dutch varieties of Meuse-Rhenish
Franconian languages and is spoken in the
south-eastern province of Limburg.[110]
Yiddish and the Romani language were
recognised in 1996 as non-territorial
languages.[213]

English has a formal status in the special

municipalities of Saba and Sint Eustatius.
It is widely spoken on these islands.
Papiamento has a formal status in the
special municipality of Bonaire.[213]

The Netherlands has a long tradition of

learning foreign languages, formalised in
Dutch education laws. Some 90% of the
total population indicate they are able to
converse in English, 70% in German, and
29% in French.[214] English is a mandatory
course in all secondary schools.[215] In
most lower level secondary school
educations (vmbo), one additional modern
foreign language is mandatory during the
first two years.[216] In higher level
secondary schools (havo and vwo), the
acquisition of two additional modern
foreign language skills is mandatory
during the first three years. During the last
three years in vwo only one foreign
language is mandatory. Besides English,
the standard modern languages are
French and German, although schools can
replace one of these modern languages
with Chinese, Spanish, Russian, Italian,
Turkish or Arabic.[217] Additionally, schools
in Friesland teach and have exams in West
Frisian,[218] and secondary schools (called
Gymnasium) across the country teach
Ancient Greek and Latin.
Religion

Religious identification in the Netherlands (2020)[4]

   Irreligious (55.4%)
   Catholic (19.8%)
   Protestant (14.4%)
   Muslim (5.2%)
   Other (5.1%)

Forms of Christianity have dominated

religious life in what is now the
Netherlands for more than 1,200 years,[219]
and by the middle of the sixteenth century
the country was strongly Protestant
(Calvinist).[220] The population of the
Netherlands was predominantly Christian
until the late 20th century, divided into a
number of denominations.[221] Although
significant religious diversity remains,
there has been a decline of religious
adherence. The Netherlands is now one of
the most secular societies in the world.

In 2020, Statistics Netherlands found that

55% of the total population declared itself
to be non-religious. Groups that represent
the non-religious in the Netherlands
include Humanistisch Verbond. Catholics
comprised 19.8% of the total population,
Protestants (14.4%). Muslims comprised
5.2% of the total population and followers
of other Christian denominations and
other religions (like Judaism, Buddhism
and Hinduism) comprised the remaining
5.1%.[4] A 2015 survey from another
source found that Protestants
outnumbered Catholics.[222]

The southern provinces of North Brabant

and Limburg have historically been
strongly Catholic, and some residents
consider the Catholic Church as a base for
their cultural identity. Protestantism in the
Netherlands consists of a number of
churches within various traditions. The
largest of these is the Protestant Church in
the Netherlands (PKN), a united church
which is Calvinist and Lutheran in
orientation.[223] It was formed in 2004 as a
merger of the Dutch Reformed Church, the
Reformed Churches in the Netherlands
and a smaller Lutheran Church. Several
orthodox Calvinist and liberal churches did
not merge into the PKN. Although in the
Netherlands as a whole Christianity has
become a minority, the Netherlands
contains a Bible Belt from Zeeland to the
northern parts of the province Overijssel,
in which Protestant (particularly Calvinist)
beliefs remain strong, and even has
majorities in municipal councils. Several
Christian religious holidays are national
holidays (Christmas, Easter, Pentecost,
and the Ascension of Jesus).[224]

Islam is the second largest religion in the

state.[225] The Muslim population
increased from the 1960 as a result of
large numbers of migrant workers. This
included migrant workers from Turkey and
Morocco, as well as migrants from former
Dutch colonies, such as Surinam and
Indonesia. During the 1990s, Muslim
refugees arrived from countries like
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iran, Iraq,
Somalia, and Afghanistan.[226]
Another religion practised is Hinduism,
with around 215,000 adherents (slightly
over 1% of the population). Most of these
are Indo-Surinamese. There are also
sizeable populations of Hindu immigrants
from India and Sri Lanka, and some
Western adherents of Hinduism-orientated
new religious movements such as Hare
Krishnas. The Netherlands has an
estimated 250,000 Buddhists or people
strongly attracted to this religion, mainly
ethnic Dutch people. In addition, there are
about 45,000 Jews in the Netherlands.

The Constitution of the Netherlands

guarantees freedom of education, which
means that all schools that adhere to
general quality criteria receive the same
government funding. This includes
schools based on religious principles by
religious groups (especially Catholic and
various Protestant). Three political parties
in the Dutch parliament, (CDA, and two
small parties, ChristianUnion and SGP) are
based upon the Christian belief. Several
Christian religious holidays are national
holidays (Christmas, Easter, Pentecost and
the Ascension of Jesus).[224]

Upon the country's independence,

Protestants were predominant in most of
the country, while Roman Catholics were
dominant in the south, especially North
Brabant and Limburg. In the late 19th
century, secularism, atheism and
pillarisation gained adherents. By 1960,
Catholics equalled Protestants in number;
thereafter, both Christian branches began
to decline. Conversely, Islam grew
considerably as the result of immigration.
Since 2000 there has been raised
awareness of religion, mainly due to
Muslim extremism.[227]

A survey in December 2014 concluded that

for the first time there were more atheists
(25%) than theists (17%) in the
Netherlands, while the remainder of the
population was agnostic (31%) or ietsistic
(27%).[228] In 2015, a vast majority of the
inhabitants of the Netherlands (82%) said
they had never or almost never visited a
church, and 59% stated that they had never
been to a church of any kind. Of all the
people questioned, 24% saw themselves
as atheist, an increase of 11% compared
to the previous study done in 2006.[229]
The expected rise of spirituality (ietsism)
has come to a halt according to research
in 2015. In 2006, 40% of respondents
considered themselves spiritual; in 2015
this has dropped to 31%. The number who
believed in the existence of a higher power
fell from 36% to 28% over the same
period.[230]

Education

An international primary school in The Hague

Education in the Netherlands is

compulsory between the ages of 5 and 16.
If a child does not have a "starting
qualification" (HAVO, VWO or MBO 2+
degree) they are still forced to attend
classes until they achieve such a
qualification or reach the age of 18.[231]

Children in the Netherlands attend

elementary school from (on average) ages
4 to 12. It has eight grades and first is
facultative. Based on an aptitude test, the
eighth grade teacher's recommendation
and the opinion of the pupil's parents or
caretakers, a choice is made for one of the
three main streams of secondary
education. After completing a particular
stream, a pupil may still continue in the
penultimate year of the next stream.
View on the Utrecht Science Park of Utrecht University. The building in the centre is the library.

The VMBO has four grades and is

subdivided over several levels.
Successfully completing the VMBO results
in a low-level vocational degree that grants
access to the MBO. The MBO (middle-level
applied education) is a form of education
that primarily focuses on teaching a
practical trade or a vocational degree. With
the MBO certification, a student can apply
for the HBO. The HAVO has 5 grades and
allows for admission to the HBO. The HBO
(higher professional education) are
universities of professional education
(applied sciences) that award professional
bachelor's degrees; similar to polytechnic
degrees. An HBO degree gives access to
the university system. The VWO
(comprising atheneum and gymnasium)
has 6 grades and prepares for studying at
a research university. Universities offer a
three-year bachelor's degree, followed by a
one or two-year master's degree, which in
turn can be followed by a four or five-year
doctoral degree programme.
Doctoral candidates in the Netherlands are
generally non-tenured employees of a
university. All Dutch schools and
universities are publicly funded and
managed with the exception of religious
schools that are publicly funded but not
managed by the state even though
requirements are necessary for the
funding to be authorised. Dutch
universities have a tuition fee of about
2,000 euros a year for students from the
Netherlands and the European Union. The
amount is about 10,000 euros for non-EU
students.
Healthcare

Portrait of Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (1632–1723), known as "the father of microbiology"

A public hospital in Amersfoort

In 2016, the Netherlands maintained its
number one position at the top of the
annual Euro health consumer index (EHCI),
which compares healthcare systems in
Europe, scoring 916 of a maximum 1,000
points. The Netherlands has been among
the top three countries in each report
published since 2005. On 48 indicators
such as patient rights and information,
accessibility, prevention and outcomes,
the Netherlands secured its top position
among 37 European countries for six years
in a row.[232] The Netherlands was ranked
first in a study in 2009 comparing the
health care systems of the United States,
Australia, Canada, Germany and New
Zealand.[233][234]

Ever since a major reform of the health

care system in 2006, the Dutch system
received more points in the Index each
year. According to the HCP (Health
Consumer Powerhouse), the Netherlands
has 'a chaos system', meaning patients
have a great degree of freedom from
where to buy their health insurance, to
where they get their healthcare service.
The difference between the Netherlands
and other countries is that the chaos is
managed. Healthcare decisions are being
made in a dialogue between the patients
and healthcare professionals.[235]

Health insurance in the Netherlands is

mandatory. Healthcare in the Netherlands
is covered by two statutory forms of
insurance:

Zorgverzekeringswet (ZVW), often

called "basic insurance", covers
common medical care.
Algemene Wet Bijzondere Ziektekosten
(AWBZ) covers long-term nursing and
care.

While Dutch residents are automatically

insured by the government for AWBZ,
everyone has to take out their own basic
healthcare insurance (basisverzekering),
except those under 18 who are
automatically covered under their parents'
premium. If a person decides not to carry
out an insurance coverage, the person may
be fined. Insurers have to offer a universal
package for everyone over the age of 18
years, regardless of age or state of health
– it's illegal to refuse an application or
impose special conditions. In contrast to
many other European systems, the Dutch
government is responsible for the
accessibility and quality of the healthcare
system in the Netherlands, but not in
charge of its management.
Healthcare in the Netherlands can be
divided in several ways: three echelons, in
somatic and mental health care and in
'cure' (short term) and 'care' (long term).
Home doctors (huisartsen, comparable to
general practitioners) form the largest part
of the first echelon. Being referenced by a
member of the first echelon is mandatory
for access to the second and third
echelon.[236] The health care system is in
comparison to other Western countries
quite effective but not the most cost-
effective.[237]

Healthcare in the Netherlands is financed

by a dual system that came into effect in
January 2006. Long-term treatments,
especially those that involve semi-
permanent hospitalisation, and also
disability costs such as wheelchairs, are
covered by a state-controlled mandatory
insurance. This is laid down in the
Algemene Wet Bijzondere Ziektekosten
("General Law on Exceptional Healthcare
Costs") which first came into effect in
1968. In 2009 this insurance covered 27%
of all health care expenses.[238]

For all regular (short-term) medical

treatment, there is a system of obligatory
health insurance, with private health
insurance companies. These insurance
companies are obliged to provide a
package with a defined set of insured
treatments.[239] This insurance covers 41%
of all health care expenses.[238]

Other sources of health care payment are

taxes (14%), out of pocket payments (9%),
additional optional health insurance
packages (4%) and a range of other
sources (4%).[238] Affordability is
guaranteed through a system of income-
related allowances and individual and
employer-paid income-related premiums.

A key feature of the Dutch system is that

premiums may not be related to health
status or age. Risk variances between
private health insurance companies due to
the different risks presented by individual
policy holders are compensated through
risk equalisation and a common risk pool.
The funding burden for all short-term
health care coverage is carried 50% by
employers, 45% by the insured person and
5% by the government. Children under 18
are covered for free. Those on low
incomes receive compensation to help
them pay their insurance. Premiums paid
by the insured are about €100 per month
(about US$127 in August 2010 and €150
or US$196 in 2012), with variation of about
5% between the various competing
insurers, and a yearly deductible of €220
(US$288).

Transport
Mobility on Dutch roads has grown
continuously since the 1950s and now
exceeds 200 billion km travelled per
year,[240] three quarters of which are done
by car.[241] Around half of all trips in the
Netherlands are made by car, 25% by
bicycle, 20% walking, and 5% by public
transport.[241]
Road transport

A1 motorway, in Gelderland

The Netherlands has one of the densest

road networks in the world—much denser
than Germany and France, but still not as
dense as Belgium.[242] The Netherlands
has a relatively high uptake of electric
vehicles, as the government implemented
ambitious policy on both charging
infrastructure and tax benefits.[243] As of
2019, the Netherlands hosts
approximately 30% of all recharging
stations in the European Union.[244]
Moreover, newly sold cars in the
Netherlands have on average the lowest
CO2 emissions in the EU.[245]

Public transport

A regional train operated by Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS)

About 13% of all distance is travelled by

public transport, the majority of which by
train.[241] Like in many other European
countries, the Dutch rail network of
3,013 km route is also rather dense.[246]
The network is mostly focused on
passenger rail services and connects all
major towns and cities, with over 400
stations. Trains are frequent, with two
trains per hour on lesser lines,[i] two to four
trains per hour on average, and up to eight
trains an hour on the busiest lines.[247] The
Dutch national train network also includes
the HSL-Zuid, a high-speed line between
the Amsterdam metropolitan area and the
Belgian border for trains running from
Paris and London to the Netherlands.
Cycling

Bike passage at Rotterdam Centraal station

Cycling is a ubiquitous mode of transport

in the Netherlands. Almost as many
kilometres are covered by bicycle as by
train.[241] The Dutch are estimated to have
at least 18 million bicycles,[248][249] which
makes more than one per capita, and
twice as many as the circa 9 million motor
vehicles on the road.[250] In 2013, the
European Cyclists' Federation ranked both
the Netherlands and Denmark as the most
bike-friendly countries in Europe,[251] but
more of the Dutch (36%) than of the Danes
(23%) list the bike as their most frequent
mode of transport on a typical day.[252][j]
Cycling infrastructure is comprehensive.
Busy roads have received some 35,000 km
of dedicated cycle tracks, physically
segregated from motorised traffic.[255]
Busy junctions are often equipped with
bicycle-specific traffic lights. There are
large bicycle parking facilities, particularly
in city centres and at train stations.
Water transport

Until the introduction of trains, ships were

the primary mode of transport in the
Netherlands. And shipping has remained
crucial afterwards. The Port of Rotterdam
is the largest port in Europe and the
largest port in the world outside East-Asia,
with the rivers Meuse and Rhine providing
excellent access to the hinterland
upstream reaching to Basel, Switzerland,
and into Germany and France. As of 2022,
Rotterdam was the world's tenth largest
container port.[256] The port's main
activities are petrochemical industries and
general cargo handling and transshipment.
The harbour functions as an important
transit point for bulk materials and
between the European continent and
overseas. From Rotterdam goods are
transported by ship, river barge, train or
road. The Volkeraksluizen between
Rotterdam and Antwerp are the biggest
sluices for inland navigation in the world in
terms of tonnage passing through them. In
2007, the Betuweroute, a new fast freight
railway from Rotterdam to Germany, was
completed. The Netherlands also hosts
Europe's 4th largest port in Amsterdam.
The inland shipping fleet of the
Netherlands is the largest in Europe.[257]
The Netherlands also has the largest fleet
of active historical ships in the world.[258]
Boats are used for passenger travel as
well, such as the Watertaxies in
Rotterdam. The ferry network in
Amsterdam and the Waterbus network in
Rotterdam are part of the public transport
system.

Air transport

Schiphol Airport, just southwest of

Amsterdam, is the main international
airport in the Netherlands, and the third
busiest airport in Europe by number of
passengers. Schiphol is the main hub for
KLM, the nation's flag carrier and the
world's oldest airline.[259] In 2016, the
Royal Schiphol Group airports handled 70
million passengers.[260] All air traffic is
international and Schiphol Airport is
connected to over 300 destinations
worldwide, more than any other European
airport.[261] The airport is a major freight
hub as well, processing 1.44 million
tonnes of cargo in 2020.[262] Smaller
international airports are located in or near
Eindhoven, Rotterdam, Maastricht and
Groningen. Air transport is of vital
significance for the Caribbean part of the
Netherlands, with all islands having their
own airport. This includes the shortest
runway in the world on Saba.[263]
Culture

Some symbols and icons of Dutch art

Art, architecture and philosophy

The Tower of Babel by Water Mill at Kollen Near

Brabantine artist Pieter Nuenen by Brabantine
Bruegel the Elder artist Vincent van Gogh
 The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam

The Netherlands has had many well-

known painters. In the Middle Ages
Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Bruegel the
Elder were leading Dutch pioneers. During
the Dutch Golden Age, the Dutch Republic
was prosperous and witnessed a
flourishing artistic movement. The "Dutch
Masters", spanning this 17th century era,
included Rembrandt van Rijn, Johannes
Vermeer, Jan Steen, and Jacob van
Ruisdael. Famous Dutch painters of the
19th and 20th century included Vincent
van Gogh and Piet Mondrian. M. C. Escher
is a well-known graphic artist.

Literature flourished as well during the

Dutch Golden Age, with Joost van den
Vondel and P. C. Hooft as the most
famous writers. In the 19th century,
Multatuli wrote about the poor treatment
of the natives in the Dutch colony. Diary of
a Young Girl by Anne Frank is the most
translated book from Dutch. Other
important 20th century authors include
Harry Mulisch, Jan Wolkers, Hella S.
Haasse, Willem Frederik Hermans, Cees
Nooteboom and Gerard Reve. Janwillem
van de Wetering wrote successful
detectives, Dick Bruna (doubling as
illustrator) and Annie M. G. Schmidt
children's books.

Various architectural styles can be

distinguished in the Netherlands. The
Romanesque architecture was built
between the years 950 and 1250. This
architectural style is most concentrated in
the provinces of Gelderland and Limburg.
The Gothic architecture was used in the
Netherlands from about 1230. Gothic
buildings had large windows, pointed
arches and were richly decorated.
Brabantine Gothic originated with the rise
of the Duchy of Brabant and spread
throughout the Burgundian provinces.
Dutch Baroque architecture (1525 – 1630)
and classicism (1630 – 1700) is especially
evident in the west of the Netherlands.
Other common architectural styles are
Style Louis XIV, Art Nouveau, Rationalism,
Neoclassicism, Expressionism, De Stijl,
Traditionalism and Brutalism.

Erasmus and Spinoza were famous Dutch

philosophers. The Dutch scientist
Christiaan Huygens (1629–1695)
discovered Saturn's moon Titan, argued
that light travelled as waves, invented the
pendulum clock, and was the first
physicist to use mathematical formulae.
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek was the first to
observe and describe single-celled
organisms with a microscope.

Windmills, tulips, wooden shoes, cheese,

Delftware pottery, and cannabis have
grown to symbolize the Netherlands,
especially among tourists.

Dutch value system

Dutch society is egalitarian and modern.

The Dutch have an aversion to the non-
essential.[264] Ostentatious behaviour is to
be avoided. The Dutch are proud of their
cultural heritage, rich history in art and
involvement in international affairs.[264]

A Dutch saying indicating their sense of

national pride in their reclamation of land
from the sea and marshes is "God created
the world, but the Dutch created the
Netherlands."[265]

Dutch people in orange celebrating King's Day in Amsterdam, 2017

Dutch manners are open and direct with a

no-nonsense attitude—informality
combined with adherence to basic
behaviour. According to a humorous
source on Dutch culture, "Their directness
gives many the impression that they are
rude and crude—attributes they prefer to
call openness."[264] A well known more
serious source on Dutch etiquette is
"Dealing with the Dutch" by Jacob
Vossestein: "Dutch egalitarianism is the
idea that people are equal, especially from
a moral point of view, and accordingly,
causes the somewhat ambiguous stance
the Dutch have towards hierarchy and
status."[266] As always, manners differ
between groups. Asking about basic rules
will not be considered impolite. "What may
strike you as being blatantly blunt topics
and comments are no more embarrassing
or unusual to the Dutch than discussing
the weather."[264]

The Netherlands is one of the most

secular countries of Europe, and religion in
the Netherlands is generally considered as
a personal matter which is not supposed
to be propagated in public, although it
often remains a discussion subject. For
only 17% of the population religion is
important and 14% goes to church
weekly.[267]
The Netherlands has a long history of
social tolerance and today is regarded as a
liberal country, considering its drug policy
and its legalisation of euthanasia. On 1
April 2001, the Netherlands became the
first nation to legalise same-sex
marriage.[268]

Music

Pop singer Anouk in 2013

The Netherlands has multiple music
traditions. Traditional Dutch music is a
genre known as "Levenslied", meaning
Song of life, to an extent comparable to a
French Chanson or a German Schlager.
These songs typically have a simple
melody and rhythm, and a straightforward
structure of verses and choruses. Themes
can be light, but are often sentimental and
include love, death and loneliness.
Traditional musical instruments such as
the accordion and the barrel organ are a
staple of levenslied music, though in
recent years many artists also use
synthesisers and guitars. Artists in this
genre include Jan Smit, Frans Bauer and
André Hazes.

Contemporary Dutch rock and pop music

(Nederpop) originated in the 1960s,
heavily influenced by popular music from
the United States and Britain. In the 1960s
and 1970s the lyrics were mostly in
English, and some tracks were
instrumental. Bands such as Shocking
Blue, Golden Earring, Tee Set, George
Baker Selection and Focus enjoyed
international success. From the 1980s,
more and more pop musicians started
working in the Dutch language, partly
inspired by the huge success of the band
Doe Maar. Today Dutch rock and pop
music thrives in both languages, with
some artists recording in both.

Johan Cruyff Arena, the largest Dutch concert venue

Current symphonic metal bands Epica,

Delain, ReVamp, The Gathering, Asrai,
Autumn, Ayreon and Within Temptation as
well as jazz and pop singer Caro Emerald
are having international success. Also,
metal bands like Hail of Bullets, God
Dethroned, Izegrim, Asphyx, Textures,
Present Danger, Heidevolk and Slechtvalk
are popular guests at the biggest metal
festivals in Europe. Contemporary local
stars include pop singer Anouk, country
pop singer Ilse DeLange, South Guelderish
and Limburgish dialect singing folk band
Rowwen Hèze, rock band BLØF and duo
Nick & Simon. Trijntje Oosterhuis, one of
the country's most well known and
versatile singers, has made multiple
albums with famous American composers
Vince Mendoza and Burt Bacharach.

Early 1990s Dutch and Belgian house

music came together in Eurodance project
2 Unlimited. Selling 18 million records,[269]
the two singers in the band are the most
successful Dutch music artists to this day.
Tracks like "Get Ready for This" are still
popular themes of U.S. sports events, like
the NHL. In the mid-1990s Dutch language
rap and hip hop (Nederhop) also came to
fruition and has become popular in the
Netherlands and Belgium. Artists with
North African, Caribbean or Middle Eastern
origins have strongly influenced this genre.

Since the 1990s, Dutch electronic dance

music (EDM) gained widespread
popularity in the world in many forms,
from trance, techno and gabber to
hardstyle. Some of the world's best known
dance music DJs hail from the
Netherlands, including Armin van Buuren,
Tiësto, Hardwell, Martin Garrix, Dash
Berlin, Julian Jordan, Nicky Romero, W&W,
Don Diablo, Ummet Ozcan, Headhunterz,
Sander van Doorn and Afrojack; the first
four of which have been ranked as best in
the world by DJ Mag Top 100 DJs. The
Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) is the
world's leading electronic music
conference and the biggest club festival
for the many electronic subgenres on the
planet.[270][271]

The Netherlands has participated in the

Eurovision Song Contest since its first
edition in 1956, and has won five times.

In classical music, Jan Sweelinck ranks as

the most famous Dutch composer, with
Louis Andriessen amongst the best known
contemporary Dutch classical composers.
Ton Koopman is a Dutch conductor,
organist and harpsichordist. Notable
violinists are Janine Jansen and André
Rieu. The latter, together with his Johann
Strauss Orchestra, has taken classical and
waltz music on worldwide concert tours,
the size and revenue of which are
otherwise only seen from the world's
biggest rock and pop music acts.
Film and television

Some Dutch films – mainly by director

Paul Verhoeven – have received
international distribution and recognition,
such as Turkish Delight ("Turks Fruit",
1973), Soldier of Orange ("Soldaat van
Oranje", 1977), Spetters (1980) and The
Fourth Man ("De Vierde Man", 1983).
Verhoeven then went on to direct big
Hollywood movies like RoboCop (1987),
Total Recall (1990) and Basic Instinct
(1992), and returned with Dutch film Black
Book ("Zwartboek", 2006).
Other well-known Dutch film directors are
Jan de Bont (Speed), Anton Corbijn (A
Most wanted Man), Dick Maas (De Lift),
Fons Rademakers (The Assault), and
documentary makers Bert Haanstra and
Joris Ivens. Film director Theo van Gogh
achieved international notoriety in 2004
when he was murdered by Mohammed
Bouyeri in the streets of Amsterdam after
directing the short film Submission.

Internationally, successful directors of

photography from the Netherlands are
Hoyte van Hoytema (Interstellar, Spectre,
Dunkirk) and Theo van de Sande (Wayne's
World and Blade). Van Hoytema went to
the National Film School in Łódź (Poland)
and Van de Sande went to the Netherlands
Film Academy. Internationally successful
Dutch actors include Famke Janssen (X-
Men), Carice van Houten (Game of
Thrones), Michiel Huisman (Game of
Thrones), Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner),
Jeroen Krabbé (The Living Daylights) and
Derek de Lint (Three Men and a Baby).

The Netherlands has a well developed

television market, with both multiple
commercial and public broadcasters.
Imported TV programmes, as well as
interviews with responses in a foreign
language, are virtually always shown with
the original sound and subtitled. Only
foreign shows for children are dubbed.[272]

TV exports from the Netherlands mostly

take the form of specific formats and
franchises, most notably through
internationally active TV production
conglomerate Endemol, founded by Dutch
media tycoons John de Mol and Joop van
den Ende. Headquartered in Amsterdam,
Endemol has around 90 companies in over
30 countries. Endemol and its subsidiaries
create and run reality, talent, and game
show franchises worldwide, including Big
Brother and Deal or No Deal. John de Mol
later started his own company Talpa which
created show franchises like The Voice
and Utopia.

Sports

Dutch star football players Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie during a game with the Netherlands against Denmark at
Euro 2012

Approximately 4.5 million of the 16.8

million people in the Netherlands are
registered in one of the 35,000 sports
clubs in the country. About two-thirds of
the population between 15 and 75
participate in sports weekly.[273] Football is
the most popular team sport in the
Netherlands, followed by field hockey and
volleyball. Tennis, gymnastics and golf are
the three most widely engaged in
individual sports.[274] Organisation of
sports began at the end of the 19th
century and the beginning of the 20th
century. Federations for sports were
established, rules were unified and sports
clubs came into existence. A Dutch
National Olympic Committee was
established in 1912.
The national football team was runner-up
in the World Cup of 1974, 1978, and 2010,
and won the European Championship of
1988. Of SI's 50 greatest footballers of all
time, Johan Cruyff (#5), Marco van Basten
(#19), Ruud Gullit (#25), and Johan
Neeskens (#36) are Dutch.[275] The
women's national team was runner-up in
2019 World Cup and won the European
Championship of 2017. The Netherlands
women's field hockey team won 9 out of
15 World Cups. The Netherlands baseball
team have won the European
championship 24 times out of 33 events.
The volleyball national women's team won
the European Championship in 1995 and
the World Grand Prix in 2007.

The Netherlands has won 266 medals at

the Summer Olympic Games and another
110 medals at the Winter Olympic Games.
Joop Zoetemelk won the 1979 Vuelta a
Espana, the 1980 Tour de France, and the
1985 UCI World Championship. Jan
Janssen won the 1968 Tour de France,
Tom Dumoulin the 2017 Giro d'Italia. Max
Verstappen, the youngest Formula 1 driver
to make his debut and to win a race, was
the first Dutchman to win a Grand Prix and
a Formula One World Drivers
Championship. Dutch K-1 kickboxers have
won the K-1 World Grand Prix 15 times out
of 19 tournaments.

Cuisine

Hutspot with stew beef on plate

Originally, the country's cuisine was

shaped by the practices of fishing and
farming, including the cultivation of the
soil for growing crops and raising
domesticated animals. Dutch cuisine is
simple and straightforward, and contains
many dairy products. Breakfast and lunch
are typically bread with toppings, with
cereal for breakfast as an alternative.
Traditionally, dinner consists of potatoes, a
portion of meat, and (seasonal)
vegetables. The Dutch diet was relatively
high in carbohydrates and fat, reflecting
the dietary needs of the labourers whose
culture moulded the country. Without
many refinements, it is best described as
rustic, though many holidays are still
celebrated with special foods. In the
course of the twentieth century this diet
changed and became much more
cosmopolitan, with most global cuisines
being represented in the major cities.

Modern culinary writers distinguish

between three general regional forms of
Dutch cuisine. The regions in the northeast
of the Netherlands, roughly the provinces
of Groningen, Friesland, Drenthe, Overijssel
and Gelderland north of the great rivers
are the least populated areas of the
Netherlands. The late (18th century)
introduction of large scale agriculture
means that the cuisine is generally known
for its many kinds of meats. The relative
lack of farms allowed for an abundance of
game and husbandry, though dishes near
the coastal regions of Friesland, Groningen
and the parts of Overijssel bordering the
IJsselmeer also include a large amount of
fish. The various dried sausages,
belonging to the metworst-family of Dutch
sausages are found throughout this region
and are highly prized for their often very
strong taste. Also smoked sausages are
common, of which (Gelderse) rookworst is
the most renowned. The sausage contains
a lot of fat and is very juicy. Larger
sausages are often eaten alongside
stamppot, hutspot or zuurkool (sauerkraut);
whereas smaller ones are often eaten as a
street food. The provinces are also home
to hard textured rye bread, pastries and
cookies, the latter heavily spiced with
ginger or succade or containing small bits
of meat. Various kinds of Kruidkoek (such
as Groninger koek), Fryske dúmkes and
spekdikken (small savoury pancakes
cooked in a waffle iron) are considered
typical. A notable characteristic of Fries
roggebrood (Frisian rye bread) is its long
baking time (up to 20 hours), resulting in a
sweet taste and a deep dark colour.[276] As
a coastal region, Friesland is home to low-
lying grasslands, and thus has a cheese
production in common with the Western
cuisine. Friese Nagelkaas (Friesian Clove)
is a notable example. The oliebol (in its
modern form) and Zeeuwse bolus are good
examples. Cookies are also produced in
great number and tend to contain a lot of
butter and sugar, like stroopwafel, as well
as a filling of some kind, mostly almond,
like gevulde koek. The traditional alcoholic
beverages of this region are beer (strong
pale lager) and Jenever, a high proof
juniper-flavoured spirit, that came to be
known in England as gin. A noted
exception within the traditional Dutch
alcoholic landscape, Advocaat, a rich and
creamy liqueur made from eggs, sugar and
brandy, is also native to this region.

The provinces of North Holland, South

Holland, Zeeland, and Utrecht and the
Gelderlandic area of Betuwe make up the
region in which western Dutch cuisine is
found. Because of the abundance of water
and flat grasslands that are found here, the
area is known for its many dairy products,
which include prominent cheeses such as
Gouda, Leyden (spiced cheese with
cumin), and Edam (traditionally in small
spheres) as well as Leerdammer and
Beemster, while the adjacent Zaanstreek in
North Holland has since the 16th century
been known for its mayonnaise, typical
whole-grain mustards,[277] and chocolate
industry. A by-product of the butter-making
process, karnemelk (buttermilk), is also
considered typical for this region. Seafood
such as soused herring, mussels (called
Zeeuwse Mossels, since all Dutch mussels
for consumption are cleaned in Zeeland's
Oosterschelde), eels, oysters and shrimps
are widely available and typical for the
region. Kibbeling, once a local delicacy
consisting of small chunks of battered
white fish, has become a national fast
food, just as lekkerbek.

The Southern Dutch cuisine consists of

the cuisines of the Dutch provinces of
North Brabant and Limburg and the
Flemish Region in Belgium. It is renowned
for its many rich pastries, soups, stews
and vegetable dishes and is often called
Burgundian which is a Dutch idiom
invoking the rich Burgundian court which
ruled the Low Countries in the Middle
Ages, renowned for its splendour and
great feasts. It is the only Dutch culinary
region that developed an haute cuisine.
Pastries are abundant, often with rich
fillings of cream, custard or fruits. Cakes,
such as the Vlaai from Limburg and the
Moorkop and Bossche Bol from Brabant,
are typical pastries. Savoury pastries also
occur, with the worstenbroodje (a roll with
a sausage of ground beef, literally
translates into sausage bread) being the
most popular. The traditional alcoholic
beverage of the region is beer. There are
many local brands, ranging from Trappist
to Kriek. 5 of the 10 International Trappist
Association recognised breweries in the
world, are located in the Southern Dutch
cultural area. Beer, like wine in French
cuisine, is also used in cooking; often in
stews.

In early 2014, Oxfam ranked the

Netherlands as the country with the most
nutritious, plentiful and healthy food, in a
comparison of 125 countries.[278][279]

See also
Netherlands
portal
 Outline of the Netherlands

Notes
a. Amsterdam is the constitutional capital,
while the government and the royal family
are seated in The Hague.
b. Apart from Dutch, English is an official
language in the special municipalities of
Saba and Sint Eustatius, Papiamentu is an
official language in the special municipality
of Bonaire, and West Frisian is an official
language in the province of Friesland.[1]
c. Having ratified the European Charter for
Regional or Minority Languages in 1996,
the Dutch government recognises Dutch
Low Saxon, Limburgish, Sinte Romani and
Yiddish as regional or non-territorial
 minority languages.[1] On 1 July 2021,
Dutch Sign Language received the status of
recognised language.[2]
d. Excluding people with a Turkish
background, who are included separately in
this table.
e. The euro is used in the European part of the
Netherlands and replaced the Dutch guilder
in 2002. The United States dollar is used in
the Caribbean Netherlands and replaced
the Netherlands Antillean guilder in
2011.[11]
f. CET and CEST are used in the European
Netherlands, and AST is used in the
Caribbean Netherlands.
g. +599 was the country code designated for
the now dissolved Netherlands Antilles. The
 Caribbean Netherlands still use +599 7 (for
Bonaire), +599 3 (for Sint Eustatius), and
+599 4 (for Saba).
h. .nl is the common internet top-level domain
name for the Netherlands. The .eu domain
is also used, as it is shared with other
European Union member states. .bq is
designated, but not in use, for the
Caribbean Netherlands.
i. Only 11 stations are served less than twice
an hour during weekdays.
j. Up from 31% vs. 19% naming the bike their
main mode of transport for daily activities
in 2011.[253][254]

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90-446-3871-4.
Elliott, John (2014). Dadson, Trevor
(ed.). The Road to Utrecht in Britain,
Spain and the Treaty of Utrecht 1713–
2013. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-909662-22-
3.
Israel, Jonathan (1995). The Dutch
Republic: Its Rise, Greatness and Fall,
1477–1806. Oxford History of Early
Modern Europe. ISBN 0-19-873072-1.

Further reading
Geography and environment
Burke, Gerald L. The making of Dutch towns:
A study in urban development from the 10th–
17th centuries. (1960) Hassell Street Press
2021. ISBN 978-1013598852
Lambert, Audrey M. The Making of the Dutch
Landscape: An Historical Geography of the
Netherlands (1985) ISBN 978-0128670507;
focus on the history of land reclamation
Meijer, Henk. Compact geography of the
Netherlands (1985)
Riley, R. C., and G. J. Ashworth. Benelux: An
Economic Geography of Belgium, the
Netherlands, and Luxembourg (1975) online
(https://www.questia.com/read/85882918/b
enelux-an-economic-geography-of-belgium-th
e-netherlands)
History
Paul Arblaster. A History of the Low
Countries. Palgrave Essential Histories Series
New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006. 298
pp. ISBN 978-1-4039-4828-1.
J. C. H. Blom and E. Lamberts, eds. History of
the Low Countries (1998)
J. A. Kossmann-Putto and E. H. Kossmann.
The Low Countries: History of the Northern
and Southern Netherlands (1987)
Amry Vandenbosch, Dutch Foreign Policy
since 1815 (1959).

Economic indicators
Holland Compared 2nd edition 2017 (https://
web.archive.org/web/20180824080557/http
s://www.hollandtradeandinvest.com/binarie
 s/hollandtrade/documents/publications/holl
and-compared-2017/06/30/holland-compare
d-2nd-edition-2016/1392_CU+Holland+Comp
ared+2nd+2017+III.pdf) – 95 page booklet
by Holland's commercial website, with facts
and figures about the Netherlands,
comparing the country's economic indicators
with those of other countries.

External links
Netherlands
at Wikipedia's sister projects

Definitions
from
Wiktionary
Media from
Commons
 News from
Wikinews
Quotations
from
Wikiquote
Texts from
Wikisource
Textbooks
from
Wikibooks
Resources
from
Wikiversity
Travel
information
from
Wikivoyage

Articles
"Netherlands profiles – Overview" (htt
p://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/c
ountry_profiles/1043423.stm) . BBC
News. 3 March 2010. Retrieved
4 February 2018.
"U.S. Relations With the Netherlands" (ht
tps://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/
3204.htm) . United States Department
of State. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
General information
Netherlands (https://www.cia.gov/the-w
orld-factbook/countries/netherlands/) .
The World Factbook. Central Intelligence
Agency.
Netherlands (https://web.archive.org/we
b/20081026124437/http://ucblibraries.c
olorado.edu/govpubs/for/netherlands.ht
m) from UCB Libraries GovPubs
Netherlands (https://curlie.org/Regiona
l/Europe/Netherlands) at Curlie
Edmundson, George (1911).
"Netherlands"  (https://en.wikisource.or
g/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Brita
nnica/Netherlands) . Encyclopædia
Britannica. Vol. 19 (11th ed.). pp. 413–
421.
I am Expat – General information about
the Netherlands (http://www.iamexpat.n
l/expat-page/the-netherlands/general-in
formation)
Netherlands: Map, History, Government,
Culture & Facts | Infoplease.com (http://
www.infoplease.com/country/netherlan
ds.html?pageno=1)
Netherlands profile (https://www.bbc.c
o.uk/news/world-europe-17740800)
from the BBC News
Wikimedia Atlas of Netherlands
Geographic data related to
Netherlands (https://www.openstreetma
p.org/relation/47796) at
OpenStreetMap
Key Development Forecasts for the
Netherlands (http://www.ifs.du.edu/ifs/f
rm_CountryProfile.aspx?Country=NL)
from International Futures
Government
Overheid.nl (https://web.archive.org/we
b/20100527231402/http://overheid.nl/e
nglish) – official Dutch government
portal
Government.nl (http://www.government.
nl/) – official Dutch government web
site
Statistics Netherlands (https://www.cbs.
nl/en-GB/menu/home/default.htm)
(CBS) – Key figures from the Dutch
bureau of statistics
"Provinces of Netherlands" (http://www.
statoids.com/unl.html) . Statoids.
Travel
Holland.com (http://www.holland.co
m/) – English website of the
Netherlands tourist office
nbtc.nl (http://www.nbtc.nl/en/homepag
e.htm) Archived (https://web.archive.or
g/web/20131117065936/http://nbtc.nl/
en/homepage.htm) 17 November 2013
at the Wayback Machine – Organisation
responsible for promoting the
Netherlands nationally and
internationally
Photographs
An album of photos of Holland
(Netherlands) in 1935 and 1958 (https://
rfwilmut.net/holland/photo.html)
Retrieved from
"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Netherlands&oldid=1164501427"

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