For other uses, see The Netherlands (disambiguation).

The Netherlands (Dutch Nederland) is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Dutch Koninkrijk der Nederlanden), a parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarch. It is located in northwestern Europe and borders the North Sea, Belgium and Germany. The country is often referred to by the name Holland, although this is incorrect; Holland was the economic powerhouse during the time of the United Provinces (1581–1795). After the Napoleonic era, Holland became a mere province of the Kingdom and was split into North and South Holland in 1840. (refer to subsection on names).

The Netherlands is one of the most densely populated and geographically low-lying countries in the world (its name literally means the Low Countries) and is famous for its dikes, windmills, wooden shoes, tulips, and perceived social tolerance. Its liberal policies are often mentioned abroad. The country is host to the International Court of Justice. Amsterdam is the official capital as stated by the constitution. The Hague is the administrative capital (the seat of government), the home of the Queen, and the location for most of the embassies.

The Netherlands ranked fifth on the 2004 list of nations with the highest standard of life, behind Norway, Sweden, Australia, and Canada.

The English adjective and noun for "from the Netherlands" or "a person from the Netherlands" is "Dutch."

History

Main articles: History of the Netherlands, Dutch monarchy

Under Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and king of Spain, the region was part of the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands, which also includes most of present-day Belgium. In 1568 the Eighty Years' War started and in 1579, the northern half of the Seventeen Provinces declared itself independent and formed the Union of Utrecht, which is seen as the foundation of the modern Netherlands. Philip II, the son of Charles V, was not prepared to let them go that easily. It would not be until 1648 before Spain would recognise Dutch independence.

After gaining formal independence from Philip IV, the Dutch, as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, grew to become one of the major seafaring and economic powers of the 17th century. In the period, referred to as the Golden Age in the Netherlands, colonies and trade posts were established all over the globe.

After (briefly) being incorporated in the French empire under Napoleon, the Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed in 1815, consisting of the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Belgium however rebelled and gained independence in 1830. Luxembourg fell under the Dutch monarchy as well but had different rules of ascendancy. When King William III was succeeded by his daughter Queen Wilhelmina in 1890, Luxembourg seceded. In Luxembourg, the laws prevented women from becoming Head of State. Luxembourg turned to the German branch of the Nassau family, which is still in charge in Luxembourg today.

The Netherlands possessed several colonies, most notably the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) and Suriname. The colonies were first administrated by the Dutch East India Company, the so-called VOC, and in the 19th century was directly administrated by the government of the Netherlands.

During the 19th century, the Netherlands was slow to industrialize compared to neighbouring countries, mainly due to its unique infrastructure of waterways and reliance on windpower. After remaining neutral in World War I, the country was occupied by Nazi Germany in May 1940, to be fully liberated only in 1945. From 1941 until 1945 Nazi Germans and accomplicies systematically murdered over 100,000 Dutch Jews in the Holocaust, and significant numbers of Dutch gypsies, homosexuals and mentally retarded and otherwise disabled people. After the war, the Dutch economy prospered again, being a member of the Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) and European Economic Community unions. The Netherlands also became a member of NATO. The Netherlands was among the six founding members of the European Coal and Steel Community, which would later evolve into the European Union.

The Netherlands vs Holland

The name Holland is widely used as being equivalent to the Netherlands; its use is similar to the use of England for the United Kingdom, or Russia for the defunct Soviet Union. In some countries, however, embassies of The Netherlands use Holland as the name of the country they represent.

People from other parts of the Netherlands sometimes object to the use of the name Holland for The Netherlands. They will point out that they are from the Netherlands, instead of the smaller part of the country that is called Holland.

People from the southern provinces Limburg and Noord Brabant (Northern Brabant), who are mainly Roman Catholic, retain some bad sentiments against Holland. During the time of the United Provinces, these areas did not have any political liberties and were exploited as territories. A culture of this exploitation and the feeling of being exploited remained until World War II; only after this war, with the true modernisation of Dutch society, did they become more free and their relative power increase. However, the anti-Holland sentiment is still relatively alive in these parts of the country.

Politics

Main article: Politics of the Netherlands

The Netherlands has been a constitutional monarchy since 1815, before that it had been a republic from 1581 to 1806 (it was occupied by France between 1806 and 1815).

The head of state, since 1980, is Queen Beatrix of the House of Orange-Nassau. Dutch governments always consist of a coalition, as there is not (and has never been) a single political party large enough to get the majority vote. Formally, the queen appoints the members of the government. In practice, once the results of parliamentary elections are known, a coalition government is formed (in a process of negotiations that can take several months), after which the government formed in this way is officially appointed by the queen. The head of the government is the Prime Minister or Minister President who is usually also the leader of the largest party in the coalition. The degree of influence the queen has on actual government decision making is a topic of ongoing speculation.

The parliament consists of two houses. The 150 members of the Lower House (Tweede Kamer, or Second Chamber) are elected every four years in direct elections. The provincial parliaments are directly elected every 4 years as well. The members of the provincial parliaments vote (indirectly) for the less important Senate (Eerste Kamer, or First Chamber). Together, the First and Second Chamber are known as the Staten Generaal, the States General.

Political scientists consider the Netherlands a classic example of a consociational state.

See also: Prime Minister of the Netherlands, List of Prime Ministers of the Netherlands

Provinces and dependencies

Main articles: Provinces of the Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, Aruba

The Netherlands is divided into 12 administrative regions, called provincies (provinces):

• Groningen - in the northeast; capital: Groningen
• Fryslân (in Frisian language) - north, better known as Friesland; capital: Leeuwarden
• Drenthe - northeast, south of Groningen; capital: Assen
• Overijssel - east, south of Drenthe; capital: Zwolle
• Flevoland - central, in the IJsselmeer; capital: Lelystad
• Gelderland - east central, south of Overijssel; capital: Arnhem
• Utrecht - central; capital: Utrecht
• North Holland - (Noord-Holland) northwest; capital: Haarlem
• South Holland - (Zuid-Holland) west central, south of North Holland; capital: The Hague('s-Gravenhage)
• Zeeland - southwest; capital: Middelburg
• North Brabant - (Noord-Brabant) south; capital: Den Bosch ('s-Hertogenbosch)
• Limburg - southeast, stretching into Belgium; capital: Maastricht

All provinces are divided into municipalities (gemeenten), together 483; see Municipalities in the Netherlands, and also Cities of the Netherlands.

The country is also subdivided in water districts, governed by a water board (waterschap or hoogheemraadschap), each having authority in matters concerning water management. As of 1 January 2004 there are thirty seven. (The creation of water boards actually predates that of the nation itself, the first appearing in 1196).

The Netherlands Antilles ("Nederlandse Antillen", consisting of Saba, Sint Maarten, Sint Eustatius, Bonaire and Curaçao, capital: Willemstad on Curaçao) and Aruba (Capital: Oranjestad), both in the Caribbean Sea, are self-governing parts of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

See also: Ranked list of Dutch provinces.

Geography and fight against water

Main article: Geography of the Netherlands

A remarkable aspect of the Netherlands is the flatness of the country. About half of its surface area is less than 1 meter above sea level, and large parts of it are actually below sea level (see map showing these areas (http://www.minbuza.nl/default.asp?CMS_ITEM=MBZ302750)). An extensive range of dikes and dunes protect these areas from flooding. Numerous massive pumping stations keep the ground water level in check. The highest point, the Vaalserberg, in the southeasternmost point of the country, is 321 m above sea level. A substantial part of the Netherlands, e.g., all of Flevoland and large parts of Holland, has been reclaimed from the sea. These areas are known as polders.

In years past, the Dutch coastline has changed considerably due to human intervention and natural disasters. Most notable in terms of land loss are the 1134 storm, which created the archipelago of Zeeland, and the 1287 storm, which killed 50,000 people and created the Zuyderzee (now known as the IJsselmeer), giving Amsterdam direct access to the sea. The St. Elisabeth flood of 1421 and the mismanagement in its aftermath destroyed a newly reclaimed polder, replacing it with the 72 km² Biesbosch tidal floodplains. The most recent storm disaster occurred in 1953, during which large parts of Zeeland were flooded and 1,836 people were killed.

The disasters were partially man-made; the people drained relatively high lying swampland for use as farmland. This drainage caused the fertile peat to compress and the ground level to drop, locking the landusers in a vicious circle whereby they would lower the water level to compensate for the drop in ground level, causing the underlying peat to compress even more. The vicious circle is unsolvable and remains to this day. Up until the 19th century peat was dug up, dried, and used for fuel, further adding to the problem.

To guard against floods, a series of defenses against the water was contrived. In the first millennium, villages and farmhouses were build on man-made hills called "terps". Later these terps were connected by dikes. In the 12th century, local government agencies called "waterschappen" or "hoogheemraadschappen" (English "waterbodies") started to appear, whose job it was to maintain the water level and to protect a region from floods. (The waterbodies are still around today performing the exact same function.) As the ground level dropped, the dikes by necessity grew and merged into an integrated system. In the 13th century, windmills came into use to pump water out of the areas by now below sea level. The windmills were later used to drain lakes, creating the famous polders. In 1932, the Afsluitdijk (English "Barrier Dam") was completed, blocking the former Zuyderzee off from the North Sea and thus creating the IJsselmeer. It became part of the larger Zuiderzee Works in which four polders totaling 1,650 km² were reclaimed from the sea.

After the 1953 disaster, the Delta project, a vast construction effort designed to end the threat from the sea once and for all, was launched in 1958 and largely completed in 2002. The official goal of the Delta project was to reduce the risk of flooding in Holland to once per 10,000 years. (For the rest of the country, the protection-level is once per 4,000 years). This was achieved by raising 3,000 km of outer sea-dikes and 10,000 km of inner, canal, and river dikes to "Delta" height, and by closing off the sea estuaries of the Zeeland province. New risk assessments occasionally incur additional Delta project work in the form of dike re-enforcements. The Delta project is the single largest construction effort in human history and is considered by the American Society of Civil Engineers as one of the seven wonders of the modern world (http://www.asce.org/history/seven_wonders.cfm)

The country is divided into two main parts by three rivers Rhine (Rijn), Waal, and Meuse (Maas). These rivers not only function as a natural barrier, but also as a cultural divide, as is evident in the different dialects spoken north and south of these great rivers and the (previous) religious dominance of catholics in the south and calvinists in the north.

The predominant wind direction in the Netherlands is southwest, which causes a moderate maritime climate, with cool summers and mild winters.

See also: National parks (Netherlands).

Economy

Main article: Economy of the Netherlands

The Netherlands has a prosperous and open economy in which the government has successfully reduced its role since the 1980s. Industrial activity is predominantly in food-processing, chemicals, petroleum refining, and electrical machinery. A highly mechanised agricultural sector employs no more than 4% of the labour force but provides large surpluses for the food-processing industry and for exports. The Dutch rank third worldwide in value of agricultural exports, behind the US and France. The Netherlands successfully addressed the issue of public finances and stagnating job growth long before its European partners.

As a founding member of the Euro, the Netherlands replaced its former currency, the guilder, on January 1, 1999 along with the other adopters of the single European currency, with the actual euro coins and banknotes following on January 1, 2002. However, in the first years of the third millennium, economic and employment growth came to a standstill, forcing the government to cut into its expenses. In 2003 the Dutch economy experienced a recession, the first since 1993 and the worst since 1982. In 2003 the economy shrunk 0,9%[1]  (http://statline.cbs.nl/StatWeb/table.asp?TT=2&LA=nl&DM=SLNL&PA=7343nr&D1=0&D2=1&D3=a,!0-79)[2]  (http://statline.cbs.nl/StatWeb/table.asp?TT=2&LA=nl&DM=SLNL&PA=03751&D1=50&D2=0-1&D3=a). In 2004 the recession was over and the economy began its slow recovery with a meager 1,3% growth. The CPB (Centraal Plan Bureau, Central Planning Bureau), a think tank of leading Dutch economists linked with the government, expects a recovery of the economy in 2005, with a growth of 2,25%. In 2004 inflation was 1,2 %[3]  (http://statline.cbs.nl/StatWeb/table.aspTT=2&LA=nl&DM=SLNL&PA=70145ned&D1=4&D2=0&D3=25,38,51,64), the lowest level since 1989.

The Netherlands has a prosperous and open economy, which depends heavily on foreign trade. The economy is noted for stable industrial relations, moderate unemployment and inflation, a sizable current account surplus, and an important role as a European transportation hub. Industrial activity is predominantly in food processing, chemicals, petroleum refining, and electrical machinery. A highly mechanized agricultural sector employs no more than four percent of the labor force but provides large surpluses for the food-processing industry and for exports. The Netherlands, along with 11 of its EU partners, began circulating the euro currency on 1 January 2002. The country continues to be one of the leading European nations for attracting foreign direct investment. Economic growth slowed considerably in 2001-03, as part of the global economic slowdown, but for the four years before that, annual growth averaged nearly 4%, well above the EU average. The government is wrestling with a deteriorating budget position, and is moving toward the EU 3% of GDP budget deficit limit.

• List of Dutch companies

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of the Netherlands

The Netherlands is one of the most densely populated countries in the world, with more than 460 inhabitants per square km or more than 1,000 inhabitants per square mile.

There are two official languages, Dutch (spoken by the majority) and Frisian (spoken by a few percent), both of which are Germanic languages. Frisian is only spoken in the northern province of Fryslân, and it is the language which most resembles English. In addition to Dutch and Frisian, several dialects of Low Saxon are spoken in much of the north; they are recognized as 'regional languages' as protected by the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. At the national borders in the south, the Dutch language shifts into other varieties of Low Franconian and German speech, which may or may not be best classified as Dutch, most notably West Flemish and German. One of these, Limburgic, which is spoken in the southeatern province of Limburg, is so deviant that it has been recognised a minority language as well since 1997. In contrast to Frisian and Low Saxon, it it still very present in towns as well and is not associated with rural areas or even lower social classes.

The main religions are Catholicism (18% in 1999) (dioceses (http://www.katholieknederland.nl/rkkerk/kerkprovincie/bisdommen/)) and Protestantism (15%). About 63% of the Dutch don't consider themselves to be members of a church. The part of the country south of the three rivers is (or was) generally Catholic, with the northern part Protestant (mostly of the Dutch Reformed Church). About 5-6% of the population or 900.000 people are Muslim.

The Dutch are known as a tolerant people. Their image abroad is mainly based on trade, tulips, windmills, wooden shoes, cheese and Delftware pottery. More recently the liberal Dutch policies on recreational drugs, prostitution, same-sex marriage and euthanasia have received international attention; Amsterdam is widely perceived abroad as a city where 'anything goes'. See also Drug policy of the Netherlands, Same-sex marriage in the Netherlands. This tolerance was a basic gag in the US movie Eurotrip.

Culture

Main article: Culture of the Netherlands

The Netherlands has a history of many great painters. The 17th century, when the Dutch republic was prosperous, was the age of the "Dutch Masters" such as Rembrandt van Rijn, Johannes Vermeer, Jan Steen and many others. Famous Dutch painters of the 19th and 20th century are Vincent van Gogh and Piet Mondriaan. M. C. Escher is a well-known graphics artist. A (in)famous Dutch master art forger is Han van Meegeren.

The Netherlands is the country of philosophers Erasmus of Rotterdam and Spinoza, and all of Descartes' major work was done there.

In the Dutch Golden Age, literature flowered as well, with Joost van den Vondel and P. C. Hooft as the two most famous writers. In the 19th century, Multatuli wrote about the bad treatment of the natives in Dutch colonies. Important 20th century authors include Harry Mulisch, Jan Wolkers, Simon Vestdijk, Cees Nooteboom, Gerard van het Reve and Willem Frederik Hermans. The Diary of Anne Frank was also written in the Netherlands.

See also: List of museums in the Netherlands, Sport in the Netherlands, Music of the Netherlands, List of Dutch people, Public holidays in the Netherlands

Replicas of Dutch buildings can be found in Holland Village, Nagasaki, Japan. A similar Holland Village is being built in Shenyang, China.

Miscellaneous topics

• City rights in the Netherlands
• Communications in the Netherlands
• Drug policy of the Netherlands
• Dutch colonial empire
• Dutch Football League teams
• Dutch-Belgian War
• Education in the Netherlands
• Euthanasia in the Netherlands
• Foreign relations of the Netherlands
• General Intelligence and Security Office (AIVD)
• Income tax in the Netherlands
• Military of the Netherlands
• New Netherland
• Nudism - Public outdoor nudist areas
• Prostitution in the Netherlands
• Reporters without borders worldwide press freedom index 2003 - 1st place
• Same-sex marriage in the Netherlands
• Statistics Netherlands
• Telephone numbers in the Netherlands
• Television networks in the Netherlands
• Tourism in the Netherlands
• Transportation in the Netherlands

Wiktionary information

• For more information: Dutch

External links

• Travel guide to The Netherlands from Wikitravel
• http://en.wikibooks.org/pac/Dutch Dutch for English speakers (from Wikibooks)
• Overheid.nl (http://overheid.nl/guest/sites/) - official Dutch government portal (includes official publications from 1995; older ones are only available in some libraries, on paper or microfiche)
• Government.nl (http://www.government.nl) - official Dutch government web site
• province maps showing subdivision in municipalities, and linking each municipality to its basic data page (http://www.sdu.nl/staatscourant/gemeentes/gemprovin.htm)
• CIA - The World Factbook -- Netherlands (http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/nl.html)
• Foreign government info about the Netherlands and their relations with it:
  Australia (http://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/netherlands/index.html) | Canada (http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/canadaeuropa/country_net-en.asp) | India (http://meaindia.nic.in/foreignrelation/netherland.htm) | Italy (http://www.esteri.it/eng/3_22_40_214.asp) | New Zealand (http://www.mfat.govt.nz/foreign/regions/europe/countrypapers/netherlands.html) | South Africa (http://www.dfa.gov.za/foreign/bilateral/netherlands.html) | UK (http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029394365&a=KCountryProfile&aid=1019061813313) | US (http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3204.htm)
• CBS (http://www.cbs.nl/en/figures/default.asp) - Key figures from the Dutch bureau of statistics
• Maps and data (http://www.world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=1104447749&men=gmap&lng=en&gln=xx&dat=32&geo=-160&srt=npan&col=aohdq)
• Flagspot.net - The Netherlands (http://flagspot.net/flags/nl-index.html)- site about flags, but also with province maps showing municipalities, and some other info
• Dutch news: Radio Netherlands (http://www.rnw.nl/), Expatica (http://www.expatica.com/source/site_content_subchannel.asp?subchannel_id=1)
• Amsterdam / Netherlands info (http://www.amsterdam-netherlands.info/) - Information about the Netherlands, its provinces and Amsterdam.
• NL Planet (http://www.nlplanet.com/) - English language resources, background information and free forums
• Track.nl (http://www.track.nl/) - An Internet search-engine that specialises in the Netherlands.
• World66 Guide to The Netherlands (http://www.world66.com/europe/netherlands) A travel guide written by its users.
• list of ca. 1500 tall buildings in the Netherlands (http://www.skyscrapercity.info/200.php?id=4&country=NL&limit=0)
• http://www.statoids.com/unl.html