Netherlands

Netherlands Background

The Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed in 1815. In 1830 Belgium seceded and formed a separate kingdom. The Netherlands remained neutral in World War I, but suffered invasion and occupation by Germany in World War II. A modern, industrialized nation, the Netherlands is also a large exporter of agricultural products. The country was a founding member of NATO and the EC (now the EU), and participated in the introduction of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) in 1999.

Netherlands Information

• Population: 16,318,199 (July 2004 est.)
• Nationality: noun: Dutchman(men), Dutchwoman(women) adjective: Dutch
• Location:: Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between Belgium and Germany
• Religions:: Roman Catholic 31%, Protestant 21%, Muslim 4.4%, other 3.6%, unaffiliated 40% (1998)
• Ethnic Groups:: Dutch 83%, other 17% (of which 9% are non-Western origin mainly Turks, Moroccans, Antilleans, Surinamese and Indonesians) (1999 est.)
• Land Boundaries:: total: 1,027 km border countries: Belgium 450 km, Germany 577 km
• Area: total: 41,526 sq km water: 7,643 sq km land: 33,883 sq km
• Coast Line: 451 km
• Climate: temperate; marine; cool summers and mild winters
• Terrain: mostly coastal lowland and reclaimed land (polders); some hills in southeast
• Maritime Claims: territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
• Land Use: arable land: 26.71% other: 72.32% (2001) permanent crops: 0.97%
• Environmental Issues: water pollution in the form of heavy metals, organic compounds, and nutrients such as nitrates and phosphates; air pollution from vehicles and refining activities; acid rain
• Natural Resources: natural gas, petroleum, peat, limestone, salt, sand and gravel, arable land
• Highways: total: 116,500 km paved: 104,850 km (including 2,235 km of expressways) unpaved: 11,650 km (1999)
• Railways: total: 2,808 km standard gauge: 2,808 km 1.435-m gauge (2,061 km electrified) (2003)
• Ports & Harbours: Amsterdam, Delfzijl, Dordrecht, Eemshaven, Groningen, Haarlem, IJmuiden, Maastricht, Rotterdam, Terneuzen, Utrecht, Vlissingen
• Airports: 27 (2003 est.)