About Netherlands
When you are visiting, or permanently relocating to, a new country it is important to know some of the basic information about the destination nation. With that in mind we have provided some general information about the Netherlands below.
Please be advised that the information contained on this page is liable to change without prior notice, and as such, all data contained herein is meant for reference purposes only. For more accurate information, please consult an expert.
Official Name: Officially known as the Kingdom of the Netherlands , this country is also known as the Netherlands or simply Holland . People from the Netherlands/Holland are referred to as being “Dutch”, which is also the name of the nations main language.
Capital: The capital of the Netherlands is Amsterdam which is located in the northern part of the country on the north sea coast.
Location : Holland is located in the Northern part of Europe and shares a border with Germany , Belgium and the North Sea .
Size: The Netherlands have a total area of 41,526 square kilometers. In comparative terms this means that the Netherlands occupies a total area that is slightly smaller than twice the size of the US state of New Jersey .
Climate: Holland experiences a temperate marine climate that is exemplified by strong offshore winds and cold winters. Summers will never get very hot, but the temperature will usually remain at a steady constant in autumn and spring.
Population: There is a total population in the Netherlands of approximately 16.57 million people. The Netherlands ranks 61 st in the world for total population and 15 th in the world for the population density.
Life expectancy at birth: With an average life expectancy of 79.11 years at birth, ranking the country at 17 th in the world for average life expectancy at birth. This is a testament to the Dutch Social welfare and healthcare system, as well as the predominantly healthy lifestyle lead by many Dutch nationals.
Prevalence of HIV/AIDS: Approximately 0.2% of the Dutch population is living with HIV/Aids. This percentage is equal to an estimated 19,000 people with the disease. While the prevalence of HIV/Aids is not extremely high in the Netherlands , it is growing fast enough to cause some concern.
Major illnesses: There are no major diseases or health risks in the Netherlands aside from those health threats that you can reasonably expect to encounter. Possible health risks include Rabies, Flu, and dehydration.
Ethnic Groups: Holland is a predominantly homogenous country where the bulk of the population (83%) is of the same, Dutch, ethnicity. There are, however, a number of other ethnicities in the country and the remaining 17% of the total population is made up from individuals of Turkish, Moroccan, Antillean, Indonesian, and Surinamese descent.
Languages: There are two official languages in the Netherlands , Dutch and Frisian. Other languages are spoken throughout the country, but will mainly be heard in use only with the ethnic groups from the language's place of origin.
Religion: Holland is known as a religiously tolerant country and as such there are a number of faiths observed throughout the nation. The major religions practiced in the Netherlands are Catholicism (31%), Dutch Reformed (13%), Calvinist (7%), Islam (5.5%) and Others (2.5%). Approximately 44% of the Dutch population do not observe any religion, or identify themselves as being atheist.
Government: The Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy. As such the monarch is considered to be the head of state, but the government institutes legislation based on a formally declared constitution. Government officials, such as the Prime minister, are elected through a democratic process.
Head of State: Queen Beatrix. The Queen is the formal head of state, but holds no actual legislative power, her opinion is, however, highly regarded and her views on policy are closely listened to.
Head of Government: Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende is the head of the Dutch government and the head of the ruling political party.
Military: Holland has a moderate military force consisting of an army, navy and air force. There is no mandatory service in the Dutch military and individuals must be at least 20 years old to enlist. The country currently spends approximately 1.6% of its Gross Domestic Product on the military.
Economy : The Dutch economy is steeped in history and the development of the nations extremely stable, open market, economic platform dates back to the early 1600's when Amsterdam was one of the worlds economic center. In the modern world Holland continues this tradition as the nation continues to be one of the most important shipping hubs in Europe . The Dutch economy is characterized by stable industry, low unemployment and moderate inflation, all of which contributes to the nations high standing in the economic world.
GDP: The Netherlands has a Purchasing power parity of US$ 529.6 billion and an actual GDP of US$ 613.13 billion.
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