+31 is the dialing code for Netherlands.
The Netherlands is “the low countries” on the North Sea coast, where more than a quarter of the surface is below sea level. The country is often called the Netherlands after its historically dominant region on the coast. Rotterdam has one of the world’s largest ports and the Netherlands is the world’s largest exporter of cut flowers, such as tulips. Domestic politics are complicated and the formerly tolerant nation now has a strong influence on xenophobia.
- Abbreviationfinder: Brief profiles of Netherlands, including geography, history, politics, economics as well as common acronyms about this country.
Geography and climate
The Netherlands, located on the North Sea, have largely been recovered from the sea. Almost a quarter of the country is below sea level – the name Netherlands means “the low countries”. However, the country is often called the Netherlands by its historically dominant region. On the surface, the Netherlands is slightly larger than Småland.
The landscape is predominantly flat with an average height of only ten meters above sea level. Hilly terrain occurs only in the southeastern part of the country, where a narrow strip of land shoots down between the two neighboring countries Belgium and Germany. There some hills reach just over 300 meters above sea level.
Along the coast to the north there is a chain of sand dunes that cross into the large West Frisian islands. Within the coastal dune landscape lies the special Dutch marshland (wetland) which makes up almost half of the country’s surface. It is largely recovered from the sea and very fertile.
The drying of former sea or lake areas has been carried out by these being embedded and dug with canals. One such embankment is called polder.
Country Facts
Geography
| Cultivated land | 55.1 % |
| Land area | 41543 km 2 |
Population and health
| Population development | 0.41 ‰ |
| Urban population (Urbanization) | 90.5 % |
| Death rate | 8.66 per 1000 residents |
| Life expectancy: Women | 83.47 years |
| Life expectancy: Men | 79.11 years |
| Birth rate | 10.83 births per 1000 residents |
| HDI index | 0.922 |
| Population | 16947904 |
| Infant mortality | 3.62 deaths / 1000 births |
Population Graph Source: Countryaah.com
Energy
| Electricity, production | 98570 million kWh |
| Energy consumption per resident | 4593.8 kg. oil per resident |
| Natural gas, production | 70250 million cubic meters |
| Crude oil, production | million tons |
Infrastructure
| Internet users | 96.1 per 100 residents |
| Mobile subscriptions | 116 per 100 residents |
| Passenger cars | 528 per 1000 residents |
Business and economics
| Unemployment | 6.9% of the workforce |
| GDP | 49200 per resident |
| Primary occupations | 2 % |
| Secondary profession | 18 % |
| Tertiary professions | 80 % |
In the 1930s, the large sea bay Zuiderzee was cut off from the North Sea by a three-mile long protection wall. On the embankment, Afsluitdijk, is a motorway. The sea bay is now replaced by the freshwater lake Ijsselmeer. Large land areas have also been dry-laid in the project. Two of these bollards make up the province of Flevoland.
The largest rivers in the Netherlands (the Rhine, which divides into Lek, Waal and Ijssel), Maas and Schelde all flow beyond the borders of the country but flow into the sea in Zeeland, in the southwest of the Netherlands. In this delta area there are many larger or smaller islands. After a major flood in 1953, a project, called the Delta Project, was initiated with the aim of avoiding such disasters in the future. Through large ramparts with openable hatches and pumping facilities in ingenious systems, attempts are made to protect Zeeland from flooding.
Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten in the Caribbean (Caribbean) are internally self-governing areas within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustasius and Saba, also in the Caribbean, have the status of special municipalities within the Netherlands.
The Netherlands has a temperate, humid coastal climate with cool summers and mild winters. In a normal year, about 800 millimeters of precipitation falls, fairly evenly distributed over the year. It averages about 20 days a year. The humidity is high all year. In combination with strong winds, humidity during the winter season becomes permeable.
FACTS – GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE
Surface
41,526 km2 (2018)
Time
Swedish
Adjacent country (s)
Germany, Belgium
Capital with number of residents
Amsterdam 776,000 (however, the government and parliament are headquartered in The Hague with 490,000 residents)
Other major cities
Rotterdam 576,000, Utrecht 311,000, Eindhoven 225,000, Tilburg 210,000 (2012 estimate)
Highest mountain
Vaalserberg (321 m asl)
Important rivers
Lek, Waal and IJssel (which together constitute Nederrijn, ie the Rhens delta) and Maas and Schelde
Largest lake
IJsselmeer
Average Precipitation / month
80 mm (July), 73 mm (Jan)
Average / day
17 °C (July), 2 °C (Jan)
2010
October
The Netherlands Antilles are dissolved
The autonomous province of the Netherlands Antilles in the Caribbean is disbanded. The two islands of Curaçao and Sint Maarten are given autonomous territories within the Netherlands while Sint Eustatius, Saba and Bonaire become Dutch municipalities with extended autonomy.
Trial against Geert Wilders begins
PVV leader Geert Wilders believes that the judges in the case are biased and demand that they be replaced, which also happens (see also January 2009).
The new government takes office
October 14
The new bourgeois minority government formed in September is sworn in by Queen Beatrix.
September
Government formation ready
September 29th
After lengthy negotiations, the VVD and CDA agree to form a minority government with the support of the PVV. Deputy Mark Rutte becomes prime minister, the first head of government from the right-wing Liberal Party since 1948. To receive PVV’s support in parliament, Rutte must accept a ban on Muslim women to wear full-length veils (burka and niqab) and agree to halve immigration. from non-European countries. PVV also gets through a tightening of the law so that residence permits can be withdrawn due to poor integration. Among the Christian Democrats there is widespread opposition to the settlement with PVV.
August
Afghanistan effort ends
The Netherlands is bringing home its soldiers from Afghanistan since the country’s military operation, which has become increasingly unpopular among the Dutch.
June
New elections are held
June 9
When new elections are held for the Second Chamber, the Liberal VP will be greatest with 31 seats, followed by the Labor Party with 30 seats. However, the biggest increase is the xenophobic PVV: the party increases from 9 seats to 24 and becomes the third largest party. The major loser becomes the Christian Democratic CDA, which backs from 41 to 21 seats. As a result of the election defeat, Jan Peter Balkenende resigns as party leader for CDA and also leaves his seat in parliament. The turnout is just over 75 percent.
February
The government is falling
The tripartite coalition is cracking down on disagreement over the Afghanistan effort: The Labor Party cannot accept an extended mandate, despite NATO asking the Netherlands not to bring home its nearly 2,000 soldiers this fall. CDA and CU who want a smaller force left in Afghanistan remain in a transitional government (see also February 2007).