The Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in Western Europe, consists of the Netherlands (often referred to as Holland), the Caribbean islands of the Netherland Antilles and Aruba. Holland is bordered by the North Sea, Belgium and Germany. The country is primarily very flat coastal lowlands and polders (low-lying tracts of land enclosed by dikes) with a few hills in the southeastern portion. At least a quarter of the country is actually below sea level.
The Netherlands has been a constitutional monarchy since 1815 and a parliamentary democracy since 1848. The current monarch is Queen Beatrix who is considered the titular head of state. The prime minister is Jan Peter Balkenende. The capital of the Netherlands is Amsterdam but the seat of government is in The Hague.
Densely populated, the Netherlands has a population of 16.5 million in an area about twice the size of New Jersey. The population is predominately ethnic Dutch, but other minorities such as Moroccan, Turks and Surinamese also reside there. The official language is Dutch which is spoken by the majority of residents. The Netherlands has a reputation for social tolerance. It is one of the more secular countries in Western Europe with only 39 percent claiming religious affiliations, most often Roman Catholicism, followed by Dutch Reform, Islam and Calvinism. The Netherlands boasts a 99 percent literacy rate.
We often think of windmills, tulips, cheese and clogs when we think of Holland, but the Netherlands has the 16th largest economy in the world with industries in food-processing, chemicals, refining and electrical machinery.
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Catalog
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