Netherlands

The Netherlands (Nederland in Dutch) is a country in the northwest of Europe. It borders the North Sea, Belgium and Germany. It is also referred to by the collective name of its two main provinces: Holland.

Political

The country is formally known as the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has been a constitutional monarchy since 1815. Between 1648 and 1806 the country was a republic.

Head of state is Queen Beatrix of the House of Orange-Nassau. (See also the Dutch monarchy). Formally, she appoints the members of the government. In practice, she normally appoints, after each election, the choices of the leader of the political party with the most seats in the parliament.

The parliament consists of two houses. Elections for the Lower House take place every four years, or earlier when the Lower House has taken a no-confidence motion against the government. The next elections will take place in May 2002.

The head of the government is the Prime Minister. Wim Kok, leader of the social-democratic Partij van de Arbeid, has held this office since 1994.

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

The capital of the Netherlands is Amsterdam, but the seat of government is in The Hague (Den Haag or 's-Gravenhage in Dutch).

The Netherlands is a founding member of the European Union, the Benelux, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Geographical

The Netherlands are divided into 12 provinces:

It is one of the most densely populated countries in the world, having 16 million inhabitants on a piece of land of about 300 by 150 kilometers (approx. 41,000 square kilometers). One remarkable aspect of the Netherlands is the flatness of the country. About half the country is less than 1 meter above sea level, and some parts of it are actually below sea level. The highest point, the Vaalserberg, is 321m high. The low areas are protected by dikes and sea walls. Much of the land, for example the whole of Flevoland, has been reclaimed from the sea - these areas of reclaimed land are known as polders.

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

Time zone

Local time is UTC+1. (From the last Sunday in March till the last Sunday in October: UTC+2).

Holidays

April 30 - Queen's day
May 5 - Liberation day
December 5 - Saint Nicholas Eve (Sinterklaas), the Dutch predecessor of Santa Claus

On May 4 the dead of World War II are remembered by two minute's silence.

Cultural

There are two official languages: Dutch and Frisian, which is spoken in the northern province of Friesland. The main religions are Catholicism (18% in 1999) and Protestantism (15%). 63% of the Dutch don't consider themselves to be members of a church.

The Dutch are known as a tolerant people. Their image abroad is mainly based on trade, tulips, windmills, wooden shoes, cheese (Edam, Gouda, Leiden, Limburger) and Delftware pottery. More recently the socially libertine Dutch policies on drugs, prostitution, gay marriage and euthanasia have received international attention; Amsterdam is widely perceived abroad as a 'naughty' city.

The Dutch national anthem is the Wilhelmus, one of the oldest in the world.

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

Some famous Dutch painters were

From the CIA World Factbook 2000.

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