Netherlands

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Introduction - Netherlands:
Country	Netherlands
Background	The Dutch United Provinces declared their independence from Spain in 1579; during the 17th century, they became a leading seafaring and commercial power, with settlements and colonies around the world. After a 20-year French occupation, a 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 EEC (now the EU), and participated in the introduction of the euro in 1999.
Location - Netherlands:
Location	Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between Belgium and Germany
Geographic coordinates	52 30 N, 5 45 E
Map references	Europe
Area	total: 41,526 sq km land: 33,883 sq km water: 7,643 sq km
Area comparative	slightly less than twice the size of New Jersey
Land boundaries	total: 1,027 km border countries: Belgium 450 km, Germany 577 km
Coastline	451 km
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Climate	temperate; marine; cool summers and mild winters
Terrain	mostly coastal lowland and reclaimed land (polders); some hills in southeast
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Zuidplaspolder -7 m highest point: Vaalserberg 322 m
Natural resources	natural gas, petroleum, peat, limestone, salt, sand and gravel, arable land
Land use	arable land: 21.96% permanent crops: 0.77% other: 77.27% (2005)
Irrigated land	5,650 sq km (2003)
Natural hazards	flooding
Environment current 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
Environment international agreements	party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
Geography note	located at mouths of three major European rivers (Rhine, Maas or Meuse, and Schelde)
People - Netherlands:
Population	16,570,613 (July 2007 est.)
Age structure	0-14 years: 17.8% (male 1,505,931/female 1,436,532) 15-64 years: 67.8% (male 5,683,877/female 5,557,745) 65 years and over: 14.4% (male 1,015,731/female 1,370,797) (2007 est.)
Median age	total: 39.7 years male: 38.9 years female: 40.5 years (2007 est.)
Population growth rate	0.464% (2007 est.)
Birth rate	10.7 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Death rate	8.69 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Net migration rate	2.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.048 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.023 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.741 male(s)/female total population: 0.981 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Infant mortality rate	total: 4.88 deaths/1,000 live births male: 5.43 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.31 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 79.11 years male: 76.52 years female: 81.82 years (2007 est.)
Total fertility rate	1.66 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Hiv aids adult prevalence rate	0.2% (2001 est.)
Hiv aids people living with hiv aids	19,000 (2001 est.)
Hiv aids deaths	less than 100 (2003 est.)
Nationality	noun: Dutchman(men), Dutchwoman(women) adjective: Dutch
Ethnic groups	Dutch 83%, other 17% (of which 9% are non-Western origin mainly Turks, Moroccans, Antilleans, Surinamese, and Indonesians) (1999 est.)
Religions	Roman Catholic 31%, Dutch Reformed 13%, Calvinist 7%, Muslim 5.5%, other 2.5%, none 41% (2002)
Languages	Dutch (official), Frisian (official)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.)
Government - Netherlands:
Country name	conventional long form: Kingdom of the Netherlands conventional short form: Netherlands local long form: Koninkrijk der Nederlanden local short form: Nederland
Government type	constitutional monarchy
Capital	name: Amsterdam geographic coordinates: 52 23 N, 4 54 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October note: The Hague (seat of government)
Dependent areas	Aruba, Netherlands Antilles
Administrative divisions	12 provinces (provincies, singular - provincie); Drenthe, Flevoland, Friesland (Fryslan), Gelderland, Groningen, Limburg, Noord-Brabant (North Brabant), Noord-Holland (North Holland), Overijssel, Utrecht, Zeeland, Zuid-Holland (South Holland)
Independence	23 January 1579 (the northern provinces of the Low Countries conclude the Union of Utrecht breaking with Spain; on 26 July 1581 they formally declared their independence with an Act of Abjuration; however, it was not until 30 January 1648 and the Peace of Westphalia that Spain recognized this independence)
National holiday	Queens Day (Birthday of Queen-Mother JULIANA and accession to the throne of her oldest daughter BEATRIX), 30 April (1909 and 1980)
Constitution	adopted 1815; amended many times, most recently in 2002
Legal system	based on civil law system incorporating French penal theory; constitution does not permit judicial review of acts of the States General; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal
Executive branch	chief of state: Queen BEATRIX (since 30 April 1980); Heir Apparent WILLEM-ALEXANDER (born 27 April 1967), son of the monarch head of government: Prime Minister Jan Peter BALKENENDE (since 22 July 2002); Deputy Prime Ministers Wouter BOS (since 22 February 2007) and Andre ROUVOET (since 22 February 2007) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; following Second Chamber elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch; deputy prime ministers appointed by the monarch note: there is also a Council of State composed of the monarch, heir apparent, and councilors that provides consultations to the cabinet on legislative and administrative policy
Legislative branch	bicameral States General or Staten Generaal consists of the First Chamber or Eerste Kamer (75 seats; members indirectly elected by the countrys 12 provincial councils to serve four-year terms) and the Second Chamber or Tweede Kamer (150 seats; members directly elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: First Chamber - last held 25 May 2003 (next to be held in May 2007); Second Chamber - last held 22 November 2006 (next to be held by early 2011) election results: First Chamber - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CDA 23, PvdA 19, VVD 15, Green Left Party 5, Socialist Party 4, D66 3, other 6; Second Chamber - percent of vote by party - CDA 26.5%, PvdA 21.2%, Socialist Party 16.6%, VVD 14.6%, Party for Freedom 5.9%, Green Party 4.6%, Christian Union 4.0%, other 6.6%; seats by party - CDA 41, PvdA 33, Socialist Party 25, VVD 22, Party for Freedom 9, Green Party 7, Christian Union 6, other 7
Judicial branch	Supreme Court or Hoge Raad (justices are nominated for life by the monarch)
Political parties and leaders	Christian Democratic Appeal or CDA [Jan Peter BALKENENDE]; Christian Union Party [Andre ROUVOET]; Democrats 66 or D66 [Alexander PECHTOLD]; Green Left Party [Femke HALSEMA]; Labor Party or PvdA [Wouter BOS]; List Pim Fortuyn [Olaf STUGER]; Party for Freedom or PVV [Geert WILDERS]; Party for the Animals or PvdD [Marianne THIEME]; Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy (Liberal) or VVD [Mark RUTTE]; Reformed Political Party of SGP [Bas VAN DER VLIES]; Socialist Party [Jan MARIJNISSEN]; plus a few minor parties
Political pressure groups and leaders	Netherlands Trade Union Federation or FNV (consisting of a merger of Socialist and Catholic trade unions); Christian Trade Union Federation or CNV; Trade Union Federation of Middle and High Personnel or MHP; Federation of Catholic and Protestant Employers Associations; Interchurch Peace Council or IKV; large multinational firms; the nondenominational Federation of Netherlands Enterprises
International organization participation	AfDB, Arctic Council (observer), AsDB, Australia Group, Benelux, BIS, CBSS (observer), CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNRWA, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the us	chief of mission: Ambassador Christiaan Mark Johan KROENER chancery: 4200 Linnean Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 244-5300 FAX: [1] (202) 362-3430 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York consulate(s): Boston
Diplomatic representation from the us	chief of mission: Ambassador Roland E. ARNALL embassy: Lange Voorhout 102, 2514 EJ, The Hague mailing address: PSC 71, Box 1000, APO AE 09715 telephone: [31] (70) 310-2209 FAX: [31] (70) 361-4688 consulate(s) general: Amsterdam
Flag description	three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue; similar to the flag of Luxembourg, which uses a lighter blue and is longer; one of the oldest flags in constant use, originating with WILLIAM I, Prince of Orange, in the latter half of the 16th century
Economy - Netherlands:
Economy overview	The Netherlands has a prosperous and open economy, which depends heavily on foreign trade. The economy is noted for stable industrial relations, moderate unemployment and inflation, a sizable current account surplus, and an important role as a European transportation hub. Industrial activity is predominantly in food processing, chemicals, petroleum refining, and electrical machinery. A highly mechanized agricultural sector employs no more than 2% of the labor force but provides large surpluses for the food-processing industry and for exports. The Netherlands, along with 11 of its EU partners, began circulating the euro currency on 1 January 2002. The country continues to be one of the leading European nations for attracting foreign direct investment. Economic growth slowed considerably in 2001-06, as part of the global economic slowdown, but for the four years before that, annual growth averaged nearly 4%, well above the EU average.
Gdp purchasing power parity	$529.1 billion (2006 est.)
Gdp official exchange rate	$612.7 billion (2006 est.)
Gdp real growth rate	2.9% (2006 est.)
Gdp per capita ppp	$32,100 (2006 est.)
Gdp composition by sector	agriculture: 2.1% industry: 23.9% services: 73.9% (2006 est.)
Labor force	7.6 million (2006 est.)
Labor force by occupation	agriculture: 2% industry: 19% services: 79% (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate	5.5% (2006 est.)
Population below poverty line	10.5% (1999)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 2.5% highest 10%: 22.9% (1999)
Distribution of family income gini index	30.9 (2005)
Inflation rate consumer prices	1.4% (2006 est.)
Investment gross fixed	19.3% of GDP (2006 est.)
Budget	revenues: $304.3 billion expenditures: $306.5 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.)
Public debt	50.8% of GDP (2006 est.)
Agriculture products	grains, potatoes, sugar beets, fruits, vegetables; livestock
Industries	agroindustries, metal and engineering products, electrical machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum, construction, microelectronics, fishing
Industrial production growth rate	2.3% (2006 est.)
Electricity production	92.7 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity consumption	102.4 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity exports	5.2 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity imports	21.4 billion kWh (2004)
Oil production	95,800 bbl/day (2004)
Oil consumption	946,700 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil exports	1.546 million bbl/day (2004)
Oil imports	2.465 million bbl/day (2004)
Oil proved reserves	106 million bbl (1 January 2005)
Natural gas production	85.98 billion cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas consumption	51.3 billion cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas exports	53.56 billion cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas imports	18.85 billion cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas proved reserves	1.756 trillion cu m (1 January 2005 est.)
Current account balance	$50.17 billion (2006 est.)
Exports	$413.8 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Exports commodities	machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels; foodstuffs
Exports partners	Germany 25.5%, Belgium 14%, UK 8.9%, France 8.6%, Italy 5.1%, US 4.4% (2006)
Imports	$373.8 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Imports commodities	machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs, clothing
Imports partners	Germany 17.1%, Belgium 9.5%, China 9.4%, US 7.8%, UK 5.9%, Russia 5.1%, France 4.6% (2006)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold	$10.24 billion (August 2006 est.)
Economic aid donor	ODA, $4 billion (2003 est.)
Debt external	$1.899 trillion (30 June 2006)
Currency code	euro (EUR) note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries
Exchange rates	euros per US dollar - 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002)
Communications - Netherlands:
Fiscal year	calendar year
Telephones main lines in use	7.6 million (2005)
Telephones mobile cellular	15.834 million (2005)
Telephone system	general assessment: highly developed and well maintained domestic: extensive fixed-line fiber-optic network; cellular telephone system is one of the largest in Europe with 5 major network operators utilizing the third generation of the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) international: country code - 31; 9 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Eutelsat, and 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions) (2004)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 4, FM 246, shortwave 3 (2004)
Television broadcast stations	21 (plus 26 repeaters) (1995)
Internet country code	.nl
Internet hosts	8.363 million (2006)
Internet users	14.544 million (2006)
Transportation - Netherlands:
Airports	27 (2006)
Airports with paved runways	total: 20 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 2 (2006)
Airports with unpaved runways	total: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 4 (2006)
Heliports	1 (2006)
Pipelines	condensate 81 km; gas 7,229 km; oil 578 km; refined products 716 km (2006)
Railways	total: 2,811 km standard gauge: 2,811 km 1.435-m gauge (2,064 km electrified) (2006)
Roadways	total: 134,000 km (includes 3,270 km of expressways) (2004)
Waterways	6,183 km (navigable for ships of 50 tons) (2005)
Merchant marine	total: 558 ships (1000 GRT or over) 5,042,775 GRT/5,016,265 DWT by type: bulk carrier 29, cargo 345, chemical tanker 29, container 59, liquefied gas 12, passenger 14, passenger/cargo 14, petroleum tanker 16, refrigerated cargo 19, roll on/roll off 18, specialized tanker 3 foreign-owned: 157 (Australia 1, Belgium 2, Denmark 9, Finland 13, Germany 56, Ireland 10, Netherlands Antilles 1, Norway 7, Sweden 26, UK 19, US 13) registered in other countries: 222 (Antigua and Barbuda 14, Australia 2, Austria 2, Bahamas 24, Canada 1, Cayman Islands 4, Cyprus 18, Gibraltar 5, Isle of Man 1, Liberia 29, Luxembourg 2, Malta 6, Marshall Islands 1, Netherlands Antilles 54, Norway 3, Panama 21, Philippines 19, Portugal 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 5, Singapore 2, UK 3, US 4, unknown 1) (2006)
Ports and terminals	Amsterdam, Groningen, IJmuiden, Rotterdam, Terneuzen, Vlissingen, Zaanstad
Military - Netherlands:
Military branches	Royal Netherlands Army, Royal Netherlands Navy (includes Naval Air Service and Marine Corps), Royal Netherlands Air Force (Koninklijke Luchtmacht, KLu), Royal Military Police, Defense Interservice Command (DICO) (2006)
Military service age and obligation	20 years of age for an all-volunteer force (2004)
Manpower available for military service	males age 20-49: 3,557,918 females age 20-49: 3,470,377 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service	males age 20-49: 2,856,691 females age 20-49: 2,786,495 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually	males age 18-49: 99,934 females age 20-49: 95,818 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures percent of gdp	1.6% (2005 est.)
Disputes international	none