Netherlands

Official nameKingdom of the Netherlands
Name in local languageKoninkrijk van Nederland (nl)
ContinentEurope
SubcontinentEuropean Union
Population (ranking: 70e)17,483,925 inhabitants (2021)
Population growth0.33 % / year
Area41,543 km²
Density420.86 inhabitants / km²
GDP (ranking: 17e)907.051 billions $USD (2019)
GDP/capita (ranking)52,331 $USD (2019)
GDP growth1.70 % / year (2019)
Life expectancy (ranking)82.10 years (2019)
Birth rate9.80 ‰ (2019)
Fertility rate1.78 children / woman (2015)
Death rate (ranking)8.80 ‰ (2019)
Infant mortality rate (ranking)3.60 ‰ (2019)
Literacy rate100.00 % (2021)
Official languagesDutch
CurrencyEuro (€ EUR)
HDI (ranking: 14e)0.944 / 1 (2019)
EPI (ranking)75.46 (2018)
GovernmentSemi-federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy
Head of StateKing Willem-Alexander
National Day27 April (day of the king)
ISO CodesNL, NLD
DemonymDutch
Tourists (ranking)19,014,000 people (2018)
Netherlands – small
A flat country very open to the world

The Netherlands is a western European state bordered by the North Sea, Belgium to the south and Germany to the east. It is a constitutional monarchy.
The country is very open to the international. Its geographical position, in the heart of the European “Blue Banana”, makes it a central point, especially for the transport of goods. Rotterdam, even though it is no longer the world’s leading port because of the very strong growth of Chinese ports, remains the largest in all of Europe.

Amsterdam - panorama
Amsterdam, capital city of the Netherlands. Photo: Swimmerguy269, Wikipedia
Markthal, Rotterdam, Pays-Bas
Markthal, Rotterdam, Netherlands. Source: Most Beautiful Spots, Daria Scagliola, Stijn Brakkee
See all related maps or articles
Urban areas (2020)
Urban areasPopulation
Randstad8,366,078 inhabitants
Amsterdam2,480,394 inhabitants
Rotterdam–The Hague2,392,289 inhabitants
Brabant2,145,390 inhabitants
Eindhoven784,369 inhabitants
Arnhem–Nijmegen736,107 inhabitants
Utrecht656,342 inhabitants
Breda-Tilburg553,706 inhabitants
Groningen539,486 inhabitants
Maastricht277,721 inhabitants
Apeldoorn213,899 inhabitants
See all urban areas
Administrative divisions
ProvincesPopulationArea
Drenthe493,682 inhabitants2,680 km²
Flevoland423,021 inhabitants2,412 km²
Friesland649,957 inhabitants5,749 km²
Gelderland2,085,952 inhabitants5,137 km²
Groningen585,866 inhabitants2,960 km²
Limburg1,117,201 inhabitants2,209 km²
North Brabant2,562,955 inhabitants5,082 km²
North Holland2,879,527 inhabitants4,092 km²
Overijssel1,162,406 inhabitants3,421 km²
South Holland3,708,696 inhabitants3,419 km²
Utrecht1,354,834 inhabitants1,449 km²
Zeeland383,488 inhabitants2,934 km²
See all administrative divisions
See also