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Map of 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: 26.71%
permanent crops: 0.97%
other: 72.32% (2001)

Irrigated land:5,650 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:flooding
Geography - note:located at mouths of three major European rivers (Rhine, Maas or Meuse, and Schelde)
Population:16,407,491 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:0-14 years: 18.1% (male 1,523,316/female 1,453,232)
15-64 years: 67.8% (male 5,627,007/female 5,491,802)
65 years and over: 14.1% (male 974,037/female 1,338,097) (2005 est.)

Median age:total: 39.04 years
male: 38.22 years
female: 39.9 years (2005 est.)

Population growth rate:0.53% (2005 est.)
Birth rate:11.14 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate:8.68 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate:2.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio:at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female

Infant mortality rate:total: 5.04 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.62 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:total population: 78.81 years
male: 76.25 years
female: 81.51 years (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate:1.66 children born/woman (2005 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% (2000 est.)
male: NA%
female: NA%

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:Amsterdam; The Hague is the seat of government
Administrative divisions:12 provinces (provincies, singular - provincie); Drenthe, Flevoland, Friesland (Fryslan), Gelderland, Groningen, Limburg, Noord-Brabant, Noord-Holland, Overijssel, Utrecht, Zeeland, Zuid-Holland
Dependent areas:Aruba, Netherlands Antilles
Independence:23 January 1579 (the northern provinces of the Low Countries conclude the Union of Utrecht breaking with Spain; it was not until 1648 that Spain recognized their independence)
Constitution:adopted 1815; amended many times, last time 2002
Legal system: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
head of government: Prime Minister Jan Peter BALKENENDE (since 22 July 2002) and Deputy Prime Ministers Gerrit ZALM (since 27 May 2003) and Laurens Jan BRINKHORST (since 31 March 2005)
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; vice prime ministers appointed by the monarch

Legislative branch:bicameral States General or Staten Generaal consists of the First Chamber or Eerste Kamer (75 seats; members indirectly elected by the country's 12 provincial councils for 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 May 2007); Second Chamber - last held 22 January 2003 (next to be held May 2007)
election results: First Chamber - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CDA 23, PvdA 19, VVD 15, Green Party 5, Socialist Party 4, D66 3, other 6; Second Chamber - percent of vote by party - CDA 28.6%, PvdA 27.3%, VVD 12.9%, Socialist Party 6.3%, List Pim Fortuyn 5.7%, Green Party 5.1%, D66 4.1%; seats by party - CDA 44, PvdA 42, VVD 28, Socialist Party 9, List Pim Fortuyn 8, Green Party 8, D66 6, other 5

Judicial branch:Supreme Court or Hoge Raad (justices are nominated for life by the monarch)
Political parties and leaders:Christian Democratic Appeal or CDA [Maxime Jacques Marcel VERHAGEN]; Christian Union Party [Andre ROUVOET]; Democrats 66 or D66 [Boris DITTRICH]; Green Party [Femke HALSEMA]; Labor Party or PvdA [Wouter BOS]; List Pim Fortuyn [Gerard van AS]; People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (Liberal) or VVD [Jozias VAN AARTSEN]; Socialist Party [Jan MARIJNISSEN]; plus a few minor parties
Political pressure groups and leaders:Netherlands Trade Union Federation (FNV) (consisting of a merger of Socialist and Catholic trade unions); Christian Trade Union Federation (CNV); Trade Union Federation of Middle and High Personnel (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, AsDB, Australia Group, Benelux, BIS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, ONUB, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC
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 - 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 4% 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 2001-04, 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 - $481.1 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:1.2% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita:purchasing power parity - $29,500 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:agriculture: 2.4%
industry: 24.5%
services: 73.1% (2004 est.)

Labor force:7.53 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:agriculture 4%, industry 23%, services 73% (1998 est.)
Unemployment rate:6% (2004 est.)
Population below poverty line:NA
Household income or consumption by percentage share:lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 25.1% (1994)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:32.6 (1994)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):1.4% (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):19.9% of GDP (2004 est.)
Budget:revenues: $256.9 billion
expenditures: $274.4 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)

Public debt:55.8% of GDP (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products:grains, potatoes, sugar beets, fruits, vegetables; livestock
Industrial production growth rate:0.8% (2004 est.)
Electricity - production:90.61 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - production by source:fossil fuel: 89.9%
hydro: 0.1%
nuclear: 4.3%
other: 5.7% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:100.7 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports:4.5 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports:20.9 billion kWh (2002)
Oil - production:46,200 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:895,300 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:1.418 million bbl/day (2001)
Oil - imports:2.284 million bbl/day (2001)
Oil - proved reserves:88.06 million bbl (1 January 2002)
Natural gas - production:77.75 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:49.72 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports:49.28 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports:20.78 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:1.693 trillion cu m (1 January 2002)
Current account balance:$19.9 billion (2004 est.)
Exports:$293.1 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities:machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels; foodstuffs
Exports - partners:Germany 25%, Belgium 12.6%, UK 10.1%, France 9.8%, Italy 6%, US 4.2% (2004)
Imports:$252.7 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities:machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, fuels; foodstuffs, clothing
Imports - partners:Germany 17.7%, Belgium 10.2%, US 7.8%, China 7.1%, UK 6.6%, France 4.9% (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:$21.44 billion (2003)
Economic aid - donor:ODA, $4 billion (2003 est.)
Currency (code):euro (EUR)

Currency code:EUR
Exchange rates:euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000)
Fiscal year:calendar year
Telephones - main lines in use:10.004 million (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular:12.5 million (2003)
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 five 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)
Radios:15.3 million (1996)
Television broadcast stations:21 (plus 26 repeaters) (1995)
Televisions:8.1 million (1997)
Internet country
Internet hosts:4,518,226 (2004)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):52 (2000)
Internet users:8.5 million (2003)
Railways:total: 2,808 km
standard gauge: 2,808 km 1.435-m gauge (2,061 km electrified) (2004)

Highways:total: 116,500 km
paved: 104,850 km (including 2,235 km of expressways)
unpaved: 11,650 km (1999)

Waterways:5,046 km (navigable for ships of 50 tons) (2004)
Pipelines:condensate 325 km; gas 6,998 km; oil 590 km; refined products 716 km (2004)
Ports and harbors:Amsterdam, Groningen, Ijmuiden, Rotterdam, Terneuzen, Vlissingen, Zaanstad
Merchant marine:total: 558 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 4,796,460 GRT/5,212,557 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 14, cargo 361, chemical tanker 32, container 48, liquefied gas 13, passenger 11, passenger/cargo 14, petroleum tanker 14, refrigerated cargo 32, roll on/roll off 15, specialized tanker 4
foreign-owned: 139 (Bahamas 5, Belgium 2, Canada 1, Denmark 4, Finland 7, Germany 62, Ireland 13, Norway 9, Sweden 19, United Kingdom 6, United States 11)
registered in other countries: 223 (2005)

Airports:27 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways:total: 20
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.)

Heliports:1 (2004 est.)
Military branches:Royal Netherlands Army, Royal Netherlands Navy (includes Naval Air Service and Marine Corps), Royal Netherlands Air Force (Koninklijke Luchtmacht, KLu), Royal Constabulary, Defense Interservice Command (DICO) (2004)
Military manpower - military age and obligation:20 years of age for an all-volunteer force (2004)
Military manpower - availability:males age 20-49: 3,557,918 (2005 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service:males age 20-49: 2,856,691 (2005 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:males: 99,934 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure:$9.408 billion (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:1.6% (2004)
Transnational IssuesTop
Disputes - international:none
Illicit drugs:major European producer of ecstasy, illicit amphetamines, and other synthetic drugs; important gateway for cocaine, heroin, and hashish entering Europe; major source of US-bound ecstasy; large financial sector vulnerable to money laundering

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