Official English Name: Kingdom of the Netherlands
Official Local Name(s): Koninkrijk der Nederlanden
Common English Name: Netherlands
Capital: Amsterdam
Note: Although Amsterdam is the capital, the seat of government is located in Den Haag. The information on this page refers to the mainland Netherlands.

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Official Language(s)

Dutch
Secondary Languages: Frisian, Low Saxon, Limburgish

Resources

Natural gas, Petroleum, Peat, Limestone, Salt, Sand, Gravel, Arable land

Neighbors

Germany (East), Belgium (South)

Ethnic groups

Dutch (77.90%), Turkish (2.34%), Moroccan (2.27%), Indonesian (2.16%), German (2.12%)

People

Est. Population:

17,016,967

Demonym:

Dutch

Religions:

Atheist (67.8%)
Roman Catholic (11.7%)
Protestant (8.6%)
Muslim (5.8%)
Other Christian (4.2%)

Largest City:

Amsterdam (844,667)

Other Cities:

Rotterdam (623,652)
's-Gravenhage (514,861)
Utrecht (334,176)
Eindhoven (223,209)
Tilburg (211,468)

Geography

Region:

Western Europe

Bodies of Water:

North Sea (West)

Total Area:

41,543 km2 (81.6% land, 18.4% water)

Total Land:

1,027 km

Total Coastline:

451 km

Climate

Temperate marine

Terrain:

Coastal lowlands
Reclaimed land
Southeastern hills

Highest Point

Vaalserberg (322 m)

Lowest Point

Zuidplaspolder (-7 m)

Natural Disasters

Flooding

Government

Type:

Constitutional Monarchy

Head of State:

King Willem-Alexander

Head of Government:

Prime Minister Mark Rutte

Admin. Divisions

12 Provinces

Independence:

23 January 1579 (from Spain)

Nat'l Symbol:

Lion

Nat'l Anthem:

Het Wilhelmus

Economy

GDP Per Capita

$49,600 (USD)

Currency

€ (Euro)

Exchange Rate

$1 (USD) = € (Euro)0.86

Communication

Internet Code

.nl

Telephone Code

+31

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Cultural Notes

Humor in the Netherlands tends to be very politically incorrect and edgy by most standards. Although these jokes may offend you, they are not usually meant in a malicious way, as the Dutch are some of the most tolerant people in the world.
Straightforward attitudes prevail in the Netherlands as the Dutch do not hold anything back when communicating.
Dutch society is very open and informal; topics that would normally be considered off-limits or risqué in daily conversation are acceptable among the Dutch.
Addressing elders by their first names is allowed in informal situations.
During birthdays, when the family comes over and brings presents, everybody sits in a circle to open the presents.
Bicycles are the most common form of transportation in the Netherlands.

Sources

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/np.html (Majority of information)
http://bit.ly/1PnWWaE (Ethnic data)
http://statline.cbs.nl/ (City population data)
http://bit.ly/2giHKTZ (Religious data)
Wolfram|Alpha (Currency exchange data)
Information accurate to best of ability as of 16 November 2016