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. In October 2010, the former Netherlands Antilles was dissolved and the three smallest islands - Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba - became special municipalities in the Netherlands administrative structure. The larger islands of Sint Maarten and Curacao joined the Netherlands and Aruba as constituent countries forming the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between Belgium and Germany

slightly less than twice the size of New Jersey

temperate; marine; cool summers and mild winters

mostly coastal lowland and reclaimed land (polders); some hills in southeast

natural gas, petroleum, peat, limestone, salt, sand and gravel, arable land

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

located at mouths of three major European rivers (Rhine, Maas or Meuse, and Schelde)

16,847,007 (July 2011 est.)

10.23 births/1,000 population (2011 est.)

8.85 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.)

2.33 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.)

AMSTERDAM (capital) 1.044 million; Rotterdam 1.008 million; The Hague (seat of government) 629,000 (2009)

1.66 children born/woman (2011 est.)

fewer than 100 (2009 est.)

urban: 100% of population

rural: 100% of population

total: 100% of population (2008)

urban: 100% of population

rural: 100% of population

total: 100% of population (2008)

Dutch 80.7%, EU 5%, Indonesian 2.4%, Turkish 2.2%, Surinamese 2%, Moroccan 2%, Caribbean 0.8%, other 4.8% (2008 est.)

Roman Catholic 30%, Dutch Reformed 11%, Calvinist 6%, other Protestant 3%, Muslim 5.8%, other 2.2%, none 42% (2006)

Dutch (official), Frisian (official)

constitutional monarchy

12 provinces (provincies, singular - provincie); Drenthe, Flevoland, Fryslan (Friesland), Gelderland, Groningen, Limburg, Noord-Brabant (North Brabant), Noord-Holland (North Holland), Overijssel, Utrecht, Zeeland (Zealand), Zuid-Holland (South Holland)

Aruba, Curacao, Sint Maarten

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)

Queen's Day (Birthday of deceased Queen-Mother JULIANA and accession to the throne of her oldest daughter BEATRIX), 30 April (1909 and 1980)

adopted 1815; amended many times, most recently in 2002

civil law system based on the French system; constitution does not permit judicial review of acts of the States General

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

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 to serve four-year terms) and the Second Chamber or Tweede Kamer (150 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)

Supreme Court or Hoge Raad (justices are nominated for life by the monarch)

Christian Democratic Appeal or CDA [Maxime VERHAGEN]; Christian Union or CU [Andre ROUVOET]; Democrats 66 or D66 [Alexander PECHTOLD]; Green Left or GL [Jolande SAP]; Labor Party or PvdA [Job COHEN]; Party for Freedom or PVV [Geert WILDERS]; Party for the Animals or PvdD [Marianne THIEME]; People's Party for Freedom and Democracy or VVD [Mark RUTTE] (Liberal); Reformed Political Party of SGP [Kees VAN DER STAAIJ]; Socialist Party of SP [Emile ROEMER]; plus a few minor parties

Christian Trade Union Federation or CNV [Jaap SMIT]; Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers or VNO-NCW [Bernard WIENTJES]; Federation for Small and Medium-sized businesses or MKB [Loek HERMANS]; Netherlands Trade Union Federation or FNV [Agnes JONGERIUS]; Social Economic Council or SER [Alexander RINNOOY KAN]; Trade Union Federation of Middle and High Personnel or MHP [Richard STEENBORG]

ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Arctic Council (observer), Australia Group, Benelux, BIS, CBSS (observer), CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, Schengen Convention, SECI (observer), UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNRWA, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue; similar to the flag of Luxembourg, which uses a lighter blue and is longer; the colors were those of WILLIAM I, Prince of Orange, who led the Dutch Revolt against Spanish sovereignty in the latter half of the 16th century; originally the upper band was orange, but because it tended to fade to red over time, the red shade was eventually made the permanent color; the banner is perhaps the oldest tricolor in continuous use

The Netherlands 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 only 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 has been one of the leading European nations for attracting foreign direct investment and is one of the four largest investors in the US. After 26 years of uninterrupted economic growth, the Netherlands' economy - which is highly open and dependent on foreign trade and financial services - was hard-hit by global economic crisis. Dutch GDP contracted 3.9% in 2009, while exports declined nearly 25% due to a sharp contraction in world demand. The Dutch financial sector has also suffered, due in part to the high exposure of some Dutch banks to U.S. mortgage-backed securities. In response to turmoil in financial markets, the government nationalized two banks and injected billions of dollars into a third, to prevent further systemic risk. The government also sought to boost the domestic economy by accelerating infrastructure programs, offering corporate tax breaks for employers to retain workers, and expanding export credit facilities. The stimulus programs and bank bailouts, however, resulted in a government budget deficit of nearly 4.6% of GDP in 2009 and 5.6% in 2010 that contrasts sharply with a surplus of 0.7% of GDP in 2008. With unemployment weighing on private-sector consumption, the government of Prime Minister Mark RUTTE is likely to come under increased pressure to keep the budget deficit in check while promoting economic recovery.

$676.9 billion (2010 est.)

$665.3 billion (2009 est.)

$692.4 billion (2008 est.)

$783.3 billion (2010 est.)

7.86 million (2010 est.)

18% of GDP (2010 est.)

64.6% of GDP (2010 est.)

60.9% of GDP (2009 est.)

1.75% (31 December 2010)

1.75% (31 December 2009)

10.01% (31 December 2009 est.)

9.66% (31 December 2008 est.)

$368.1 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$351.6 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$1.124 trillion (31 December 2010 est.)

$1.133 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)

$2.083 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)

$1.824 trillion (31 December 2008)

$542.5 billion (31 December 2009)

$387.9 billion (31 December 2008)

$956.5 billion (31 December 2007)

grains, potatoes, sugar beets, fruits, vegetables; livestock

agroindustries, metal and engineering products, electrical machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum, construction, microelectronics, fishing

108.2 billion kWh (2008 est.)

124.1 billion kWh (2008 est.)

10.56 billion kWh (2009 est.)

15.45 billion kWh (2009 est.)

57,190 bbl/day (2009 est.)

922,800 bbl/day (2009 est.)

1.66 million bbl/day (2008 est.)

2.426 million bbl/day (2008 est.)

100 million bbl (1 January 2010 est.)

79.58 billion cu m (2009 est.)

48.6 billion cu m (2009 est.)

55.59 billion cu m (2009 est.)

24.6 billion cu m (2009 est.)

1.416 trillion cu m (1 January 2010 est.)

$46.69 billion (2010 est.)

$39.58 billion (2009 est.)

$451.3 billion (2010 est.)

$421.3 billion (2009 est.)

machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels; foodstuffs

Germany 25.54%, Belgium 12.49%, France 9.27%, UK 8.17%, Italy 5.07%, US 3.97% (2009)

$408.4 billion (2010 est.)

$371.9 billion (2009 est.)

machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs, clothing

Germany 17.16%, China 11.58%, Belgium 8.68%, US 7.77%, UK 5.72%, Russia 4.47%, France 4.4% (2009)

$NA (31 December 2010 est.)

$39.61 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$3.733 trillion (31 December 2009)

$687.8 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$654.6 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$950.8 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$932.2 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

euros (EUR) per US dollar -

21.182 million (2009)

more than 90% of households are connected to cable or satellite TV systems that provide a wide range of domestic and foreign channels; public service broadcast system includes multiple broadcasters, 3 with a national reach and the remainder operating in regional and local markets; 2 major nationwide commercial television companies, each with 3 or more stations, and a large number of commercial TV stations in regional and local markets; nearly 600 radio stations operating with a mix of public and private stations providing national or regional coverage (2008)

12.607 million (2010)

14.872 million (2009)

gas 4,413 km; oil 365 km; refined products 716 km (2010)

6,214 km (navigable for ships of 50 tons) (2010)

Amsterdam, IJmuiden, Moerdijk, Rotterdam, Terneuzen, Vlissingen

Royal Netherlands Army, Royal Netherlands Navy (includes Naval Air Service and Marine Corps), Royal Netherlands Air Force (Koninklijke Luchtmacht, KLu), Royal Military Police (2010)

20 years of age for an all-volunteer force (2004)

1.6% of GDP (2005 est.)

major European producer of synthetic drugs, including ecstasy, and cannabis cultivator; important gateway for cocaine, heroin, and hashish entering Europe; major source of US-bound ecstasy; large financial sector vulnerable to money laundering; significant consumer of ecstasy