Country profile
The Netherlands
General information
Flagge der Niederlande /Flag of the Netherlands
Photo: Bundesregierung
The Netherlands is one of four autonomous countries belonging to the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Koninkrijk der Nederlanden). The majority of the country is situated in north-western Europe and is bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south and Germany to the east. The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg together constitute the Benelux Union.
The Netherlands has a population of some 17 million (as at May 2016) on a landmass of 41,526 square kilometres. A total of 3.67 million of the population are foreigners, including 430,934 from other EU Member States (71,751 Germans, 61,048 with dual German–Dutch nationality) (as at 2015).
The capital city, Amsterdam, has a population of some 833,600 (as at 2015).
The seat of the government of the Netherlands is The Hague.
The official language is Dutch. Regional languages are Frisian (in the Province of Friesland), Papiamentu (in Bonaire) and English (in Sint Eustatius and Saba).
Economic data
Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, based on purchasing power parity (PPP): USD 51,049
Nominal GDP: USD 771 billion
Real change in GDP between 2010 and 2015: 6.0%
Gross national debt as a percentage of GDP: 62.6%
Percentage of women (aged 15–64) in gainful employment: 69.2%
Youth unemployment rate (15–24 year-olds): 11.3%
The national currency is the euro (EUR).
Additional information