Netherlands – key data
Area: 41,543 km² (of which land: 33,893 km², water: 7,650 km²)
Population: 16.8 million (July 2011 estimate, CIA). Composition: Dutch 80.7%, EU citizens 5%, Indonesians 2.4%, Turks 2.2%, Surinamese 2%, Moroccans 2%, citizens of the Netherlands Antilles andAruba 0.8%, other 4.8% (2008 estimate)
Population density: 406 people per km²
Population growth: 0.371% per year (2011, CIA)
Capital: Amsterdam (758.198 residents, 2009)
Seat of government: The Hague (475.904 residents, 2008)
Highest point: Vaalserberg, 322 m
Lowest point: Zuidplaspolder, -7 m
Form of government: The Netherlands has been a parliamentary monarchy since 1848, the constitution dates from 1814. The Dutch bicameral parliament (Staten-General) consists of a first chamber (75 members) and a second chamber (150 members). The Netherlands has been independent from Spain since 1648. On April 18, 1951, the country belonged to the founding members of the European Coal and Steel Community, which later became the core of the European Union (EU).
Administrative division: 12 provinces, which are often divided into four groups: Utrecht, North and South Holland in the west, Zeeland, North Brabant and Limburg in the south, Flevoland, Gelderland and Overijssel in the east, Drenthe, Groningen and Fryslân (Friesland) in the North.
Head of State: Queen Beatrix, since April 30, 1980
Head of Government: Prime Minister Mark Rutte, since October 14, 2010
Language: The official language in the Netherlands is Dutch. In the province of Friesland, Friesland is also an administrative language. English, French and German are quite common as second languages.
Religion: Roman Catholic 30%, Dutch Reformed 11%, Calvinists 6%, other Protestants 3%, Muslims 5.8%, others 2.2%, no religion 42% (2006).
Local time: CET. Between the last Sunday in March and the last Sunday in October there is summer time in the Netherlands (CET + 1 hour).
The time difference to Central Europe in both winter and summer 0 h.
International phone code: +31
Internet identifier:.nl
Mains voltage: 230 V, 50 Hz
According to Youremailverifier, the Kingdom of the Netherlands is on the western edge of the European continent. The Netherlands borders Germany in the east, Belgium in the south and the North Sea forms the natural border in the west and north. The Netherlands Antilles and the island of Aruba also belong to the territory. The Netherlands covers a total area of 41,526 square kilometers and is therefore smaller than the state – Lower Saxony.
The water plays a major role in this country, which as well as regards both the economy, the state land itself. In the course of several hundred years, large parts of the Netherlands became the sea“wrested” by embankments, but these are below sea level. Since the coastline i s constantly changing due to the tides and also remains in motion due to land reclamation, the pure land area of the Netherlands cannot be precisely determined.
The Netherlands is characterized by two major landform s: the lowland s stretch towards the coast, while the hill country extends to the east. The lowlands include the areas of the Netherlands that have to be constantly protected from flooding by sea and rivers by dykes. This region makes up a little more than half of the entire national territory. About a quarter of the lowland is below sea level; the lowest point is Nieuwekerk in South Holland, which is 6.74 meters below sea level. The highland s are characterized by pasture and forest area s and their varied landscape is often used by the residents of the lowlands as a holiday and recreational area. The Vaalser Ber g is also located at the border triangle of Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, which at an impressive 322 meters is the highest “peak” in the Netherlands and in winter it is probably the smallest ski area in the world.
The landforms of the kingdom are divided into dunes, marshe s and gees t. The dunes are among the most recent geological phenomena in the country, as they were only formed around 10,000 years after the last ice age and are still changing today. A distinction is made between old dunes, which can be recognized by the brownish, weathered sand and the bright white young dune fields. The latter protect the hinterland from storm surges, offer many birds an ideal habitat and are under nature protection.
The basic component of the marshes is seasilt carried by the tide into the estuaries and far inland. The silt, consisting mainly of clay, mixed with the calcareous skeletons of countless small shellfish and thus became loose and fertile. The marshes are used as rich arable and pasture land.
The Geest is a little higher than the marshes and is also geologically older, but it consists only of sand and pebbles. It extends between the mouth of the Ems in the northeast and the mouth of the Scheldt in the southwest and originally extended far into the North Sea. Today the Geest is being replaced by the marshes that were created much later.
The rivers are next to the sea the basis for economic development of the Netherlands. The Rhine, Meus e and Scheld t are the most important rivers of the kingdom, which come together again and again in the Rhine-Meuse Delta, the largest landscape in the center of the country. Other large delta currents are Issel, Lek and Nederrijn; In addition to the natural waterways, there are also numerous canal s that criss-cross the country and create a connection to inland Europe.
