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, informally Holland, is a country in
Northwestern Europe Northwestern Europe, or Northwest Europe, is a loosely defined subregion of Europe, overlapping Northern and Western Europe. The term is used in geographic, history, and military contexts. Geographic definitions Geographically, Northwestern ...
, with overseas territories in the
Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the
Kingdom of the Netherlands The Kingdom of the Netherlands (, ;, , ), commonly known simply as the Netherlands, is a sovereign state consisting of a collection of constituent territories united under the monarch of the Netherlands, who functions as head of state. The re ...
. The Netherlands consists of twelve provinces; it borders
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
to the east and
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
to the south, with a
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...
coastline to the north and west. It shares maritime borders with the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, Germany, and Belgium. The official language is Dutch, with West Frisian as a secondary official language in the province of
Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...
. Dutch, English, and
Papiamento Papiamento () or Papiamentu (; ) is a Portuguese-based creole language spoken in the Dutch Caribbean. It is the most widely spoken language on Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao ( ABC Islands). The language, spelled in Aruba and in Bonaire and ...
are official in the Caribbean territories. The people who are from the Netherlands is often referred to as Dutch Ethnicity group, not to be confused by the
language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...
. ''Netherlands'' literally means "lower countries" in reference to its low elevation and flat topography, with 26% below
sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...
. Most of the areas below sea level, known as ''polders'', are the result of land reclamation that began in the 14th century. In the Republican period, which began in 1588, the Netherlands entered a unique era of political, economic, and cultural greatness, ranked among the most powerful and influential in Europe and the world; this period is known as the
Dutch Golden Age The Dutch Golden Age ( ) was a period in the history of the Netherlands which roughly lasted from 1588, when the Dutch Republic was established, to 1672, when the '' Rampjaar'' occurred. During this period, Dutch trade, scientific development ...
. During this time, its trading companies, the
Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...
and the
Dutch West India Company The Dutch West India Company () was a Dutch chartered company that was founded in 1621 and went defunct in 1792. Among its founders were Reynier Pauw, Willem Usselincx (1567–1647), and Jessé de Forest (1576–1624). On 3 June 1621, it was gra ...
, established colonies and trading posts all over the world. With a population of over 18 million people, all living within a total area of —of which the land area is —the Netherlands is the 33rd most densely populated country, with a density of . Nevertheless, it is the world's second-largest exporter of food and agricultural products by value, owing to its fertile soil, mild climate, intensive agriculture, and inventiveness. The four largest cities in the Netherlands are
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
,
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
,
The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...
and
Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...
. Amsterdam is the country's most populous city and the nominal capital, though the primary national political institutions are located in the Hague. The Netherlands has been a parliamentary
constitutional monarchy Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions. ...
with a unitary structure since 1848. The country has a tradition of pillarisation (separation of citizens into groups by religion and political beliefs) and a long record of
social tolerance Toleration is when one allows or permits an action, idea, object, or person that they dislike or disagree with. Political scientist Andrew R. Murphy explains that "We can improve our understanding by defining 'toleration' as a set of social or ...
, having legalised
prostitution Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...
and
euthanasia Euthanasia (from : + ) is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different Legality of euthanasia, euthanasia laws. The British House of Lords Select committee (United Kingdom), se ...
, along with maintaining a liberal drug policy. The Netherlands allowed
women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...
in 1919 and was the first country to legalise
same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...
in 2001. Its mixed-market advanced economy has the eleventh-highest per capita income globally. The Hague holds the seat of the States General, cabinet, and
Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
. The
Port of Rotterdam The Port of Rotterdam is the largest seaport in Europe, and the world's largest seaport outside of Asia, located in and near the city of Rotterdam, in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. From 1962 until 2004, it was the List of bus ...
is the busiest in Europe. Schiphol is the busiest airport in the Netherlands, and the fourth busiest in Europe. Being a
developed country A developed country, or advanced country, is a sovereign state that has a high quality of life, developed economy, and advanced technological infrastructure relative to other less industrialized nations. Most commonly, the criteria for eval ...
, the Netherlands is a founding member of the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
,
eurozone The euro area, commonly called the eurozone (EZ), is a Monetary union, currency union of 20 Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro (Euro sign, €) as their primary currency ...
, G10,
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
,
OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...
, and WTO, as well as a part of the
Schengen Area The Schengen Area ( , ) encompasses European countries that have officially abolished border controls at their common borders. As an element within the wider area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) policy of the European Union (EU), it ...
and the trilateral
Benelux The Benelux Union (; ; ; ) or Benelux is a politico-economic union, alliance and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighbouring states in Western Europe: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The name is a portma ...
Union. It hosts intergovernmental organisations and
international court International courts are formed by treaties between Nation, nations, or by an international organization such as the United Nations – and include ''ad hoc'' tribunals and permanent institutions but exclude any courts arising purely under nationa ...
s, many of which are in The Hague.


Etymology


Netherlands and the Low Countries

The countries that comprise the region called the
Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...
(Netherlands,
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
, and
Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...
) all have comparatively the same
toponymy Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' ( proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for a proper na ...
. Place names with , , , , or (in
Germanic languages The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family spoken natively by a population of about 515 million people mainly in Europe, North America, Oceania, and Southern Africa. The most widely spoke ...
) and or (in
Romance languages The Romance languages, also known as the Latin or Neo-Latin languages, are the languages that are Language family, directly descended from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-E ...
) are in use in low-lying places all over Europe. The Romans made a distinction between the Roman provinces of downstream
Germania Inferior ''Germania Inferior'' ("Lower Germania") was a Roman province from AD 85 until the province was renamed ''Germania Secunda'' in the 4th century AD, on the west bank of the Rhine bordering the North Sea. The capital of the province was Colonia Cl ...
(nowadays part of Belgium and the Netherlands) and upstream
Germania Superior Germania Superior ("Upper Germania") was an imperial province of the Roman Empire. It comprised an area of today's western Switzerland, the French Jura and Alsace regions, and southwestern Germany. Important cities were Besançon ('' Vesont ...
. Thus, in the case of the Low Countries and the Netherlands, the geographical location of this ''lower'' region is more or less downstream and near the sea, compared to that of the upper region of Germania Superior. The designation 'Low' returned in the 10th-century Duchy of Lower Lorraine, which covered much of the Low Countries. The
Dukes of Burgundy Duke of Burgundy () was a title used by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, from its establishment in 843 to its annexation by the Crown lands of France, French crown in 1477, and later by members of the House of Habsburg, including Holy Roman E ...
used the term ''les pays de par deçà'' ("the lands over here") for the Low Countries. Under Habsburg rule, this became ''pays d'embas'' ("lands down-here"). This was translated as in contemporary Dutch official documents. From a regional point of view, ''Niderlant'' was also the area between the
Meuse The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of . History From 1301, the upper ...
and the lower
Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...
in the late Middle Ages. From the mid-sixteenth century, the "Low Countries" and the "Netherlands" lost their original deictic meaning. In most
Romance languages The Romance languages, also known as the Latin or Neo-Latin languages, are the languages that are Language family, directly descended from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-E ...
, the term "Low Countries" is officially used as the name for the Netherlands.


Holland

The term ''
Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...
'' has frequently been used informally to refer to the whole of the modern country of the Netherlands in various languages, including DutchG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and English. In some languages, Holland is used as the formal name for the Netherlands. However, Holland is a region within the Netherlands that consists of the two provinces of
North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...
and
South Holland South Holland ( ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.8 million as of January 2023 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely populated areas. ...
. Formerly these were a single province, and earlier the
County of Holland The County of Holland was a Imperial State, state of the Holy Roman Empire from its inception until 1433. From 1433 onward it was part of the Burgundian Netherlands, from 1482 part of the Habsburg Netherlands and from 1581 onward the leading pro ...
, which included parts of present-day
Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...
. The emphasis on Holland during the formation of the
Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...
, the
Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...
, and the Anglo-Dutch Wars in the 17th and 18th centuries, made Holland a ''
pars pro toto ; ; ), is a figure of speech where the name of a ''portion'' of an object, place, or concept is used or taken to represent its entirety. It is distinct from a merism, which is a reference to a whole by an enumeration of parts; and metonymy, where ...
'' for the entire country. Many Dutch people object to the country being referred to as ''Holland'' instead of ''the Netherlands'', on much the same grounds as many Welsh or Scottish people object to the United Kingdom being referred to as England. In particular, those from regions other than Holland find it undesirable or misrepresentative to use the term Holland for the whole country, as the
Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...
region only comprises two of the twelve provinces, and 38% of Dutch citizens. As of 2019, the Dutch government officially has preferred ''the Netherlands'' instead of ''Holland'' when talking about the country''.'' Often ''Holland'' or ''Hollanders'' is used by the Flemish to refer to the Dutch in the Netherlands, and by the Southern Dutch (Dutch living "'' below the great rivers''", a natural cultural, social and
religious Religion is a range of social- cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural ...
boundary formed by the rivers
Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...
and
Meuse The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of . History From 1301, the upper ...
) to refer to the Northern Dutch (Dutch living North of these rivers). In the Southern province of Limburg, the term is used for the Dutch from the other 11 provinces. The use of the term in this context by the Southern Dutch is in a
derogatory A pejorative word, phrase, slur, or derogatory term is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hostility ...
fashion.


Dutch

''Dutch'' is used as the adjective for the Netherlands, as well as the
demonym A demonym (; ) or 'gentilic' () is a word that identifies a group of people ( inhabitants, residents, natives) in relation to a particular place. Demonyms are usually derived from the name of the place ( hamlet, village, town, city, region, ...
. The origins of the word go back to Proto-Germanic ''*þiudiskaz'', Latinised into
Theodiscus ' (in Medieval Latin, corresponding to Old English þēodisc, Old High German diutisc and other early Germanic languages, Germanic reflex (linguistic), reflexes of Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz, meaning "popular" or "of the ...
, meaning "popular" or "of the people", akin to
Old Dutch In linguistics, Old Dutch ( Modern Dutch: ') or Old Low Franconian (Modern Dutch: ') is the set of dialects that evolved from Frankish spoken in the Low Countries during the Early Middle Ages, from around the 6th Page 55: "''Uit de zesde eeu ...
''Dietsch'' or Old English ''þeodisc'', meaning "(of) the common ( Germanic) people". At first, the English language used ''Dutch'' to refer to any or all speakers of
West Germanic languages The West Germanic languages constitute the largest of the three branches of the Germanic languages, Germanic family of languages (the others being the North Germanic languages, North Germanic and the extinct East Germanic languages, East Germ ...
. Gradually its meaning shifted to the West Germanic people they had the most contact with.


History


Prehistory (before 800 BC)

The oldest human (
Neanderthal Neanderthals ( ; ''Homo neanderthalensis'' or sometimes ''H. sapiens neanderthalensis'') are an extinction, extinct group of archaic humans who inhabited Europe and Western and Central Asia during the Middle Pleistocene, Middle to Late Plei ...
) traces in the Netherlands, believed to be about 250,000 years old, were found near
Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; ; ; ) is a city and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital city, capital and largest city of the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. Maastricht is loca ...
. At the end of the
Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...
, the
nomadic Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...
late
Upper Palaeolithic The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories ...
Hamburg culture (13,000–10,000 BC) hunted
reindeer The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, taiga, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only re ...
in the area, using spears. The later
Ahrensburg culture The Ahrensburg culture or Ahrensburgian (c. 12,900 to 11,700 BP) was a late Upper Paleolithic nomadic hunter culture (or technocomplex) in north-central Europe during the Younger Dryas, the last spell of cold at the end of the Weichsel glaci ...
(11,200–9,500 BC) used
bow and arrow The bow and arrow is a ranged weapon system consisting of an elasticity (physics), elastic launching device (bow) and long-shafted projectiles (arrows). Humans used bows and arrows for hunting and aggression long before recorded history, and the ...
. From
Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Ancient Greek language, Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic i ...
Maglemosian-like tribes (c. 8000 BC), the world's oldest canoe was found in
Drenthe Drenthe () is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of Jan ...
. Indigenous late Mesolithic
hunter-gatherer A hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living in a community, or according to an ancestrally derived Lifestyle, lifestyle, in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local naturally occurring sources, esp ...
s from the Swifterbant culture (c. 5600 BC), related to the southern Scandinavian Ertebølle culture, were strongly linked to rivers and open water.Louwe Kooijmans, L.P.,
Trijntje van de Betuweroute, Jachtkampen uit de Steentijd te Hardinxveld-Giessendam
, 1998, ''Spiegel Historiael'' 33, pp. 423–428
Between 4800 and 4500 BC, the Swifterbant people started to adopt from the neighbouring Linear Pottery culture the practice of
animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, animal fiber, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, management, production, nutrition, selective breeding, and the raising ...
, and between 4300 and 4000 BC agriculture. The
Funnelbeaker culture The Funnel(-neck-)beaker culture, in short TRB or TBK (, ; ; ), was an archaeological culture in north-central Europe. It developed as a technological merger of local neolithic and mesolithic techno-complexes between the lower Elbe and middle V ...
(4300–2800 BC) erected the dolmens, large stone grave monuments found in
Drenthe Drenthe () is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of Jan ...
. There was a quick transition from the Funnelbeaker farming culture to the pan-European Corded Ware pastoralist culture (c. 2950 BC). In the southwest, the Seine-Oise-Marne culture—related to the Vlaardingen culture (c. 2600 BC)—survived well into the
Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
period, until it too was succeeded by the Corded Ware culture. The subsequent Bell Beaker culture (2700–2100 BC) introduced metalwork in copper, gold and later bronze and opened new international trade routes, reflected in copper artefacts. Finds of rare bronze objects suggest that Drenthe was a trading centre in the Bronze Age (2000–800 BC). The Bell Beaker culture developed locally into the Barbed-Wire Beaker culture (2100–1800 BC) and later the
Elp culture The Elp culture (c. 1800—800 BCE) is a Bronze Age Europe, Bronze Age archaeological culture of the Netherlands having earthenware pottery of low quality known as "Kümmerkeramik" (also "Grobkeramik") as a marker. The initial phase is characteri ...
(1800–800 BC), a Middle Bronze Age culture marked by
earthenware Earthenware is glazed or unglazed Vitrification#Ceramics, nonvitreous pottery that has normally been fired below . Basic earthenware, often called terracotta, absorbs liquids such as water. However, earthenware can be made impervious to liquids ...
pottery. The southern region became dominated by the related Hilversum culture (1800–800 BC).


Celts, Germanic tribes and Romans (800 BC–410 AD)

From 800 BC onwards, the
Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
Celtic
Hallstatt culture The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Western Europe, Western and Central European archaeological culture of the Late Bronze Age Europe, Bronze Age (Hallstatt A, Hallstatt B) from the 12th to 8th centuries BC and Early Iron Age Europe (Hallst ...
became influential, replacing the Hilversum culture. Iron ore brought a measure of prosperity and was available throughout the country. Smiths travelled from settlement to settlement with bronze and iron, fabricating tools on demand. The King's grave of Oss (700 BC) was found in a burial mound, the largest of its kind in Western Europe. The deteriorating climate in Scandinavia from 850 BC and 650 BC might have triggered the migration of Germanic tribes from the North. By the time this migration was complete, around 250 BC, a few general cultural and linguistic groups had emerged.de Vries, Jan W., Roland Willemyns and Peter Burger, ''Het verhaal van een taal'', Amsterdam: Prometheus, 2003, pp. 12, 21–27 The
North Sea Germanic North Sea Germanic, also known as Ingvaeonic ( ), is a subgrouping of West Germanic languages that consists of Old Frisian, Old English language, Old English, and Old Saxon, and their descendants. These languages share a number of commonalitie ...
Ingaevones The Ingaevones () or Ingvaeones () were a Germanic peoples, Germanic cultural group living in the Northern Germania along the North Sea coast in the areas of Jutland, Holstein, and Lower Saxony in classical antiquity. Tribes in this area include ...
inhabited the northern part of the
Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...
. They would later develop into the
Frisii The Frisii were an ancient tribe, who were neighbours of the Roman empire in the low-lying coastal region between the Rhine and the Ems (river), Ems rivers, in what what is now the northern Netherlands. They are not mentioned in Roman records af ...
and the early
Saxons The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...
. The Weser–Rhine Germanic (or Istvaeones) extended along the middle Rhine and
Weser The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports o ...
and inhabited the Low Countries south of the great rivers. These tribes would eventually develop into the Salian Franks. The
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...
La Tène culture The La Tène culture (; ) was a Iron Age Europe, European Iron Age culture. It developed and flourished during the late Iron Age (from about 450 BC to the Roman Republic, Roman conquest in the 1st century BC), succeeding the early Iron Age ...
(c. 450 BC to the Roman conquest) expanded over a wide range, including the southern area of the
Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...
. Some scholars have speculated that even a third ethnic identity and language, neither Germanic nor Celtic, survived in the Netherlands until the Roman period, the Nordwestblock culture.Lendering, Jona
"Germania Inferior"
, Livius.org. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
The first author to describe the coast of
Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...
and
Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...
was the geographer
Pytheas Pytheas of Massalia (; Ancient Greek: Πυθέας ὁ Μασσαλιώτης ''Pythéās ho Massaliōtēs''; Latin: ''Pytheas Massiliensis''; born 350 BC, 320–306 BC) was a Greeks, Greek List of Graeco-Roman geographers, geographer, explo ...
, who noted in c. 325 BC that in these regions, "more people died in the struggle against water than in the struggle against men." During the
Gallic Wars The Gallic Wars were waged between 58 and 50 BC by the Roman general Julius Caesar against the peoples of Gaul (present-day France, Belgium, and Switzerland). Gauls, Gallic, Germanic peoples, Germanic, and Celtic Britons, Brittonic trib ...
, the area south and west of the
Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...
was conquered by Roman forces under
Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...
from 57 BC to 53 BC. Caesar describes two main Celtic tribes living in what is now the southern Netherlands: the
Menapii The Menapii were a Belgic tribe dwelling near the North Sea, around present-day Cassel, during the Iron Age and the Roman period. History The Menapii were persistent opponents of Julius Caesar's conquest of Gaul, resisting until 54 BC. They ...
and the Eburones. Under
Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...
, the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
would conquer the entirety of the modern day Netherlands, incorporating it into the province of
Germania Antiqua ''Germania'' (also sometimes called Germania Antiqua) was a short-lived Roman province for the duration of 16 years under Augustus, from 7 BC to AD 9. The possible capital of this province was Roman camp, Marktbreit, Marktbreit (), a castrum (R ...
in 7 BC, but would be repelled back across the Rhine after the Battle of Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD, with the Rhine becoming fixed as Rome's permanent northern frontier around 12 AD. Notable towns would arise along the
Limes Germanicus The (Latin for ''Germanic frontier''), or 'Germanic Limes', is the name given in modern times to a line of frontier () fortifications that bounded the ancient Roman provinces of Germania Inferior, Germania Superior and Raetia, dividing the Roman ...
:
Nijmegen Nijmegen ( , ; Nijmeegs: ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and the ninth largest of the Netherlands as a whole. Located on the Waal River close to the German border, Nijmegen is one of the oldest cities in the ...
and Voorburg. In the first part of
Gallia Belgica Gallia Belgica ("Belgic Gaul") was a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire located in the north-eastern part of Roman Gaul, in what is today primarily northern France, Belgium, and Luxembourg, along with parts of the Netherlands and German ...
, the area south of the Limes became part of the
Roman province The Roman provinces (, pl. ) were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was ruled by a Roman appointed as Roman g ...
of
Germania Inferior ''Germania Inferior'' ("Lower Germania") was a Roman province from AD 85 until the province was renamed ''Germania Secunda'' in the 4th century AD, on the west bank of the Rhine bordering the North Sea. The capital of the province was Colonia Cl ...
. The area to the north of the Rhine, inhabited by the Frisii, remained outside Roman rule, while the Germanic border tribes of the Batavi and Cananefates served in the Roman cavalry. The Batavi rose against the Romans in the
Batavian rebellion The Revolt of the Batavi took place in the Roman province of Germania Inferior ("Lower Germania") between AD 69 and 70. It was an uprising against the Roman Empire started by the Batavi (Germanic tribe), Batavi, a small but militarily powerful G ...
of 69 AD but were eventually defeated. The Batavi later merged with other tribes into the confederation of the Salian Franks, whose identity emerged in the first half of the third century.Previté-Orton, Charles, ''The Shorter Cambridge Medieval History'', vol. I, pp. 51–52, 151 Salian Franks appear in Roman texts as both allies and enemies. They were forced by the confederation of the Saxons from the east to move over the Rhine into Roman territory in the fourth century. From their new base in
West Flanders West Flanders is the westernmost province of the Flemish Region, in Belgium. It is the only coastal Belgian province, facing the North Sea to the northwest. It has land borders with the Dutch province of Zeeland to the northeast, the Flemis ...
and the Southwest Netherlands, they were raiding the
English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...
. Roman forces pacified the region but did not expel the Franks, who continued to be feared at least until the time of Julian the Apostate (358) when Salian Franks were allowed to settle as ''
foederati ''Foederati'' ( ; singular: ''foederatus'' ) were peoples and cities bound by a treaty, known as ''foedus'', with Rome. During the Roman Republic, the term identified the '' socii'', but during the Roman Empire, it was used to describe foreign ...
'' in Texandria.


Early Middle Ages (411–1000)

After the Roman government in the area collapsed in roughly the year 406, the Franks expanded their territories into numerous kingdoms. By the 490s,
Clovis I Clovis (; reconstructed Old Frankish, Frankish: ; – 27 November 511) was the first List of Frankish kings, king of the Franks to unite all of the Franks under one ruler, changing the form of leadership from a group of petty kings to rule by a ...
had conquered and united all these territories in the southern Netherlands in one Frankish kingdom, and from there continued his conquests into
Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...
. During this expansion, Franks migrating to the south (modern territory of France and Walloon part of Belgium) eventually adopted the
Vulgar Latin Vulgar Latin, also known as Colloquial, Popular, Spoken or Vernacular Latin, is the range of non-formal Register (sociolinguistics), registers of Latin spoken from the Crisis of the Roman Republic, Late Roman Republic onward. ''Vulgar Latin'' a ...
of the local population. A widening cultural divide grew with the Franks remaining in their original homeland in the north (i.e. the southern Netherlands and Flanders), who kept on speaking
Old Frankish Frankish ( reconstructed endonym: *), also known as Old Franconian or Old Frankish, was the West Germanic language spoken by the Franks from the 5th to 10th centuries. Franks under king Chlodio settled in Roman Gaul in the 5th century. O ...
, which by the ninth century had evolved into Old Low Franconian or Old Dutch. A Dutch-French language boundary hence came into existence. To the north of the Franks, climatic conditions improved, and during the
Migration Period The Migration Period ( 300 to 600 AD), also known as the Barbarian Invasions, was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories ...
Saxons The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...
, the closely related Angles,
Jutes The Jutes ( ) were one of the Germanic people, Germanic tribes who settled in Great Britain after the end of Roman rule in Britain, departure of the Roman Britain, Romans. According to Bede, they were one of the three most powerful Germanic na ...
, and
Frisii The Frisii were an ancient tribe, who were neighbours of the Roman empire in the low-lying coastal region between the Rhine and the Ems (river), Ems rivers, in what what is now the northern Netherlands. They are not mentioned in Roman records af ...
settled the coast. Many moved on to England and came to be known as
Anglo-Saxons The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
, but those who stayed would be referred to as
Frisians The Frisians () are an ethnic group indigenous to the German Bight, coastal regions of the Netherlands, north-western Germany and southern Denmark. They inhabit an area known as Frisia and are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland an ...
and their language as Frisian. Frisian was spoken along the entire southern North Sea coast. By the seventh century, a Frisian Kingdom (650–734) under King Aldegisel and King Redbad emerged with Traiectum (
Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...
) as its centre of power, while Dorestad was a flourishing trading place. Between 600 and around 719 the cities were often fought over between the Frisians and the Franks. In 734, at the Battle of the Boarn, the Frisians were defeated after a series of wars. With the approval of the Franks, the
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
missionary Willibrord converted the Frisian people to Christianity and established the Archdiocese of Utrecht. However, his successor
Boniface Boniface, OSB (born Wynfreth; 675 –5 June 754) was an English Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of Francia during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations of the church i ...
was murdered by the Frisians in 754. The Frankish
Carolingian empire The Carolingian Empire (800–887) was a Franks, Frankish-dominated empire in Western and Central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as List of Frankish kings, kings of the Franks since ...
controlled much of Western Europe. In 843, it was divided into three parts—
East East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...
, Middle, and
West Francia In medieval historiography, West Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the West Franks () constitutes the initial stage of the Kingdom of France and extends from the year 843, from the Treaty of Verdun, to 987, the beginning of the Capet ...
. Most of present-day Netherlands became part of Middle Francia, which was a weak kingdom and subject to numerous partitions and annexation attempts by its stronger neighbours. It comprised territories from
Frisia Frisia () is a Cross-border region, cross-border Cultural area, cultural region in Northwestern Europe. Stretching along the Wadden Sea, it encompasses the north of the Netherlands and parts of northwestern Germany. Wider definitions of "Frisia" ...
in the north to the
Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...
in the south. Around 850,
Lothair I Lothair I (9th. C. Frankish: ''Ludher'' and Medieval Latin: ''Lodharius''; Dutch and Medieval Latin: ''Lotharius''; German: ''Lothar''; French: ''Lothaire''; Italian: ''Lotario''; 795 – 29 September 855) was a 9th-century emperor of the ...
of Middle Francia acknowledged the Viking Rorik of Dorestad as ruler of most of Frisia. When the kingdom of Middle Francia was partitioned in 855, the lands north of the
Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...
passed to
Lothair II Lothair II (835 – 8 August 869) was a Carolingian king and ruler of northern parts of Middle Francia, that came to be known as Lotharingia, reigning there from 855 until his death in 869. He also ruled over Burgundy, holding from 855 just th ...
and subsequently were named
Lotharingia Lotharingia was a historical region and an early medieval polity that existed during the late Carolingian and early Ottonian era, from the middle of the 9th to the middle of the 10th century. It was established in 855 by the Treaty of Prüm, a ...
. After he died in 869, Lotharingia was partitioned, into Upper and
Lower Lotharingia The Duchy of Lower Lotharingia, also called Northern Lotharingia, Lower Lorraine or Northern Lorraine (and also referred to as '' Lothier'' or '' Lottier''
, the latter comprising the Low Countries that became part of
East Francia East Francia (Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the East Franks () was a successor state of Charlemagne's empire created in 843 and ruled by the Carolingian dynasty until 911. It was established through the Treaty of Verdun (843) which divided the for ...
in 870. Around 879, another Viking expedition led by Godfrid, Duke of Frisia, raided the Frisian lands. Resistance to the Vikings, if any, came from local nobles, who gained in stature as a result, and that laid the basis for the disintegration of Lower Lotharingia into semi-independent states. One of these local nobles was Gerolf of Holland, who assumed lordship in Frisia, and Viking rule came to an end.


High Middle Ages (1000–1384)

The
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
ruled much of the Low Countries in the 10th and 11th century but was not able to maintain political unity. Powerful local nobles turned their cities, counties and duchies into private kingdoms that felt little sense of obligation to the emperor.
Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...
, Hainaut,
Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...
, Gelre, Brabant, and
Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...
were in a state of almost continual war or paradoxically formed personal unions. As Frankish settlement progressed from Flanders and Brabant, the area quickly became Old Low Franconian (or Old Dutch). Around 1000 AD, agrarian conditions started to improve, which lead to increase in population, reclamation of wasteland by farmers, and steady growth of trade and industry. Towns grew around
monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which m ...
and
castles A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble. This i ...
, and a mercantile middle class began to develop in these urban areas, especially in Flanders, and later Brabant. Wealthy cities started to buy certain privileges for themselves from the sovereign. Around 1100 AD, farmers from
Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...
and
Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...
began draining and cultivating uninhabited swampy land in the western Netherlands, making the emergence of the County of Holland as the centre of power possible. The title of Count of Holland was fought over in the Hook and Cod Wars between 1350 and 1490. The Cod faction consisted of the more progressive cities, while the Hook faction consisted of the conservative noblemen. These noblemen invited Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy to conquer Holland.


Burgundian, Habsburg and Spanish Habsburg Netherlands (1384–1581)

Most of the Imperial and French fiefs in what is now the Netherlands and Belgium were united in a
personal union A personal union is a combination of two or more monarchical states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, involves the constituent states being to some extent in ...
by Philip the Good in 1433. The
House of Valois-Burgundy The House of Valois-Burgundy (, ), or the Younger House of Burgundy, was a noble Kingdom of France, French family deriving from the royal House of Valois. (It is distinct from the Capetian House of Burgundy, descendants of King Robert II of France ...
and their
Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...
heirs would rule the Low Countries from 1384 to 1581. The new rulers defended Dutch trading interests. The fleets of the
County of Holland The County of Holland was a Imperial State, state of the Holy Roman Empire from its inception until 1433. From 1433 onward it was part of the Burgundian Netherlands, from 1482 part of the Habsburg Netherlands and from 1581 onward the leading pro ...
defeated the fleets of the
Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...
several times.
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
grew and in the 15th century became the primary trading port in Europe for grain from the
Baltic region The Baltic Sea Region, alternatively the Baltic Rim countries (or simply the Baltic Rim), and the Baltic Sea countries/states, refers to the general area surrounding the Baltic Sea, including parts of Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. Un ...
. Amsterdam distributed grain to the major cities of Belgium, Northern France and England. This trade was vital because Holland could no longer produce enough grain to feed itself. Land drainage had caused the
peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...
of the former
wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...
s to reduce to a level that was too low for drainage to be maintained. Under Habsburg Charles V, all fiefs in the current Netherlands region were united into the
Seventeen Provinces The Seventeen Provinces were the Imperial states of the Habsburg Netherlands in the 16th century. They roughly covered the Low Countries, i.e., what is now the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and most of the France, French Departments of Franc ...
, which included most of present-day Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of France and Germany. In 1568, under Phillip II, the
Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...
between the Provinces and their Spanish ruler began. The level of ferocity exhibited by both sides can be gleaned from a Dutch chronicler's report:
On more than one occasion men were seen hanging their own brothers, who had been taken prisoners in the enemy's ranks... A Spaniard had ceased to be human in their eyes. On one occasion, a surgeon at Veer cut the heart from a Spanish prisoner, nailed it on a vessel's prow, and invited the townsmen to come and fasten their teeth in it, which many did with savage satisfaction.
The Duke of Alba attempted to suppress the Protestant movement in the Netherlands. Netherlanders were "burned, strangled, beheaded, or buried alive" by his " Blood Council" and Spanish soldiers. Bodies were displayed along roads to terrorise the population into submission. Alba boasted of having executed 18,600; this figure does not include those who perished by war and famine. The first great siege was Alba's effort to capture
Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...
and thereby cut Holland in half. It dragged on from December 1572 to the next summer, when Haarlemers finally surrendered on 13 July upon the promise that the city would be spared from being sacked. It was a stipulation Don Fadrique was unable to honour, when his soldiers mutinied, angered over pay owed and the miserable conditions of the campaign. On 4 November 1576, Spanish tercios seized
Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
and subjected it to the worst pillage in the Netherlands' history. The citizens resisted but were overcome; seven thousand were killed and a thousand buildings were torched. Following the sack of Antwerp, delegates from Catholic Brabant, Protestant Holland and Zeeland agreed to join Utrecht and
William the Silent William the Silent or William the Taciturn (; 24 April 153310 July 1584), more commonly known in the Netherlands as William of Orange (), was the leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish Habsburg Netherlands, Habsburgs that set off the ...
in driving out Spanish troops and forming a new government for the Netherlands. Don Juan of Austria, the new Spanish governor, was forced to concede initially, but within months returned to active hostilities. The Dutch looked for help from the Protestant
Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...
of England, but she initially stood by her commitments to the Spanish in the Treaty of Bristol of 1574. When the next large-scale battle occurred at Gembloux in 1578, the Spanish forces won easily. In light of the defeat at Gembloux, the southern states of the Seventeen Provinces distanced themselves from the rebels in the north with the 1579 Union of Arras. Opposing them, the northern half of the Seventeen Provinces forged the
Union of Utrecht The Union of Utrecht () was an alliance based on an agreement concluded on 23 January 1579 between a number of Habsburg Netherlands, Dutch provinces and cities, to reach a joint commitment against the king, Philip II of Spain. By joining forces ...
in which they committed to support each other against the Spanish. The Union of Utrecht is seen as the foundation of the modern Netherlands. Spanish troops sacked
Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; ; ; ) is a city and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital city, capital and largest city of the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. Maastricht is loca ...
in 1579, killing over 10,000 civilians. In 1581, the northern provinces adopted the Act of Abjuration, the declaration of independence in which the provinces officially deposed Philip II. Against the rebels Philip could draw on the resources of the
Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...
. Elizabeth I sympathised with the Dutch struggle and sent an army of 7,600 soldiers to aid them. English forces faced the Spanish in the Netherlands under the
Duke of Parma The Duke of Parma and Piacenza () was the ruler of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza, a List of historic states of Italy, historical state of Northern Italy. It was created by Pope Paul III (Alessandro Farnese) for his son Pier Luigi Farnese, Du ...
in a series of largely indecisive actions that tied down significant numbers of Spanish troops and bought time for the Dutch to reorganise their defences. The war continued until 1648, when Spain under King Philip IV recognised the independence of the seven north-western provinces in the
Peace of Münster The Peace of Münster, signed on 30 January 1648, was a treaty between Philip IV of Spain and the States-General of the Netherlands, Lords States General of the Dutch Republic. Negotiated in parallel to, but not part of, the Peace of Westphalia, ...
. Parts of the southern provinces became ''de facto'' colonies of the new republican-mercantile empire.


Dutch Republic (1581–1795)

Following the declaration of independence, the provinces of
Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...
,
Zeeland Zeeland (; ), historically known in English by the Endonym and exonym, exonym Zealand, is the westernmost and least populous province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the southwest of the country, borders North Brabant to the east ...
,
Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...
,
Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...
,
Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...
,
Overijssel Overijssel (; ; ; ) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name comes from the perspective of the Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht, Episcopal principality of Utrecht ...
, and
Gelderland Gelderland ( , ), also known as Guelders ( ) in English, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands, located in the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Nethe ...
entered into a
confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
. All these duchies, lordships and counties enjoyed a significant degree of autonomy and were governed by their own administrative bodies known as the
States-Provincial The provincial council (, PS), also known as the States-Provincial, is the provincial parliament and legislative assembly in each of the provinces of the Netherlands. It is elected for each province simultaneously once every four years and has ...
. The confederal government, known as the States General, was headquartered in
The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...
and comprised representatives from each of the seven provinces. The sparsely populated region of
Drenthe Drenthe () is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of Jan ...
was part of the republic, albeit not considered a province in its own right. Moreover, during the
Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...
, the Republic came to occupy a number of Generality Lands located in
Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...
, Brabant and Limburg. These areas were primarily inhabited by Roman Catholics and lacked a distinct governmental structure of their own. They were utilized as a buffer zone between the Republic and the Spanish-controlled
Southern Netherlands The Southern Netherlands, also called the Catholic Netherlands, were the parts of the Low Countries belonging to the Holy Roman Empire which were at first largely controlled by Habsburg Spain (Spanish Netherlands, 1556–1714) and later by the ...
. In the
Dutch Golden Age The Dutch Golden Age ( ) was a period in the history of the Netherlands which roughly lasted from 1588, when the Dutch Republic was established, to 1672, when the '' Rampjaar'' occurred. During this period, Dutch trade, scientific development ...
, spanning much of the 17th century, the
Dutch Empire The Dutch colonial empire () comprised overseas territories and trading posts under some form of Dutch control from the early 17th to late 20th centuries, including those initially administered by Dutch chartered companies—primarily the Du ...
grew to become one of the major seafaring and economic powers. Science, military and art (especially
painting Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...
) were among the most acclaimed in the world. By 1650, the Dutch owned 16,000 merchant ships. The
Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...
and the
Dutch West India Company The Dutch West India Company () was a Dutch chartered company that was founded in 1621 and went defunct in 1792. Among its founders were Reynier Pauw, Willem Usselincx (1567–1647), and Jessé de Forest (1576–1624). On 3 June 1621, it was gra ...
established
colonies A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their '' metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often or ...
and
trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...
s all over the world. The Dutch settlement in North America began with the founding of
New Amsterdam New Amsterdam (, ) was a 17th-century Dutch Empire, Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''Factory (trading post), fac ...
in 1614. In South Africa, the Dutch settled the
Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...
in 1652. Dutch colonies in South America were established along the many rivers in the fertile
Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...
plains, among them Colony of Surinam (now
Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...
). In Asia, the Dutch established a presence in
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, the
Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...
(now
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
), Formosa (now
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
), and the only western trading post in Japan,
Dejima or Deshima, in the 17th century also called , was an artificial island off Nagasaki, Japan, that served as a trading post for the Portuguese (1570–1639) and subsequently the Dutch (1641–1858). For 220 years, it was the central con ...
. During the period of Proto-industrialisation, the empire received 50% of textiles and 80% of silks import from the India's
Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...
.
Om Prakash Om Prakash Chibber (19 December 1919 – 21 February 1998) was an Indian film actor. He was born in Jammu and was a well known character actor of Bollywood, Hindi Cinema. His most well-known movies are Mere Hamdam Mere Dost (1968 film), ''Mere ...
,
Empire, Mughal
, ''History of World Trade Since 1450'', edited by John J. McCusker, vol. 1, Macmillan Reference USA, 2006, pp. 237–240, ''World History in Context''. Retrieved 3 August 2017
Many economic historians regard the Netherlands as the first thoroughly capitalist country. In early modern Europe, it had the wealthiest trading city in
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
, and the first full-time
stock exchange A stock exchange, securities exchange, or bourse is an exchange where stockbrokers and traders can buy and sell securities, such as shares of stock, bonds and other financial instruments. Stock exchanges may also provide facilities for ...
. The inventiveness of the traders led to insurance and retirement funds as well as phenomena such as the boom-bust cycle, the world's first asset-inflation bubble, the
tulip mania Tulip mania () was a period during the Dutch Golden Age when contract prices for some bulbs of the recently introduced and fashionable tulip reached extraordinarily high levels. The major acceleration started in 1634 and then dramatically co ...
of 1636–1637, and the world's first
bear raid A bear raid is a type of stock market strategy, where a Trader (finance), trader (or group of traders) attempts to force down the price of a stock to cover a short selling, short position. The name is derived from the common use of Market trend, '' ...
er,
Isaac le Maire Isaac Le Maire (c. 1558 in Antwerp – September 20, 1624 in Egmond aan den Hoef) was a Dutch entrepreneur, investor, and a sizeable shareholder of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). He is best known for his constant strife with the VOC, ...
. In 1672 – known in Dutch history as the Rampjaar (Disaster Year) – the Dutch Republic was attacked by France, England and three German Bishoprics simultaneously, in what would become known as the
Franco-Dutch War The Franco-Dutch War, 1672 to 1678, was primarily fought by Kingdom of France, France and the Dutch Republic, with both sides backed at different times by a variety of allies. Related conflicts include the 1672 to 1674 Third Anglo-Dutch War and ...
.
At sea A sea is a large body of salt water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the ocean, the interconnected body of seawaters that spans most of Earth. Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order section ...
, it could successfully prevent the English and French navies from blockading the western shores. On land, however, it was almost taken over by the advancing French and German armies from the east. It managed to turn the tide by inundating parts of Holland. From 1672 to 1712, the Republic, led by
William III of Orange William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 1650 – 8 March 1702), also known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from 167 ...
and Anthonie Heinsius would regularly clash with France in what some historians have come to call the ''Forty Years' War''. In the
Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...
and the
War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...
, the Republic was at the centre of anti-French coalitions. The Dutch ultimately successfully defended the
Spanish Netherlands The Spanish Netherlands (; ; ; ) (historically in Spanish: , the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556 to 1714. They were a collection of States of t ...
, established a barrier there, and their troops proved central to the alliance which halted French territorial expansion in Europe until a new cycle began in 1792 with the
French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...
. However, the wars left them effectively bankrupt, and inflicted permanent damage on the Dutch merchant navy; while they remained the dominant economic power in the Far East, Britain took over as the pre-eminent global commercial and maritime power. Between 1590 and 1713, the Dutch army had been one of Europe's largest and most capable armies. However, following the conclusion of the War of the Spanish Succession, other major powers such as Prussia, Austria, Britain, and Russia significantly expanded their military forces. The Republic struggled to match these developments, and gradually assumed the status of a mid-tier power. However, historians have sometimes overstated the extent of this decline, especially when considering the period up to the 1750s.


Batavian Republic and Kingdom (1795–1890)

In the 18th century the Dutch Republic had seen a state of a general decline, with economic competition from England and long-standing rivalries between the two main factions in Dutch society, the republican ''Staatsgezinden'' and the supporters of the
stadtholder In the Low Countries, a stadtholder ( ) was a steward, first appointed as a medieval official and ultimately functioning as a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and ...
the ''Prinsgezinden'' as main political factions. With the armed support of revolutionary France, Dutch republicans proclaimed the
Batavian Republic The Batavian Republic (; ) was the Succession of states, successor state to the Dutch Republic, Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on 19 January 1795 after the Batavian Revolution and ended on 5 June 1806, with the acce ...
, modelled after the
French Republic France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and rendering the Netherlands a
unitary state A unitary state is a (Sovereign state, sovereign) State (polity), state governed as a single entity in which the central government is the supreme authority. The central government may create or abolish administrative divisions (sub-national or ...
on 19 January 1795. The stadtholder William V of Orange had fled to England. From 1806 to 1810, the Kingdom of Holland was set up by
Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
as a puppet kingdom governed by his brother
Louis Bonaparte Louis Bonaparte (born Luigi Buonaparte; 2 September 1778 – 25 July 1846) was a younger brother of Napoleon, Napoleon I, Emperor of the French. He was a monarch in his own right from 1806 to 1810, ruling over the Kingdom of Holland (a French c ...
. However, King Louis Bonaparte tried to serve Dutch interests instead of his brother's, and he was forced to abdicate on 1 July 1810. The Emperor sent in an army and the Netherlands became part of the French Empire until November 1813, when Napoleon was defeated in the Battle of Leipzig. William Frederick, son of the last stadtholder, returned to the Netherlands in 1813 and proclaimed himself Sovereign Prince. Two years later, the
Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...
added the southern Netherlands to the north to create a strong country on the northern border of France. William Frederick raised this United Netherlands to the status of a kingdom and proclaimed himself as King William I in 1815. William became hereditary
Grand Duke of Luxembourg The Grand Duke of Luxembourg is the head of state of Luxembourg. Luxembourg has been a grand duchy since 15 March 1815, when it was created from territory of the former Duchy of Luxembourg. It was in personal union with the United Kingdom of ...
in exchange for his German possessions. However, the Southern Netherlands had been culturally separate from the north since 1581, and rebelled. The south gained independence in 1830 as Belgium (recognised by the Northern Netherlands in 1839 as the Kingdom of the Netherlands was created by decree), while the
personal union A personal union is a combination of two or more monarchical states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, involves the constituent states being to some extent in ...
between Luxembourg and the Netherlands was severed in 1890, when William III died with no surviving male heirs. Ascendancy laws prevented his daughter Queen Wilhelmina from becoming the next Grand Duchess. The Belgian Revolution and the Java War in the Dutch East Indies brought the Netherlands to the brink of bankruptcy. However, the Cultivation System was introduced in 1830; in the Dutch East Indies, 20% of village land had to be devoted to government crops for export. The policy brought the Dutch enormous wealth and made the colony self-sufficient. The Netherlands abolished slavery in its colonies in 1863. Enslaved people in
Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...
would be fully free only in 1873.


World wars and beyond (1890–present)

The Netherlands remained neutral during World War I, in part because the import of goods through the Netherlands proved essential to German survival until the blockade by the British
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
in 1916.Abbenhuis, Maartje M. (2006
The Art of Staying Neutral
Amsterdam University Press, .
That changed in World War II, when Germany invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940. The Rotterdam Blitz forced most of the Dutch army to surrender. During the occupation, over 100,000
Dutch Jews The history of the Jews in the Netherlands largely dates to the late 16th century and 17th century, when Sephardic Jews from Portugal and Spain began to settle in Amsterdam and a few other Dutch cities, because the Netherlands was an unusual ...
were transported to Nazi
extermination camp Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe, primarily in occupied Poland, during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocau ...
s; only a few survived. Dutch workers were conscripted for forced labour in Germany, civilians who resisted were killed in reprisal for attacks on German soldiers, and the countryside was plundered for food. Although there were thousands of Dutch who risked their lives by hiding Jews from the Germans, over 20,000 Dutch fascists joined the Waffen SS. Political collaborators were members of the fascist NSB, the only legal political party in the occupied Netherlands. On 8 December 1941, the
Dutch government-in-exile The Dutch government-in-exile (), also known as the London Cabinet (), was the government in exile of the Netherlands, supervised by Queen Wilhelmina, that fled to London after the German invasion of the country during World War II on 10 May 19 ...
in London declared war on Japan, but could not prevent the
Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies The Empire of Japan occupied the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) during World War II from March 1942 until after the end of the war in September 1945. In May 1940, Germany German invasion of the Netherlands, occupied the Netherlands, and ma ...
. In 1944–45, the First Canadian Army liberated much of the Netherlands. Soon after
VE Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945; it marked the official surrender of all German military operations ...
, the Dutch fought a colonial war against the new Republic of Indonesia.


Decolonisation

In 1954, the
Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands The Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands (in Dutch: ''Statuut voor het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden''; in Papiamentu: ''Statuut di Reino Hulandes'') is a legal instrument that sets out the political relationship among the four countries that ...
reformed the political structure as a result of international pressure to carry out
decolonisation Decolonization is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby Imperialism, imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. The meanings and applications of the term are disputed. Some scholar ...
. The Dutch colonies of Surinam and Curaçao and Dependencies became constituent countries within the Kingdom, on the basis of an equal partnership with the European territories. Indonesia had declared its independence in August 1945.
Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...
followed in 1975. The Netherlands was one of the founding members of
Benelux The Benelux Union (; ; ; ) or Benelux is a politico-economic union, alliance and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighbouring states in Western Europe: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The name is a portma ...
and
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
. In the 1950s, the Netherlands became one of the six founding countries of the
European Communities The European Communities (EC) were three international organizations that were governed by the same set of Institutions of the European Union, institutions. These were the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Atomic Energy Co ...
, following the 1952 establishment of the
European Coal and Steel Community The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was a European organization created after World War II to integrate Europe's coal and steel industries into a single common market based on the principle of supranationalism which would be governe ...
, and subsequent 1958 creations of the
European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...
and European Atomic Energy Community. In 1993, the former two were incorporated into the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
. Government-encouraged emigration efforts to reduce population density prompted some 500,000 Dutch to leave the country after the war. The 1960s and 1970s were a time of great social and cultural change, such as rapid de- pillarisation. Students and other youth rejected traditional mores and pushed for change in matters such as
women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...
,
sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...
,
disarmament Disarmament is the act of reducing, limiting, or abolishing Weapon, weapons. Disarmament generally refers to a country's military or specific type of weaponry. Disarmament is often taken to mean total elimination of weapons of mass destruction, ...
and
environmental issues Environmental issues are disruptions in the usual function of ecosystems. Further, these issues can be caused by humans (human impact on the environment) or they can be natural. These issues are considered serious when the ecosystem cannot recov ...
. In 2002 the
euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...
was introduced as
fiat money Fiat money is a type of government-issued currency that is not backed by a precious metal, such as gold or silver, nor by any other tangible asset or commodity. Fiat currency is typically designated by the issuing government to be legal tende ...
, and in 2010 the
Netherlands Antilles The Netherlands Antilles (, ; ), also known as the Dutch Antilles, was a constituent Caribbean country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands consisting of the islands of Saba (island), Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten in the Lesser Antilles, ...
was dissolved. Referendums were held on each island. As a result,
Bonaire Bonaire is a Caribbean island in the Leeward Antilles, and is a Caribbean Netherlands, special municipality (officially Public body (Netherlands), "public body") of the Netherlands. Its capital is the port of Kralendijk, on the west (Windward an ...
,
Sint Eustatius Sint Eustatius, known locally as Statia, is an island in the Caribbean. It is a Caribbean Netherlands, special municipality (officially "Public body (Netherlands), public body") of the Netherlands. The island is in the northern Leeward Islands ...
and Saba (the BES islands) were incorporated as '' special municipalities'' upon the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles. The special municipalities are collectively known as the
Caribbean Netherlands The Caribbean Netherlands (, ) is a geographic region of the Netherlands located outside of Europe, in the Caribbean, consisting of three special municipalities. These are the islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba (island), Saba,"Bonair ...
.


Geography

The European Netherlands has a total area of , including water bodies, and a land area of . The
Caribbean Netherlands The Caribbean Netherlands (, ) is a geographic region of the Netherlands located outside of Europe, in the Caribbean, consisting of three special municipalities. These are the islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba (island), Saba,"Bonair ...
has a total area of It lies between latitudes 50° and 54° N, and longitudes and 8° E. The Netherlands is geographically very low relative to sea level and is considered a flat country, with about 26% of its area and 21% of its population below sea level. The European part of the country is for the most part flat, with the exception of
foothills Foothills or piedmont are geography, geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range, higher hill range or an highland, upland area. They are a transition zone between plains and low terrain, relief hill ...
in the far southeast, up to a height of no more than at the Vaalserberg, and some low hill ranges in the central parts. Most of the areas below sea level are caused by
peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...
extraction or achieved through
land reclamation Land reclamation, often known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new Terrestrial ecoregion, land from oceans, list of seas, seas, Stream bed, riverbeds or lake ...
. Since the late 16th century, large
polder A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrology, hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as levee, dikes. The three types of polder are: # Land reclamation, Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a ...
areas are preserved through elaborate drainage systems that include dikes, canals and pumping stations. Much of the country was originally formed by the
estuaries An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...
of three large European rivers: the
Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...
(''Rijn''), the
Meuse The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of . History From 1301, the upper ...
(''Maas'') and the
Scheldt The Scheldt ( ; ; ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to Old Englis ...
(''Schelde''), as well as their
tributaries A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream ('' main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which the ...
. The south-western part of the Netherlands is a
river delta A river delta is a landform, archetypically triangular, created by the deposition of the sediments that are carried by the waters of a river, where the river merges with a body of slow-moving water or with a body of stagnant water. The creat ...
of these rivers, the
Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta The Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta is a river delta in the Netherlands formed by the confluence of the Rhine, the Meuse () and the Scheldt rivers. In some cases, the Scheldt delta is considered a separate delta to the Rhine–Meuse delta. The resu ...
. The European Netherlands is divided into north and south parts by the Rhine, the
Waal WAAL (99.1 FM broadcasting, FM; "The Whale") is a commercial radio, commercial radio station licensed to Binghamton, New York. It airs a classic rock radio format and is owned by Townsquare Media. WAAL is the oldest FM radio station continuou ...
, its main tributary branch, and the Meuse. These rivers functioned as a natural barrier between
fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...
doms and hence historically created a cultural divide, as is evident in some phonetic traits that are recognisable on either side of what the Dutch call their "Great Rivers" (''de Grote Rivieren''). Another significant branch of the Rhine, the
IJssel The IJssel (; ) is a Dutch distributary of the river Rhine that flows northward and ultimately discharges into the IJsselmeer (before the 1932 completion of the Afsluitdijk known as the Zuiderzee), a North Sea natural harbour. It more immediatel ...
river, discharges into Lake IJssel, the former Zuiderzee ('southern sea'). Just like the previous, this river forms a linguistic divide: people to the northeast of this river speak Dutch Low Saxon dialects (except for the province of
Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...
, which has its own language).Welschen, Ad: Course ''Dutch Society and Culture'', International School for Humanities and Social Studies ISHSS, Universiteit van Amsterdam, 2000–2005.


Geology

The Netherlands is mostly composed of deltaic,
coast A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...
al and aeolian derived sediments during the
Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...
glacial A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...
and
interglacial An interglacial period (or alternatively interglacial, interglaciation) is a geological interval of warmer global average temperature lasting thousands of years that separates consecutive glacial periods within an ice age. The current Holocene i ...
periods. Almost the entire west Netherlands is composed of the
Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...
-
Meuse The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of . History From 1301, the upper ...
river
estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...
. In the east of the Netherlands, remains are found of the last ice age, which ended approximately ten thousand years ago. As the continental ice sheet moved in from the north, it pushed moraine forward. The ice sheet halted as it covered the eastern half of the Netherlands. After the ice age ended, the moraine remained in the form of a long hill-line. The cities of Arnhem and
Nijmegen Nijmegen ( , ; Nijmeegs: ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and the ninth largest of the Netherlands as a whole. Located on the Waal River close to the German border, Nijmegen is one of the oldest cities in the ...
are built on these hills.


Floods

Over the centuries, the Dutch coastline has changed considerably as a result of natural disasters and human intervention. On 14 December 1287, St. Lucia's flood affected the Netherlands and Germany, killing more than 50,000 people in one of the most destructive floods in recorded history. The St. Elizabeth's flood (1421), St. Elizabeth flood of 1421 and the mismanagement in its aftermath destroyed a newly reclaimed
polder A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrology, hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as levee, dikes. The three types of polder are: # Land reclamation, Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a ...
, replacing it with the ''Biesbosch'' tidal floodplains. The huge North Sea flood of 1953, North Sea flood of February 1953 caused the collapse of several dikes in the southwest Netherlands; more than 1,800 people drowned. The Dutch government subsequently instituted a large-scale programme, the "Delta Works", to protect the country against future flooding, which was completed over a period of more than 40 years. The impact of disasters was, to an extent, increased through human activity. Relatively high-lying swampland was drained to be used as farmland. The drainage caused the fertile
peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...
to contract and ground levels to drop; groundwater levels were lowered to compensate, causing the underlying peat to contract further. Additionally, until the 19th century peat was mined, dried, and used for fuel, further exacerbating the problem. Even in flooded areas, peat extraction continued through turf dredging. To guard against floods, a series of defences against the water were contrived. In the first millennium AD, villages and farmhouses were built on hills called ''terps''. Later, these terps were connected by dikes. In the 12th century, local government agencies called ''"Water board (Netherlands), waterschappen"'' ("water boards") or ''"Water board (Netherlands), hoogheemraadschappen"'' ("high home councils") started to appear, whose job it was to maintain the water level and to protect a region from floods; these agencies continue to exist. As the ground level dropped, the dikes by necessity grew and merged into an integrated system. By the 13th century windmills had come into use to pump water. The windmills were later used to drain lakes, creating the famous
polder A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrology, hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as levee, dikes. The three types of polder are: # Land reclamation, Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a ...
s. In 1932 the ''Afsluitdijk'' ("Closure Dike") was completed, blocking the former '' Zuiderzee'' (Southern Sea) from the North Sea and thus creating the IJsselmeer (
IJssel The IJssel (; ) is a Dutch distributary of the river Rhine that flows northward and ultimately discharges into the IJsselmeer (before the 1932 completion of the Afsluitdijk known as the Zuiderzee), a North Sea natural harbour. It more immediatel ...
Lake). It became part of the larger Zuiderzee Works in which four polders totalling were reclaimed from the sea. The Netherlands is one of the countries that may suffer most from climate change. Not only is the rising sea a problem, but erratic weather patterns may cause the rivers to overflow.


Delta Works

After the North Sea Flood of 1953, 1953 disaster, the Delta Works was constructed, which is a comprehensive set of civil works throughout the Dutch coast. The project started in 1958 and was largely completed in 1997 with the completion of the Maeslantkering. Since then, new projects have been periodically started to renovate and renew the Delta Works. The main goal of the Delta project was to reduce the risk of flooding in South Holland and Zeeland. This was achieved by raising of outer sea-dikes and of the inner, canal, and river dikes, and by closing off the sea
estuaries An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...
of Zeeland. New risk assessments occasionally show problems requiring additional Delta project dike reinforcements. The Delta project is considered by the American Society of Civil Engineers as one of the Wonders of the World#American Society of Civil Engineers, seven wonders of the modern world. It is anticipated that global warming will result in a rise in sea level. The Netherlands is actively preparing for a sea-level rise. A politically neutral Delta Commission has formulated an action plan to cope with a sea-level rise of and a simultaneous land height decline of . The plan encompasses the reinforcement of existing coastal defences like Levee, dikes and dunes with of additional flood protection. Climate change will not only threaten the Netherlands from the coast, but could also alter rainfall patterns and river run-off. To protect the country from river flooding, another programme is already being executed. The Room for the River (Netherlands), Room for the River plan grants more flow space to rivers, protects the major populated areas and allows for periodic flooding of indefensible lands. The few residents who lived in these so-called "overflow areas" have been moved to higher ground, with some of that ground having been raised above anticipated flood levels.


Climate change

The Netherlands is already affected by climate change. The average temperature in the Netherlands rose by more than 2 °C from 1901 to 2020. Climate change has resulted in increased frequency of droughts and heatwaves. Because significant portions of the Netherlands have been Land reclamation in the Netherlands, reclaimed from the sea or otherwise are very near sea level, the Netherlands is very vulnerable to sea level rise. The Netherlands has the fourth largest List of countries by greenhouse gas emissions per capita, greenhouse gas emissions per capita of the European Union, in part due to the large number of cows. The Dutch government has set goals to lower emissions in the next few decades. The Dutch response to climate change is driven by a number of unique factors, including larger green recovery plans by the European Union in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands, COVID-19 and a climate change litigation case, State of the Netherlands v. Urgenda Foundation, which created mandatory climate change mitigation through emissions reductions 25% below 1990 levels. In 2021 Greenhouse gas, emissions were down 14% compared to 1990 levels. The goal of the Dutch government is to reduce emissions in 2030 by 49%.


Nature

The Netherlands has 21 national parks and hundreds of other nature reserves. Most of these are owned by Staatsbosbeheer, the national department for forestry and Habitat conservation, nature conservation and Vereniging Natuurmonumenten, Natuurmonumenten, a private organisation that buys, protects and manages nature reserves. The Wadden Sea in the north, with its tidal flats and
wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...
s, is rich in biodiversity, biological diversity, and is a World Heritage Site, UNESCO World Heritage Nature Site. The Eastern Scheldt, formerly the northeast
estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...
of the river
Scheldt The Scheldt ( ; ; ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to Old Englis ...
was designated a national park in 2002, making it the largest national park in the Netherlands at an area of . Phytogeography, Phytogeographically, the European Netherlands is shared between the Atlantic European and Central European provinces of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, the European territory of the Netherlands belongs to the ecoregion of Atlantic mixed forests. In 1871, the last old original natural woods were cut down. These woods were planted on heath (habitat)#Anthropogenic heaths, anthropogenic heaths and sand-drifts (overgrazed heaths) (Veluwe). The Netherlands had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 0.6/10, ranking it 169th globally out of 172 countries. Nitrogen pollution is a problem. The number of flying insects in the Netherlands has dropped by 75% since the 1990s.


Caribbean islands

In the Lesser Antilles islands of the Caribbean, the territories of Curaçao, Aruba and Sint Maarten have a constituent country status within the wider Kingdom of the Netherlands. Another three territories which make up the
Caribbean Netherlands The Caribbean Netherlands (, ) is a geographic region of the Netherlands located outside of Europe, in the Caribbean, consisting of three special municipalities. These are the islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba (island), Saba,"Bonair ...
are designated as special municipalities. The Caribbean Netherlands have maritime borders with Anguilla, Curaçao, France (Saint Barthélemy), Saint Kitts and Nevis, the United States Virgin Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands and Venezuela. The islands of the Caribbean Netherlands enjoy a tropical climate with warm weather all year round. Within this island group: *
Bonaire Bonaire is a Caribbean island in the Leeward Antilles, and is a Caribbean Netherlands, special municipality (officially Public body (Netherlands), "public body") of the Netherlands. Its capital is the port of Kralendijk, on the west (Windward an ...
is part of the ABC islands (Leeward Antilles), ABC islands within the Leeward Antilles island chain off the Venezuelan coast. The Leeward Antilles have a mixed volcanic and coral origin. * Saba and
Sint Eustatius Sint Eustatius, known locally as Statia, is an island in the Caribbean. It is a Caribbean Netherlands, special municipality (officially "Public body (Netherlands), public body") of the Netherlands. The island is in the northern Leeward Islands ...
are part of the SSS islands within the Leeward Islands. They are located east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The locals (French, Spanish, Dutch and the locally spoken English) consider them part of the Windward Islands, although in the international English language, the Windward Islands refer to other islands further south. These two islands are of volcanic origin and hilly, leaving little ground suitable for agriculture. The highest point is Mount Scenery, , on Saba. This is the highest point in the country and in the entire Kingdom of the Netherlands.


Government and politics

The Netherlands has been a
constitutional monarchy Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions. ...
since 1815 and a parliamentary system, parliamentary democracy since 1848. The Netherlands is described as a consociational state. Dutch politics and governance are characterised by an effort to achieve broad consensus on important issues. The Netherlands was ranked as the 17th best electoral democracy in the world by V-Dem Democracy indices in 2023 and 9th most democratic country in the world by the Democracy Index, Democracy Index (The Economist) in 2022. The Monarchy of the Netherlands, monarch is the head of state, at present King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands. Constitutionally, the position is equipped with limited powers due to ministerial responsibility. The Executive (government), executive power is formed by the government that includes the monarch and the Council of Ministers (Netherlands), Council of Ministers, the deliberative organ of the Cabinet of the Netherlands, Dutch cabinet. The cabinet usually consists of 13 to 16 ministers and a varying number of State Secretary (Netherlands), state secretaries. One to three ministers are Minister without portfolio, ministers without portfolio. The council of ministers is presided over by the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, who often is the leader of the largest party of the coalition. The Prime Minister is a ''primus inter pares'', with no explicit powers beyond those of the other ministers. Dick Schoof has been Prime Minister since July 2024, succeeding the longest-serving Prime Minister Mark Rutte. The cabinet is Ministerial responsibility, responsible to the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament, the States General, which also has Legislative, legislative powers. The 150 members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands), House of Representatives, the lower house, are elected in direct elections on the basis of party-list proportional representation. These are held every four years, or sooner in case the cabinet falls. The provincial assemblies, the States-Provincial, States Provincial, are directly elected every four years as well. The members of the provincial assemblies elect the 75 members of the Senate (Netherlands), Senate, the upper house, which has the power to reject laws, but not amend them.


Political culture

Both trade unions and employers organisations are consulted in policymaking in the financial, economic and social areas. They meet regularly with the government in the Social-Economic Council. The Netherlands has a tradition of
social tolerance Toleration is when one allows or permits an action, idea, object, or person that they dislike or disagree with. Political scientist Andrew R. Murphy explains that "We can improve our understanding by defining 'toleration' as a set of social or ...
. In the late 19th century this Dutch tradition of religious tolerance transformed into a system of pillarisation, in which religious groups coexisted separately and only interacted at the level of government. Protection for LGBT rights in the Netherlands, LGBT and abortion rights are enshrined within the Netherlands' foreign aid policy. No single party has held a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and as a result, coalition government, coalition cabinets had to be formed. Since Universal manhood suffrage, male suffrage became universal Pacification of 1917, in 1917, the Dutch political system has been dominated by three families of political parties: Christian democracy, Christian Democrats (currently the Christian Democratic Appeal, CDA), Social democracy, Social Democrats (currently the Labour Party (Netherlands), PvdA), and Liberalism in the Netherlands, Liberals (currently the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy, VVD). In November 2023, the right-wing populist Party for Freedom of Geert Wilders was the winner of 2023 Dutch general election, a general election, securing 37 out of 150 seats. Schoof cabinet, A cabinet was inaugurated in July 2024, and Dick Schoof succeeded Mark Rutte as Prime Minister of the Netherlands, prime minister.


Administrative divisions

The Netherlands is divided into twelve provinces, each under a King's Commissioner. All provinces are divided into Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipalities (''gemeenten''), of which there are 342 (2023). The country is subdivided into 21 water districts, governed by a Water board (Netherlands), water board (''waterschap'' or ''hoogheemraadschap''), each having authority in matters concerning water management. The creation of water boards pre-dates that of the nation itself, the first appearing in 1196. The Dutch water boards are among the oldest democratic entities in the world still in existence. Direct elections of the water boards take place every four years. Within the Dutch town of Baarle-Nassau, are 22 Belgian Enclave and exclave, exclaves and within those are 8 Dutch Enclave and exclave, enclaves. The administrative structure on the three BES islands, collectively known as the
Caribbean Netherlands The Caribbean Netherlands (, ) is a geographic region of the Netherlands located outside of Europe, in the Caribbean, consisting of three special municipalities. These are the islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba (island), Saba,"Bonair ...
, is outside the twelve provinces. These islands have the status of ''openbare lichamen (Public body (Netherlands), public bodies)''. In the Netherlands these administrative units are often referred to as ''special municipalities''.


Foreign relations

The history of foreign relations of the Netherlands, Dutch foreign policy has been characterized by its neutral state, neutrality. According to the 2024 Global Peace Index, Netherlands is the 18th most peaceful country in the world. Since World War II, the Netherlands has become a member of a large number of international organisations, most prominently the UN,
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
and the EU. The foreign policy of the Netherlands is based on four basic commitments: to atlanticism, Atlantic co-operation, to European integration, to international development and to international law. One of the more controversial international issues surrounding the Netherlands is its Drug policy of the Netherlands, liberal policy towards soft drugs. The historical ties inherited from its colonial past in
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
and
Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...
still influence the foreign relations of the Netherlands. Many with heritage from these countries now live permanently in the Netherlands.


Military

The Netherlands has one of the oldest standing armies in Europe; it was first established in the late 1500s. After the defeat of Napoleon, the Dutch army was transformed into a conscription army. The Netherlands abandoned its neutrality in 1948 when it signed the Treaty of Brussels, and became a founding member of
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
in 1949. The Dutch military was therefore part of the NATO strength in Cold War Europe. In 1983 the (ceremonial) function of commander of chief of the monarch was transferred to the government, which means the monarch (nominal head of state) has no formal military function. In 1996 conscription was suspended, and the Dutch army was once again transformed into a professional army. Since the 1990s the Dutch army has been involved in the Bosnian War and the Kosovo War, it held a province in Iraq after the defeat of Saddam Hussein, and it was engaged in War in Afghanistan (2001–present), Afghanistan. The Netherlands has ratified many international conventions concerning International humanitarian law, war law. The Netherlands decided not to sign the UN treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The military is composed of four branches, all of which carry the prefix ''Koninklijke'' (Royal): * ''Koninklijke Marine'' (KM), the Royal Netherlands Navy, including the Naval Air Service and Marine Corps; * ''Koninklijke Landmacht'' (KL), the Royal Netherlands Army; * ''Koninklijke Luchtmacht'' (KLu), the Royal Netherlands Air Force; * ''Koninklijke Marechaussee'' (KMar), the Royal Marechaussee (Military Police), tasks include military police and border control. The submarine service opened to women on 1 January 2017. The Korps Commandotroepen, the Special Operations Force of the Netherlands Army, is open to women, but because of the extremely high physical demands for initial training, it is almost impossible for a woman to become a commando. The Dutch Ministry of Defence employs more than 70,000 personnel, including over 20,000 civilians and over 50,000 military personnel.


Economy

Since the 16th century, shipping, fishing, agriculture, trade, and banking have been leading sectors of the Dutch economy. The Netherlands has a List of countries by economic freedom, high level of economic freedom. The Netherlands is one of the top countries in the Global Enabling Trade Report (2nd in 2016), and was ranked the fifth most competitive economy in the world by the Swiss International Institute for Management Development in 2017. The country was ranked the 8th most innovative nation in the world in the 2024 Global Innovation Index down from 2nd in 2018. , the key trading partners of the Netherlands were Germany, Belgium, the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Italy, China and Russia. The Netherlands is one of the world's 10 leading exporting countries. Foodstuffs form the largest industrial sector. Other major industries include chemicals, metallurgy, machinery, electrical goods, trade, services and tourism. Examples of international Dutch companies operating in the Netherlands include Randstad NV, Heineken International, Heineken, KLM, financial services (ING Group, ING, ABN AMRO, Rabobank), chemicals (DSM (company), DSM, AkzoNobel, AKZO), petroleum refining (Shell plc), electronic machinery (Philips, ASML Holding, ASML), and satellite navigation (TomTom). The Netherlands has the List of countries by GDP (nominal), 17th-largest economy in the world, and List of countries by GDP (nominal) per capita, ranks 11th in GDP (nominal) per capita. The Netherlands has low income inequality, but wealth inequality is relatively high. Despite ranking 11th in GDP per capita, UNICEF ranked the Netherlands 1st in child well-being in rich countries, both in 2007 and in 2013.
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
is the financial and business capital of the Netherlands. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange (AEX), part of Euronext, is the world's oldest stock exchange and is one of Europe's largest bourses. As a founding member of the
euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...
, the Netherlands replaced (for accounting purposes) its former currency, the "gulden" (Dutch guilder, guilder), on 1 January 1999. Actual euro coins and Euro banknotes, banknotes followed on 1 January 2002. One euro was equivalent to 2.20371 Dutch guilders. In the
Caribbean Netherlands The Caribbean Netherlands (, ) is a geographic region of the Netherlands located outside of Europe, in the Caribbean, consisting of three special municipalities. These are the islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba (island), Saba,"Bonair ...
, the United States dollar is used instead. The Netherlands is a "conduit country" that helps to funnel profits from high-tax countries to tax havens. It has been ranked as the 4th largest tax haven in the world. The Dutch location gives it prime access to markets in the United Kingdom and Germany, with the
Port of Rotterdam The Port of Rotterdam is the largest seaport in Europe, and the world's largest seaport outside of Asia, located in and near the city of Rotterdam, in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. From 1962 until 2004, it was the List of bus ...
being the largest port in Europe. Other important parts of the economy are international trade, banking and transport. The Netherlands successfully addressed the issue of public finances and stagnating job growth long before its European partners. Amsterdam is the 5th-busiest tourist destination in Europe, with more than 4.2 million international visitors.. ez.amsterdam.nl Since the enlargement of the EU, large numbers of migrant workers have arrived in the Netherlands from Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The Netherlands continues to be one of the leading European nations for attracting foreign direct investment and is one of the five largest investors in the United States. The economy experienced a slowdown in 2005, but in 2006 recovered to the fastest pace in six years on the back of increased exports and strong investment. The pace of job growth reached 10-year highs in 2007. The Netherlands is the fourth-most competitive economy in the world, according to the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report.


Energy

Beginning in the 1950s, the Netherlands discovered huge natural gas resources. The sale of natural gas generated enormous revenues for the Netherlands for decades, adding, over sixty years, hundreds of billions of euros to the government's budget, about 1.5% of GNP. However, the unforeseen consequences of the country's huge energy wealth impacted the competitiveness of other sectors of the economy, leading to the theory of Dutch disease. The field is operated by government-owned Gasunie and output is jointly exploited by the government, Royal Dutch Shell, and ExxonMobil. Gas production caused earthquakes which damaged housing. After a large public backlash, the government decided to Fossil fuel phase-out, phase out gas production from the field. The Netherlands has made notable progress in its Energy transition, transition to a carbon-neutral economy. Thanks to increasing Energy conservation, energy efficiency, energy demand shows signs of decoupling from economic growth. The share of energy from Renewable energy, renewable sources doubled from 2008 to 2019, with especially strong growth in Offshore wind power, offshore wind and Rooftop solar power, rooftop solar. However, the Netherlands remains heavily reliant on fossil fuels and has a concentration of energy- and emission-intensive industries that will not be easy to decarbonise. Its Klimaatakkoord, 2019 Climate Agreement defines policies and measures to support the achievement of Dutch climate targets and was developed through a collaborative process involving parties from across Dutch society. As of 2018, the Netherlands had one of the highest rates of carbon dioxide emissions per person in the European Union.


Agriculture and natural resources

The Netherlands' biocapacity totals only 0.8 global hectares per person in 2016, 0.2 of which are dedicated to agriculture. The Dutch biocapacity per person is just about half of the 1.6 global hectares of biocapacity per person available worldwide. In contrast, in 2016, the Dutch used on average 4.8 global hectares of biocapacity – their ecological footprint of consumption. As a result, the Netherlands was running a biocapacity deficit of 4.0 global hectares per person in 2016. The Dutch waste more food than any other EU citizen, at over three times the EU average. The Dutch agricultural sector is highly mechanised, and has a strong focus on international exports. It employs about 4% of the Dutch labour force but produces large surpluses in the food-processing industry and accounts for 21% of the Dutch total export value. The Dutch rank first in the European Union and second worldwide in value of agricultural exports, behind only the United States, with agricultural exports earning €80.7 billion in 2014, up from €75.4 billion in 2012. In 2019 agricultural exports were worth €94.5 billion. In an effort to reduce agricultural pollution, the Dutch government is imposing strict limits on the productivity of the farming sector, triggering Dutch farmers' protests. One-third of the world's exports of Capsicum, chilis, tomatoes, and cucumbers go through the country. The Netherlands exports one-fifteenth of the world's apples. A significant portion of Dutch agricultural exports consists of fresh-cut plants, flowers, and flower bulbs, with the Netherlands exporting two-thirds of the world's total.


Demographics

The Netherlands had an estimated population of 17,947,406 as of 31 November 2023. It is the Area and population of European countries, 6th most densely populated country in Europe and the List of sovereign states and dependent territories by population density, 33rd most densely populated country in the world with a density of . Between 1900 and 1950, the country's population almost doubled from 5.1 to 10 million. From 1950 to 2000, the population further increased, to 15.9 million. The fertility rate in the Netherlands is 1.78 children per woman (2018 estimate), which is high compared with many other European countries, but sub-replacement fertility, below the rate of 2.1 children per woman required for natural population replacement. The Netherlands has one of the Ageing of the Netherlands, oldest populations in the world, with the average age of 42.7 years. Life expectancy is high in the Netherlands: 84.3 years for newborn girls and 79.7 for boys (2020 estimate). The Dutch are the Average human height by country, tallest people in the world, by nationality, with an average Human height, height of for men and for women in 2009. The average height of young men in the Netherlands increased from 5 feet, 4 inches to approximately 6 feet between the 1850s until the early 2000s. The country has a Human migration, migration rate of 1.9 migrants per 1,000 inhabitants per year. The majority of the population of the Netherlands is ethnically Dutch. In 2022, the population was 74.8% ethnically Dutch, 8.3% other European, 2.4% Turks in the Netherlands, Turkish, 2.4% Moroccan, 2.0% Indonesian, 2.0% Surinamese people, Surinamese, and 8.1% others. Some 150,000 to 200,000 people living in the Netherlands are expatriates, mostly concentrated in and around
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
and
The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...
, now constituting almost 10% of the population of these cities. Significant minorities in the country include
Frisians The Frisians () are an ethnic group indigenous to the German Bight, coastal regions of the Netherlands, north-western Germany and southern Denmark. They inhabit an area known as Frisia and are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland an ...
700,000, Jews 41,000-45,000 and the Roma people, Roma and the Sinti 40,000. According to Eurostat, in 2010 there were 1.8 million Foreign born, foreign-born residents in the Netherlands, corresponding to 11.1% of the total population. Of these, 1.4 million (8.5%) were born outside the EU and 0.43 million (2.6%) were born in another EU Member State. In 2022, there were 4.4 million residents in the Netherlands with at least one foreign-born parent. Over half the young people in Amsterdam and Rotterdam have a non-western background. Dutch people, or Dutch diaspora, descendants of Dutch people, are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in South Africa and the United States. The Randstad is the country's largest conurbation located in the west of the country and contains the four largest cities:
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
in the province North Holland,
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
and
The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...
in the province
South Holland South Holland ( ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.8 million as of January 2023 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely populated areas. ...
, and
Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...
in the province
Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...
. The Randstad has a population of about 8.2 million inhabitants and is the List of metropolitan areas in Europe by population, 5th largest metropolitan area in Europe. According to Dutch Central Statistics Bureau, in 2015, 28 per cent of the Dutch population had a spendable income above 45,000 euros (which does not include spending on health care or education).


Language

The official language of the Netherlands is Dutch, which is spoken by the vast majority of inhabitants. The dialects most spoken in the Netherlands are the Brabantian dialect, Brabantian-Hollandic dialects. Besides Dutch, West Frisian is recognised as a second official language in the northern province of
Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...
(''Fryslân'' in West Frisian). West Frisian has a formal status for government correspondence in that province. Four other languages are protected under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. The first of these recognised regional languages is Dutch Low Saxon, Low Saxon (''Nedersaksisch'' in Dutch). Low Saxon consists of several dialects of the Low German language spoken in the north and east of the Netherlands, like Tweants in the region of Twente, and Drents in the province of
Drenthe Drenthe () is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of Jan ...
. Limburgish is recognised as a regional language. It consists of Dutch varieties of Meuse-Rhenish and is spoken in the south-eastern province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. Yiddish and the Romani language were recognised in 1996 as non-territorial languages."The Kingdom of the Netherlands further declares that the principles enumerated in Part II of the Charter will be applied to the Lower-Saxon languages used in the Netherlands, and, in accordance with Article 7, paragraph 5, to Yiddish and the Romanes languages.
Netherlands: Declaration contained in the instrument of acceptance, deposited on 2 May 1996 – Or. Engl.
, List of declarations made with respect to treaty No. 148 – European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
English in the Netherlands, English has a formal status in the special municipalities of Saba and
Sint Eustatius Sint Eustatius, known locally as Statia, is an island in the Caribbean. It is a Caribbean Netherlands, special municipality (officially "Public body (Netherlands), public body") of the Netherlands. The island is in the northern Leeward Islands ...
. It is widely spoken on these islands.
Papiamento Papiamento () or Papiamentu (; ) is a Portuguese-based creole language spoken in the Dutch Caribbean. It is the most widely spoken language on Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao ( ABC Islands). The language, spelled in Aruba and in Bonaire and ...
has a formal status in the special municipality of
Bonaire Bonaire is a Caribbean island in the Leeward Antilles, and is a Caribbean Netherlands, special municipality (officially Public body (Netherlands), "public body") of the Netherlands. Its capital is the port of Kralendijk, on the west (Windward an ...
. The Netherlands has a long tradition of learning foreign languages, formalised in Dutch education laws. Some 90% of the total population English in the Netherlands, are able to converse in English, 70% in German, and 29% in French. English is a mandatory course in all secondary schools. In most lower level secondary school educations (voorbereidend middelbaar beroepsonderwijs, vmbo), one additional modern foreign language is mandatory during the first two years.Schedule of the Central Exams of 2009
, Examenblad
In higher level secondary schools (Hoger algemeen voortgezet onderwijs, havo and Voorbereidend wetenschappelijk onderwijs, vwo), the acquisition of two additional modern foreign language skills is mandatory. Besides English, the standard modern languages are French and German, although schools can replace one of these with Chinese, Spanish, Russian, Italian, Turkish language, Turkish or Arabic.Examenblad talen, vwo in 2019
, Examenblad
Additionally, schools in Friesland teach and have exams in West Frisian.


Religion

Forms of Christianity have dominated religious life in what is now the Netherlands for more than 1,200 years, and by the middle of the sixteenth century the country was strongly Protestant (Calvinist). The population was predominantly Christian until the late 20th century. Although significant religious diversity remains, there has been a decline of religious adherence. In 2020, Statistics Netherlands found that 55% of the total population declared itself non-religious. Groups that represent the non-religious in the Netherlands include Humanistisch Verbond. Catholics comprised 19.8% of the total population, Protestants (14.4%). Muslims comprised 5.2% of the total population and followers of other Christian denominations and other religions (like Judaism, Buddhism and Hinduism) comprised the remaining 5.1%. A 2015 survey from another source found that Protestants outnumbered Catholics. The southern provinces of North Brabant and Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg have historically been strongly Catholic, and some residents consider the Catholic Church as a base for their Cultural Christian, cultural identity. Protestantism in the Netherlands consists of a number of churches within various traditions. The largest of these is the Protestant Church in the Netherlands (PKN), a United and uniting churches, united church which is Calvinist and Lutheran in orientation. It was formed in 2004 as a merger of the Dutch Reformed Church, the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands and Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, a smaller Lutheran Church. Several orthodox Calvinist and liberal churches did not merge into the PKN. Although Christianity has become a minority in the Netherlands, it contains a Bible Belt (Netherlands), Bible Belt from Zeeland to the northern parts of the province Overijssel, in which Protestant beliefs remain strong. Several Christian religious holidays are national holidays (Christmas, Easter, Pentecost, and the Ascension of Jesus). Islam is the second largest religion in the state. The Muslim population increased from the 1960 as a result of large numbers of Demography of the Netherlands#Migration and origin groups, migrant workers. This included migrant workers from Turkey and Morocco, as well as migrants from former Dutch Empire, Dutch colonies, such as Surinam and
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
. During the 1990s, Muslim refugees arrived from countries like Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, and Afghanistan. Since 2000 there has been raised awareness of religion, mainly due to Islamic extremism. Another religion practised is Hinduism, with around 215,000 adherents (slightly over 1% of the population). Most of these are Indo-Surinamese. There are sizeable populations of Hindu immigrants from India and Sri Lanka, and Western adherents of Hinduism in the West, Hinduism-orientated new religious movements such as International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Hare Krishnas. The Netherlands has an estimated 250,000 Buddhism in the Netherlands, Buddhists or people strongly attracted to this religion, mainly ethnic Dutch people. There are about 30,000 History of the Jews in the Netherlands, Jews in the Netherlands, though the Institute for Jewish Policy Research estimates range from 30,000 to 63,000, depending on how the number is calculated. The Constitution of the Netherlands guarantees freedom of education, which means that all schools that adhere to general quality criteria receive the same government funding. This includes schools based on religious principles by religious groups (especially Catholic and Protestant). Three political parties in the Dutch parliament, (Christian Democratic Appeal, CDA, and two small parties, ChristianUnion and Reformed Political Party, SGP) are based upon the Christian belief. Several Christian religious holidays are national holidays (Christmas, Easter, Pentecost and the Ascension of Jesus). A survey in December 2014 concluded that for the first time there were more atheists (25%) than theists (17%) in the Netherlands, while the remainder of the population was agnostic (31%) or ietsism, ietsistic (27%). In 2015, a vast majority of the inhabitants of the Netherlands (82%) said they had never or almost never visited a church, and 59% stated that they had never been to a church. Of all the people questioned, 24% saw themselves as atheist, an increase of 11% compared to the previous study done in 2006. The expected rise of spirituality has come to a halt according to research in 2015. In 2006, 40% of respondents considered themselves spiritual; in 2015 this has dropped to 31%. The number who believed in the existence of a higher power fell from 36% to 28% over the same period.


Education

Education in the Netherlands is compulsory between the ages of 5 and 16. If a child does not have a "starting qualification" (HAVO, VWO or MBO 2+ degree) they are still forced to attend classes until they achieve such a qualification or reach the age of 18. Children in the Netherlands attend elementary school from (on average) ages 4 to 12. It has eight grades and the first is facultative. Based on an aptitude test, the eighth grade teacher's recommendation and the opinion of the pupil's parents or caretakers, a choice is made for one of the three main streams of secondary education. The Voorbereidend middelbaar beroepsonderwijs, VMBO has four grades and is subdivided over several levels. Successfully completing the VMBO results in a low-level vocational degree that grants access to the MBO. The MBO (middle-level applied education) is a form of education that primarily focuses on teaching a practical trade or a vocational degree. With the MBO certification, a student can apply for the HBO. The Hoger algemeen voortgezet onderwijs, HAVO has 5 grades and allows for admission to the HBO. The HBO (higher professional education) are Vocational university, universities of professional education (applied sciences) that award professional bachelor's degrees; similar to polytechnic degrees. An HBO degree gives access to the university system. The Voorbereidend wetenschappelijk onderwijs, VWO (comprising Atheneum (school), atheneum and Gymnasium (school), gymnasium) has 6 grades and prepares for studying at a research university. Universities offer a three-year bachelor's degree, followed by a one or two-year master's degree, which in turn can be followed by a doctoral degree programme. Doctoral candidates in the Netherlands are generally non-tenured employees of a university. All Dutch schools and universities are publicly funded and managed with the exception of religious schools. Dutch universities have a tuition fee of about 2,000 euros a year for students from the Netherlands and the EU, and 15,000 euros for non-EU students.


Healthcare

In 2016, the Netherlands maintained its position at the top of the annual Euro Health Consumer Index (EHCI), which compares healthcare systems in Europe, scoring 916 of a maximum 1,000 points. The Netherlands has been among the top three countries in each report published since 2005. On 48 indicators such as patient rights and information, accessibility, prevention and outcomes, the Netherlands secured its top position among 37 European countries for six years in a row. The Netherlands was ranked first in a study in 2009 comparing the health care systems of the United States, Australia, Canada, Germany and New Zealand. According to the Health Consumer Powerhouse (HCP), patients have a great degree of freedom from where to buy their health insurance, to where they get their healthcare. Healthcare decisions are made in dialogue between patients and healthcare professionals. Healthcare in the Netherlands is split 3 ways: in somatic and mental health care and in 'cure' (short term) and 'care' (long term). Home doctors (''huisartsen'', comparable to general practitioners) form the largest part of the first level. Being referred by a member of the first level is mandatory for access to the second and third level.J.M. Boot, 'De Nederlandse Gezondheidszorg', Bohn Stafleu van Loghum 2011 The health care system is, in comparison to other Western countries, effective but not the most cost-effective.Boston Consulting Group, 'Zorg voor Waarde', 2011. Healthcare is financed by a dual system that came into effect in January 2006. Long-term treatments, especially those that involve semi-permanent hospitalisation, and disability costs such as wheelchairs, are covered by a state-controlled mandatory insurance. In 2009 this insurance covered 27% of all health care expenses. Other sources of health care payment are taxes (14%), out of pocket payments (9%), additional optional health insurance packages (4%) and a range of other sources (4%). Health insurance in the Netherlands is mandatory. Healthcare in the Netherlands is covered by two statutory forms of insurance: * Zorgverzekeringswet (ZVW), often called "basic insurance", covers common medical care. * Algemene Wet Bijzondere Ziektekosten (AWBZ) covers long-term nursing and care. While Dutch residents are automatically insured by the government for AWBZ, everyone has to buy their own basic healthcare insurance, except those under 18 who are automatically covered under their parents. Insurance companies are obliged to provide a package with a defined set of insured treatments. This insurance covers 41% of all health care expenses. Insurers have to offer a universal package for everyone over 18, regardless of age or state of health – it is illegal to refuse an application or impose special conditions. The funding burden for all short-term health care coverage is carried 50% by employers, 45% by the insured person and 5% by the government. Those on low incomes receive compensation to help them pay their insurance. Premiums paid by the insured are about €135 per month.


Transport

Mobility on Dutch roads has grown continuously since the 1950s and now exceeds 200 billion km travelled per year, three quarters of which are done by car. Around half of all trips in the Netherlands are made by car, 25% by bicycle, 20% walking, and 5% by public transport.


Road transport

The Netherlands has one of the densest road networks in the world. The Netherlands has a relatively high uptake of electric vehicles, as the government implemented ambitious policy on both charging infrastructure and tax benefits. As of 2019, the Netherlands hosts approximately 30% of all recharging stations in the European Union. Moreover, newly sold cars in the Netherlands have on average the lowest emissions in the EU.


Public transport

About 13% of all distance is travelled by public transport, the majority of which is by train. The Dutch rail network of 3,013 km route is also rather dense. The network is mostly focused on passenger rail services and connects all major cities, with over Railway stations in the Netherlands, 400 stations. Trains are frequent, with two trains per hour on lesser lines, two to four trains per hour on average, and up to eight trains an hour on the busiest lines. The Dutch national train network includes the HSL-Zuid, a high-speed line between the Amsterdam metropolitan area and the Belgian border for trains running from Paris and London, to the Netherlands.


Cycling

Cycling in the Netherlands, Cycling is a ubiquitous mode of transport. Almost as many kilometres are covered by bicycle as by train. The Dutch are estimated to have at least 18 million bicycles, which makes more than one per capita, and twice as many as the circa 9 million motor vehicles on the road. In 2013, the European Cyclists' Federation ranked the Netherlands and Denmark as the most bike-friendly countries in Europe. Cycling infrastructure is extensive. Busy roads have received some 35,000 km of Segregated cycle facilities, dedicated cycle tracks, physically segregated from motorised traffic. Busy junctions are often equipped with bicycle-specific traffic lights. There are large bicycle parking facilities, particularly in city centres and train stations.


Water transport

The
Port of Rotterdam The Port of Rotterdam is the largest seaport in Europe, and the world's largest seaport outside of Asia, located in and near the city of Rotterdam, in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. From 1962 until 2004, it was the List of bus ...
is the largest port in Europe and the largest port outside East Asia, with the rivers Meuse and Rhine providing excellent access to the hinterland upstream. , Rotterdam was the world's tenth largest container port. The port's main activities are petrochemical industries and general cargo handling and transshipment. The harbour functions as an important transit point for bulk material handling, bulk materials and between the European continent and overseas. The Volkeraksluizen between Rotterdam and Antwerp are the biggest sluices for inland navigation in terms of tonnage. In 2007, the Betuweroute, a new fast freight railway from Rotterdam to Germany, was completed. Port of Amsterdam, Amsterdam is Europe's 4th largest port. The Inland navigation, inland shipping fleet of the Netherlands is the largest in Europe. Passenger boats in the Netherlands includes a ferry network in Amsterdam, and waterbusses and taxis in Rotterdam.


Air transport

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Schiphol Airport, just southwest of Amsterdam, is the main international airport in the Netherlands, and the List of the busiest airports in Europe, third busiest airport in Europe by number of passengers. Schiphol is the main hub for KLM, the nation's flag carrier and the world's oldest airline. In 2016, the Schiphol Group, Royal Schiphol Group airports handled 70 million passengers. All air traffic is international and Schiphol Airport is connected to over 300 destinations worldwide, more than any other European airport. The airport is a major freight hub as well, processing 1.44 million tonnes of cargo in 2020. Smaller international airports are located in or near Eindhoven Airport, Eindhoven, Rotterdam The Hague Airport, Rotterdam, Maastricht Aachen Airport, Maastricht and Groningen Airport Eelde, Groningen. Air transport is of vital significance for the Caribbean part of the Netherlands, with all islands having their own airport. This includes the shortest runway in the world on Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport, Saba.


Culture


Art, architecture and philosophy

The Netherlands has had many well-known painters. In the Middle Ages Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Bruegel the Elder were leading Dutch pioneers. During the
Dutch Golden Age The Dutch Golden Age ( ) was a period in the history of the Netherlands which roughly lasted from 1588, when the Dutch Republic was established, to 1672, when the '' Rampjaar'' occurred. During this period, Dutch trade, scientific development ...
, the Dutch Republic was prosperous and witnessed a flourishing artistic movement. The "Dutch Masters", spanning this 17th century era, included Rembrandt, Johannes Vermeer, Jan Steen, and Jacob van Ruisdael. Famous Dutch painters of the 19th and 20th century included Vincent van Gogh and Piet Mondrian. Literature flourished during the Dutch Golden Age, with Joost van den Vondel and Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft, P. C. Hooft as the most famous writers. In the 19th century, Multatuli wrote about the poor treatment of the natives in the Dutch colony. The Diary of a Young Girl, ''Diary of a Young Girl'' by Anne Frank is the most translated book from Dutch. Other important 20th century authors include Harry Mulisch, Jan Wolkers, Hella Haasse, Willem Frederik Hermans, Cees Nooteboom and Gerard Reve. Various architectural styles can be distinguished in the Netherlands. The Romanesque architecture was built between 950 and 1250. Gothic architecture was used from about 1230. Gothic buildings had large windows, pointed arches and were richly decorated. Brabantine Gothic originated with the rise of the Duchy of Brabant and spread throughout the Burgundian provinces. Dutch Baroque architecture (1525–1630) and classicism (1630–1700) is especially evident in the west. Other architectural styles are Art Nouveau, Expressionist architecture, Expressionism, De Stijl, Traditionalist School (architecture), Traditionalism and Brutalism. Erasmus and Baruch Spinoza, Spinoza were famous Dutch philosophers. The Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens (1629–95) discovered Saturn's moon Titan (moon), Titan, argued that light travelled as waves, invented the pendulum clock, and was the first physicist to use mathematical formulae. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek was the first to observe and describe Microorganism, single-celled organisms with a microscope. Windmills, tulips, clogs, cheese, and cannabis (drug), cannabis have grown to symbolize the Netherlands, especially among tourists.


Dutch value system

The Dutch are proud of their cultural heritage, Dutch art, rich history in art, and involvement in International relations, international affairs.Colin White & Laurie Boucke (1995). The UnDutchables: An observation of the Netherlands, its culture and its inhabitants (3rd Ed.). White-Boucke Publishing. A predominant attitude in the Netherlands is to think of the nation as being "both tolerant and cosmopolitan." A Dutch saying indicating their sense of national pride in their reclamation of land from the sea and marshes is "God created the world, but the Dutch created the Netherlands." Dutch manners are open and direct with a no-nonsense attitude—informality combined with adherence to basic behaviour. "Dealing with the Dutch" by Jacob Vossestein states: "Dutch egalitarianism is the idea that people are equal, especially from a moral point of view, and accordingly, causes the somewhat ambiguous stance the Dutch have towards hierarchy and status." The Netherlands is one of the most secular countries of Europe. Religion in the Netherlands is generally considered as a personal matter which is not supposed to be propagated in public, although it often remains a discussion subject.


Music

The Netherlands has multiple music traditions. Traditional Dutch music is a genre known as "Levenslied", meaning ''Song of life''. These songs typically have a simple melody and rhythm, and a straightforward structure of verses and choruses. Themes can be light, but are often sentimental and include love, death and loneliness. Traditional musical instruments such as the accordion and the barrel organ are a staple of levenslied music, though in recent years many artists use synthesisers and guitars. Contemporary Dutch rock and pop music (Nederpop) originated in the 1960s, heavily influenced by popular music from the United States and Britain. Bands such as Shocking Blue, Golden Earring, Tee Set, George Baker Selection and Focus (band), Focus enjoyed international success. From the 1980s, more and more pop musicians started working in the Dutch language, partly inspired by the huge success of the band Doe Maar. Current symphonic metal bands Epica (band), Epica, Delain, ReVamp, The Gathering (band), The Gathering, Asrai, Autumn, Ayreon and Within Temptation as well as jazz and pop singer Caro Emerald are having international success. Metal bands like Hail of Bullets, God Dethroned, Izegrim, Asphyx, Textures (band), Textures, Heidevolk, and Slechtvalk are popular guests at the biggest metal festivals in Europe. Contemporary local stars include pop singer Anouk (singer), Anouk, country pop singer Ilse DeLange, Limburgish dialect singing folk band Rowwen Hèze, rock band BLØF and duo Nick & Simon. Early 1990s Dutch and Belgian house music came together in Eurodance project 2 Unlimited. Selling 18 million records, the two singers in the band are the most successful Dutch music artists to this day. Tracks like "Get Ready for This" are still popular themes of U.S. sports events. In the mid-1990s Dutch language Hip hop music, rap and hip hop (''Dutch hip hop, Nederhop'') came to fruition and has become popular in the Netherlands and Belgium. Since the 1990s, Dutch electronic dance music (EDM) gained widespread popularity in the world in many forms. Some of the world's best known dance music DJs hail from the Netherlands, including Armin van Buuren, Tiësto, Hardwell, Martin Garrix, Dash Berlin, Julian Jordan, Nicky Romero, W&W, Don Diablo, Ummet Ozcan, Headhunterz, Sander van Doorn, and Afrojack; the first four of which have been ranked as best in the world by DJ Mag Top 100 DJs. The Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) is the world's leading electronic music conference and the biggest club festival for the many electronic subgenres on the planet. The Netherlands has Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest, participated in the Eurovision Song Contest since its first edition in 1956, and has won five times. In classical music, Jan Sweelinck is a famous Dutch composer, with Louis Andriessen among the best known contemporary Dutch classical composers. Ton Koopman is a Dutch conductor, organist and harpsichordist. Notable violinists are Janine Jansen and André Rieu.


Film and television

Some Dutch films – mainly by director Paul Verhoeven – have received international distribution and recognition, such as ''Turkish Delight (1973 film), Turkish Delight'' ("''Turks Fruit''", 1973), ''Soldier of Orange'' ("''Soldaat van Oranje''", 1977), ''Spetters'' (1980), and ''The Fourth Man (1983 film), The Fourth Man'' ("''De Vierde Man''", 1983). Verhoeven then went on to direct big Cinema of the United States, Hollywood movies like ''RoboCop'' (1987), ''Total Recall (1990 film), Total Recall'' (1990), and ''Basic Instinct'' (1992), and returned with Dutch film ''Black Book (film), Black Book'' ("''Zwartboek''", 2006). Other well-known Dutch film directors are Jan de Bont, Anton Corbijn, Dick Maas, Fons Rademakers, and documentary makers Bert Haanstra and Joris Ivens. Film director Theo van Gogh (film director), Theo van Gogh achieved international notoriety in 2004 when he was murdered by Mohammed Bouyeri in the streets of Amsterdam after directing the short film ''Submission (2004 film), Submission''. Directors of photography from the Netherlands include Hoyte van Hoytema and Theo van de Sande. Internationally successful Dutch actors include Famke Janssen, Carice van Houten, Rutger Hauer, and Jeroen Krabbé. The Netherlands has a well developed television market, with both multiple commercial and public broadcasters. Imported TV programmes, as well as interviews with responses in a foreign language, are virtually always shown with the original sound and subtitled. Only foreign shows for children are dubbed.
Webcasting Worldwide: Business Models of an Emerging Global Medium
'. Routledge; 2013. . p. 101–103.
TV exports from the Netherlands mostly take the form of specific formats and franchises, most notably was the internationally active TV production conglomerate Endemol, founded by Dutch media Business magnate, tycoons John de Mol Jr., John de Mol and Joop van den Ende. Endemol and its subsidiaries created and ran reality, talent, and game show franchises worldwide, including ''Big Brother (franchise), Big Brother'' and ''Deal or No Deal''. Endemol merged with Shine Group in 2015, and again with Banijay in 2020.


Sports

Approximately 4.5 million of the 16.8 million people in the Netherlands are registered in one of the 35,000 sports clubs in the country. About two-thirds of the population between 15 and 75 participate in sports weekly. Association football, Football is the most popular team sport, followed by field hockey and volleyball. Tennis, gymnastics and golf are the three most widely engaged in individual sports. Organisation of sports began at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century. Federations for sports were established, rules were unified and sports clubs came into existence. A NOC*NSF, Dutch National Olympic Committee was established in 1912. The Netherlands national football team, national football team was runner-up in the FIFA World Cup, World Cup of 1974, 1978, and 2010, and won the UEFA European Championship, European Championship of 1988. Of Sports Illustrated, SI's 50 greatest footballers of all time, Johan Cruyff (#5), Marco van Basten (#19), Ruud Gullit (#25), and Johan Neeskens (#36) are Dutch. The Netherlands women's national football team, women's national team was runner-up in 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, 2019 World Cup and won the European Championship of 2017. The Netherlands women's national field hockey team, Netherlands women's field hockey team won 9 out of 15 Women's Hockey World Cup, World Cups. The Netherlands national baseball team, Netherlands baseball team have won the European Baseball Championship, European championship 24 times out of 33 events. The Netherlands women's national volleyball team, volleyball national women's team won the 1995 Women's European Volleyball Championship, European Championship in 1995 and the 2007 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix, World Grand Prix in 2007. The Netherlands has won 266 medals at the Summer Olympic Games and 110 at the Winter Olympic Games. Joop Zoetemelk won the 1979 Vuelta a Espana, the 1980 Tour de France, and the 1985 UCI World Championship. Jan Janssen won the 1968 Tour de France, Tom Dumoulin the 2017 Giro d'Italia. Max Verstappen, the youngest Formula 1 driver to make his debut and to win a race, was the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, first Dutchman to win a Grand Prix and a 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Formula One World Drivers Championship. Dutch K-1 kickboxers have won the K-1 World Grand Prix 15 times out of 19 tournaments.


Cuisine

Dutch cuisine is simple and straightforward, and contains many dairy products. Breakfast and lunch are typically bread with toppings, with cereal for breakfast as an alternative. Traditionally, dinner consists of potatoes, meat, and vegetables. The Dutch diet was high in carbohydrates and fat, reflecting the dietary needs of the labourers whose culture moulded the country. During the twentieth century this diet changed and became more Multiculturalism, cosmopolitan, with most global cuisines being represented in the major cities. In early 2014, Oxfam ranked the Netherlands as the country with the most nutritious, plentiful and healthy food. Modern culinary writers distinguish between three regional forms of Dutch cuisine: northeast, west and south: The regions in the northeast are the least populated areas of the Netherlands. The late 18th century introduction of large scale agriculture means the cuisine is known for its meats. The relative lack of farms allowed for an abundance of game (meat), game and Animal husbandry, husbandry, though dishes near the coastal regions include a large amount of fish. The various dried sausages, belonging to the metworst-family of Dutch sausages are found throughout this region. Smoked sausages are common, of which (''Gelderse'') ''rookworst'' is the most renowned. Larger sausages are eaten alongside ''stamppot'', ''hutspot,'' or ''zuurkool'' (sauerkraut); whereas smaller ones are eaten as a street food. The provinces are home to hard textured rye bread, pastries and cookies. As a coastal region, Friesland is home to low-lying grasslands, and thus has a cheese production in common with the Western cuisine. Cookies are produced in great number and contain a lot of butter and sugar. The traditional alcoholic beverages are beer (strong pale lager) and ''Jenever'', a high proof juniper-flavoured spirit, that came to be known in England as gin. An exception within the traditional Dutch alcoholic landscape, ''Advocaat'', a rich and creamy liqueur made from eggs, sugar and brandy, is native to this region. In the west, the abundance of water and flat grasslands, mean the area is known for its dairy products, which include prominent cheeses such as Gouda (cheese), Gouda, Leyden cheese, Leyden (spiced cheese with cumin), and Edam (cheese), Edam (traditionally in small spheres) as well as Leerdammer and Beemster Cheese, Beemster, while the adjacent Zaanstreek in North Holland has since the 16th century been known for its mayonnaise and typical whole-grain mustard (condiment), mustards. A by-product of the butter-making process, ''karnemelk'' (buttermilk), is considered typical for this region. Seafood such as soused herring, Blue mussel, mussels, European eel, eels, oysters and shrimps are widely available and typical for the region. The southern Dutch cuisine consists of the cuisines of the Dutch provinces of North Brabant and Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg and the Flemish Region in Belgium. It is renowned for its rich pastries, soups, stews and vegetable dishes. It is the only Dutch culinary region that developed an haute cuisine. Pastries are abundant, often with rich fillings of cream, custard or fruits. Cakes, such as the ''Vlaai'' from Limburg and the ''Moorkop'' and ''Bossche bol'' from Brabant, are typical pastries. Savoury pastries abound, with the (a roll with a sausage of ground beef, literally translates into sausage bread) being the most popular. The alcoholic beverage of the region is beer, there are many local brands, ranging from ''Trappist beer, Trappist'' to ''Kriek lambic, Kriek''.


See also

* Outline of the Netherlands


Notes


References


Sources

* * *


External links


Netherlands
from UCB Libraries GovPubs
I am Expat – General information about the Netherlands

Netherlands profile
from the BBC News * *
Key Development Forecasts for the Netherlands
from International Futures Government
Government.nl
– official Dutch government web site

(CBS) – Key figures from the Dutch bureau of statistics * Travel
Holland.com
– English website of the Netherlands tourist office

– Organisation responsible for promoting the Netherlands nationally and internationally {{Coord, 52, N, 6, E, type:country, display=title Netherlands, Benelux, * Countries and territories where Dutch is an official language Countries in Europe Kingdom of the Netherlands Low Countries, * Member states of NATO Member states of the Council of Europe Member states of the European Union Member states of the United Nations OECD members States and territories established in 1815