]! ^! The Dutch United Provinces declared their independence from Spain in 1579; during the 17th century, they became a leading seafaring and commercial power, with settlements and colonies around the world. After a 20-year French occupation, a Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed in 1815. In 1830 Belgium seceded and formed a separate kingdom. The Netherlands remained neutral in World War I, but suffered invasion and occupation by Germany in World War II. A modern, industrialized nation, the Netherlands is also a large exporter of agricultural products. The country was a founding member of NATO and the EEC (now the EU), and participated in the introduction of the euro in 1999. 
]" ^" Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between Belgium and Germany ^# 52 30 N, 5 45 E ^$ Europe ^% `! 41,526 sq km `" 33,883 sq km `# 7,643 sq km ^& slightly less than twice the size of New Jersey ^' `! 1,027 km `Y Belgium 450 km, Germany 577 km ^( 451 km ^) `$ 12 nm `l 200 nm ^* temperate; marine; cool summers and mild winters ^+ mostly coastal lowland and reclaimed land (polders); some hills in southeast ^, `% Zuidplaspolder -7 m `& Vaalserberg 322 m ^- natural gas, petroleum, peat, limestone, salt, sand and gravel, arable land ^. `' 21.96% `( 0.77% `) 77.27% (2005) ^/ 5,650 sq km (2003) ^0 flooding ^1 water pollution in the form of heavy metals, organic compounds, and nutrients such as nitrates and phosphates; air pollution from vehicles and refining activities; acid rain _P `P Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling ^2 located at mouths of three major European rivers (Rhine, Maas or Meuse, and Schelde) 
]# ^3 16,570,613 (July 2007 est.) ^4 `+ 17.8% (male 1,505,931/female 1,436,532) `, 67.8% (male 5,683,877/female 5,557,745) `- 14.4% (male 1,015,731/female 1,370,797) (2007 est.) ^5 `! 39.7 years `. 38.9 years `/ 40.5 years (2007 est.) ^6 0.464% (2007 est.) ^7 10.7 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^8 8.69 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^9 2.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^: `0 1.05 male(s)/female `1 1.048 male(s)/female `, 1.023 male(s)/female `- 0.741 male(s)/female `2 0.981 male(s)/female (2007 est.) ^; `! 4.88 deaths/1,000 live births `. 5.43 deaths/1,000 live births `/ 4.31 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) ^< `2 79.11 years `. 76.52 years `/ 81.82 years (2007 est.) ^= 1.66 children born/woman (2007 est.) ^> 0.2% (2001 est.) ^? 19,000 (2001 est.) ^@ less than 100 (2003 est.) ^A `3 Dutchman(men), Dutchwoman(women) `4 Dutch ^B Dutch 83%, other 17% (of which 9% are non-Western origin mainly Turks, Moroccans, Antilleans, Surinamese, and Indonesians) (1999 est.) ^C Roman Catholic 31%, Dutch Reformed 13%, Calvinist 7%, Muslim 5.5%, other 2.5%, none 41% (2002) ^D Dutch (official), Frisian (official) ^E `5 age 15 and over can read and write `2 99% `. 99% `/ 99% (2003 est.) 
]$ ^F `6 Kingdom of the Netherlands `7 Netherlands `Z Koninkrijk der Nederlanden `[ Nederland ^H constitutional monarchy ^I `8 Amsterdam `9 52 23 N, 4 54 E `: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) `p +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October `* The Hague (seat of government) ^J 12 provinces (provincies, singular - provincie); Drenthe, Flevoland, Friesland (Fryslan), Gelderland, Groningen, Limburg, Noord-Brabant (North Brabant), Noord-Holland (North Holland), Overijssel, Utrecht, Zeeland, Zuid-Holland (South Holland) _f Aruba, Netherlands Antilles ^K 23 January 1579 (the northern provinces of the Low Countries conclude the Union of Utrecht breaking with Spain; on 26 July 1581 they formally declared their independence with an Act of Abjuration; however, it was not until 30 January 1648 and the Peace of Westphalia that Spain recognized this independence) ^L Queen's Day (Birthday of Queen-Mother JULIANA and accession to the throne of her oldest daughter BEATRIX), 30 April (1909 and 1980) ^M adopted 1815; amended many times, most recently in 2002 ^N civil law system incorporating French penal theory; constitution does not permit judicial review of acts of the States General; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `; Queen BEATRIX (since 30 April 1980); Heir Apparent WILLEM-ALEXANDER (born 27 April 1967), son of the monarch `< Prime Minister Jan Peter BALKENENDE (since 22 July 2002); Deputy Prime Ministers Wouter BOS (since 22 February 2007) and Laurens Andre ROUVOET (since 22 February 2007) `= Council of Ministers appointed by the monarch `> none; the monarchy is hereditary; following Second Chamber elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch; deputy prime ministers appointed by the monarch `* there is also a Council of State composed of the monarch, heir apparent, and councilors that provides consultations to the cabinet on legislative and administrative policy ^Q bicameral States General or Staten Generaal consists of the First Chamber or Eerste Kamer (75 seats; members indirectly elected by the country's 12 provincial councils for four-year terms) and the Second Chamber or Tweede Kamer (150 seats; members directly elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) `> First Chamber - last held 25 May 2003 (next to be held in May 2007); Second Chamber - last held 22 November 2006 (next to be held by early 2011) `? First Chamber - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CDA 23, PvdA 19, VVD 15, Green Left Party 5, Socialist Party 4, D66 3, other 6; Second Chamber - percent of vote by party - CDA 26.5%, PvdA 21.2%, Socialist Party 16.6%, VVD 14.6%, Party for Freedom 5.9%, Green Party 4.6%, Christian Union 4.0%, other 6.6%; seats by party - CDA 41, PvdA 33, Socialist Party 25, VVD 22, Party for Freedom 9, Green Party 7, Christian Union 6, other 7 ^R Supreme Court or Hoge Raad (justices are nominated for life by the monarch) ^S Christian Democratic Appeal or CDA [Jan Peter BALKENENDE]; Christian Union Party [Andre ROUVOET]; Democrats 66 or D66 [Alexander PECHTOLD]; Green Left Party [Femke HALSEMA]; Labor Party or PvdA [Wouter BOS]; List Pim Fortuyn [Olaf STUGER]; Party for Freedom [Geert WILDERS]; People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (Liberal) or VVD [Mark RUTTE]; Socialist Party [Jan MARIJNISSEN]; Party for Freedom or PVV [Geert WILDERS]; Party for the Animals or PvdD [Marianne THIEME]; Reformed Political Party of SGP [Bas VAN DER VLIES]; plus a few minor parties ^T Netherlands Trade Union Federation or FNV (consisting of a merger of Socialist and Catholic trade unions); Christian Trade Union Federation or CNV; Trade Union Federation of Middle and High Personnel or MHP; Federation of Catholic and Protestant Employers Associations; Interchurch Peace Council or IKV; large multinational firms; the nondenominational Federation of Netherlands Enterprises ^U AfDB, Arctic Council (observer), AsDB, Australia Group, Benelux, BIS, CBSS (observer), CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNRWA, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC ^V `R Ambassador Christiaan Mark Johan KROENER `S 4200 Linnean Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 `T [1] (202) 244-5300 `U [1] (202) 362-3430 `V Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York `^ Boston ^W `R Ambassador Roland E. ARNALL `_ Lange Voorhout 102, 2514 EJ, The Hague `` PSC 71, Box 1000, APO AE 09715 `T [31] (70) 310-2209 `U [31] (70) 361-4688 `V Amsterdam ^X three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue; similar to the flag of Luxembourg, which uses a lighter blue and is longer; one of the oldest flags in constant use, originating with WILLIAM I, Prince of Orange, in the latter half of the 16th century 
]% ^Y The Netherlands has a prosperous and open economy, which depends heavily on foreign trade. The economy is noted for stable industrial relations, moderate unemployment and inflation, a sizable current account surplus, and an important role as a European transportation hub. Industrial activity is predominantly in food processing, chemicals, petroleum refining, and electrical machinery. A highly mechanized agricultural sector employs no more than 2% of the labor force but provides large surpluses for the food-processing industry and for exports. The Netherlands, along with 11 of its EU partners, began circulating the euro currency on 1 January 2002. The country continues to be one of the leading European nations for attracting foreign direct investment. Economic growth slowed considerably in 2001-06, as part of the global economic slowdown, but for the four years before that, annual growth averaged nearly 4%, well above the EU average. ^Z $512 billion (2006 est.) ^[ $612.7 billion (2006 est.) ^\ 2.9% (2006 est.) ^] $31,700 (2006 est.) ^^ `@ 2.1% `A 23.9% `B 73.9% (2006 est.) ^_ 7.6 million (2006 est.) ^` `@ 2% `A 19% `B 79% (2004 est.) ^a 5.5% (2006 est.) _! 10.5% (1999) _" `C 2.5% `D 22.9% (1999) _d 30.9 (2005) _# 1.4% (2006 est.) _V 19.3% of GDP (2006 est.) _$ `E $304.3 billion `F $306.5 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.) _% 50.8% of GDP (2006 est.) _& grains, potatoes, sugar beets, fruits, vegetables; livestock _' agroindustries, metal and engineering products, electrical machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum, construction, microelectronics, fishing _( 2.3% (2006 est.) _) 92.7 billion kWh (2004) _* 102.4 billion kWh (2004) _+ 5.2 billion kWh (2004) _, 21.4 billion kWh (2004) _- 95,800 bbl/day (2004) _. 946,700 bbl/day (2004 est.) _/ 1.418 million bbl/day (2001) _0 2.284 million bbl/day (2001) _W 88.06 million bbl (1 January 2002) _1 85.98 billion cu m (2004 est.) _2 51.3 billion cu m (2004 est.) _X 53.56 billion cu m (2004 est.) _Y 18.85 billion cu m (2004 est.) _Z 1.756 trillion cu m (1 January 2005 est.) _Q $50.17 billion (2006 est.) _3 $413.8 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) _4 machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels; foodstuffs _5 Germany 24.9%, Belgium 13%, France 9.4%, UK 9.2%, Italy 5.7%, US 4.3%, Spain 4.1% (2005) _6 $373.8 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) _7 machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs, clothing _8 Germany 16.6%, Belgium 9.3%, China 8.8%, US 7.6%, UK 5.8%, France 4.7%, Russia 4.4% (2005) _[ $10.24 billion (August 2006 est.) _9 $1.899 trillion (30 June 2006) _\ ODA, $4 billion (2003 est.) _; euro (EUR) `* on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries _< euros per US dollar - 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002) _= calendar year 
]& _> 7.6 million (2005) _? 15.834 million (2005) _@ `G highly developed and well maintained `H extensive fixed-line fiber-optic network; cellular telephone system is one of the largest in Europe with 5 major network operators utilizing the third generation of the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) `I country code - 31; 9 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Eutelsat, and 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions) (2004) _A AM 4, FM 246, shortwave 3 (2004) _B 21 (plus 26 repeaters) (1995) _C .nl _D 8.363 million (2006) _E 10.806 million (2004) 
]' _F 27 (2006) _G `! 20 `a 2 `J 9 `b 3 `c 4 `W 2 (2006) _R `! 7 `c 3 `W 4 (2006) _] 1 (2006) _^ condensate 81 km; gas 7,229 km; oil 578 km; refined products 716 km (2006) _e `! 2,808 km `m 2,808 km 1.435-m gauge (2,061 km electrified) (2005) _H `! 134,000 km (includes 3,270 km of expressways) (2004) _b 6,183 km (navigable for ships of 50 tons) (2005) _S `! 558 ships (1000 GRT or over) 5,042,775 GRT/5,016,265 DWT by type: bulk carrier 29, cargo 345, chemical tanker 29, container 59, liquefied gas 12, passenger 14, passenger/cargo 14, petroleum tanker 16, refrigerated cargo 19, roll on/roll off 18, specialized tanker 3 `X 157 (Australia 1, Belgium 2, Denmark 9, Finland 13, Germany 56, Ireland 10, Netherlands Antilles 1, Norway 7, Sweden 26, UK 19, US 13) `d 222 (Antigua and Barbuda 14, Australia 2, Austria 2, Bahamas 24, Canada 1, Cayman Islands 4, Cyprus 18, Gibraltar 5, Isle of Man 1, Liberia 29, Luxembourg 2, Malta 6, Marshall Islands 1, Netherlands Antilles 54, Norway 3, Panama 21, Philippines 19, Portugal 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 5, Singapore 2, UK 3, US 4, unknown 1) (2006) _I Amsterdam, Groningen, IJmuiden, Rotterdam, Terneuzen, Vlissingen, Zaanstad 
]( _J Royal Netherlands Army, Royal Netherlands Navy (includes Naval Air Service and Marine Corps), Royal Netherlands Air Force (Koninklijke Luchtmacht, KLu), Royal Military Police, Defense Interservice Command (DICO) (2006) _T 20 years of age for an all-volunteer force (2004) _K males age 20-49: 3,557,918 females age 20-49: 3,470,377 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 20-49: 2,856,691 females age 20-49: 2,786,495 (2005 est.) _L males age 18-49: 99,934 females age 20-49: 95,818 (2005 est.) _U 1.6% (2005 est.) 
]) _N none _O major European producer of synthetic drugs, including ecstasy, and cannabis cultivator; important gateway for cocaine, heroin, and hashish entering Europe; major source of US-bound ecstasy; large financial sector vulnerable to money laundering; significant consumer of ecstasy 