View source for Netherlands

{{Short description|Country in Northwestern Europe and the Caribbean}}
{{Redirect|Nederland}}
{{About|the constituent country|the sovereign state|Kingdom of the Netherlands|other uses}}
{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{pp-move|small=yes}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Infobox political division
| name = Netherlands<!--Please do not change to Kingdom of the Netherlands; it has its own article.-->
| native_name = {{native name|nl|Nederland}}{{collapsible list
|titlestyle = background:transparent;text-align:center;line-height:normal;font-size:84%;
|title = {{resize|1.0 em|In 2 regional languages}}{{efn|name=co-official_languages|Apart from Dutch, English is an official language in the special municipalities of [[Saba (island)|Saba]] and [[Sint Eustatius]], Papiamentu is an official language in the special municipality of [[Bonaire]], and West Frisian is an official language in the province of [[Friesland]].<ref name="official-and-recognised-languages">{{cite web |url=https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/erkende-talen/vraag-en-antwoord/erkende-talen-nederland |title=Welke erkende talen heeft Nederland? |publisher=Rijksoverheid |access-date=27 December 2017 |language=nl|date=11 January 2016}}</ref>}}
|{{Infobox|subbox=yes|bodystyle=font-size:80%;font-weight:normal;
|rowclass1 = mergedrow|label1=[[West Frisian language|West Frisian]]:|data1={{lang|fy|Nederlân}}
|rowclass2 = mergedrow|label2=[[Papiamentu language|Papiamentu]]:|data2={{lang|pap|Hulanda}}
}}
}}
| settlement_type = [[Kingdom of the Netherlands|Constituent country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands]]
| image_flag = Flag of the Netherlands.svg
| flag_size = 125
| flag_link = Flag of the Netherlands
| image_seal = Royal coat of arms of the Netherlands.svg
| seal_size = 95
| seal_type = Coat of arms
| seal_link = Coat of arms of the Netherlands
| motto = {{native name|fr|[[Coat of arms of the Netherlands|Je maintiendrai]]|link=on}}<br />(''"I will maintain"'')
| anthem = {{native name|nl|[[Wilhelmus]]|link=off}}<br />(''Latinised version of the name "William"'')<br><div style="display:inline-block;margin-top:0.4em;">{{center|[[File:United States Navy Band - Het Wilhelmus (tempo corrected).ogg]]}}</div>
| image_map = {{Switcher|[[File:EU-Netherlands (orthographic projection).png|frameless]]|Netherlands on the globe|[[File:EU-Netherlands.svg|frameless]]|Metropolitan Netherlands in Europe|[[File:BES islands location map.svg|frameless]]|[[Caribbean Netherlands|Municipalities]] in the Caribbean|default=2}}
| map_caption = {{map caption|location_color=dark green|region=Europe|region_color=dark grey|subregion=the European Union|subregion_color=light green}}
| subdivision_type = [[Sovereign state]]
| membership_type = [[Member state of the European Union|Member State]]
| membership = [[European Union]]
| subdivision_name = [[Kingdom of the Netherlands]]
| established_title = Before independence
| established_date = [[Spanish Netherlands]]
| established_title2 = [[Act of Abjuration]]
| established_date2 = 26 July 1581
| established_title3 = [[Peace of Münster]]
| established_date3 = 30 January 1648
| established_title4 = [[United Kingdom of the Netherlands]]
| established_date4 = 16 March 1815
| established_title5 = [[Liberation Day (Netherlands)|Liberation Day]]
| established_date5 = 5 May 1945
| established_title6 = [[Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands|Kingdom Charter]]
| established_date6 = 15 December 1954
| established_title7 = [[Dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles|Caribbean reorganisation]]
| established_date7 = 10 October 2010
| official_languages = [[Dutch language|Dutch]]
| languages_type = [[Regional language]]s
| languages_sub = yes
| languages = {{hlist|[[West Frisian language|West Frisian]]|[[Papiamento]]|[[English in the Netherlands|English]]{{efn|name=co-official_languages}}}}
| languages2_type = Recognised languages
| languages2_sub = yes
| languages2 = {{hlist|[[Dutch Low Saxon]]|[[Dutch Sign Language]]|[[Limburgish]]|[[Sinte Romani]]|[[Yiddish]]{{efn|name=recognised_languages|Having ratified the [[European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages]] in 1996, the Dutch government recognises Dutch Low Saxon, Limburgish, Sinte Romani and Yiddish as regional or non-territorial minority languages.<ref name="official-and-recognised-languages"/> On 1 July 2021, Dutch Sign Language received the status of recognised language.<ref name="NGT">{{cite journal |title=Besluit van 24 juni 2021 tot vaststelling van het tijdstip van inwerkingtreding van de Wet erkenning Nederlandse Gebarentaal |journal=Staatsblad van het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden |date=2021 |url=https://www.eerstekamer.nl/behandeling/20210629/publicatie_inwerkingtreding/document3/f=/vlk1d0bzv6qf.pdf |access-date=1 July 2021 |issn=0920-2064}}</ref>}}}}
| demonym = Dutch
| capital = [[Amsterdam]]{{efn|name=central_cities|Amsterdam is the constitutional capital, while the government and the royal family are seated in The Hague.}}
| largest_city = capital
| coordinates = {{coord|52|22|N|4|53|E|type:city}}
| admin_center = [[The Hague]]{{efn|name=central_cities}}
| admin_center_type = Government seat
| ethnic_groups = {{ublist |item_style=white-space:nowrap;
|72.0% [[Dutch people|Dutch]]{{efn|This includes residents who were born in the Netherlands and whose parents both were born in the Netherlands.}}
|9.2% other European
|2.5% [[Turks in the Netherlands|Turkish]]
|2.3% [[Moroccans in the Netherlands|Moroccan]]
|2.0% [[Overseas Indonesians#Netherlands|Indonesian]]
|2.0% [[Surinamese people in the Netherlands|Surinamese]]
|1.1% [[Dutch Caribbean]]
|8.9% [[Demography of the Netherlands|other]]<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|title=How many residents have origins outside the Netherlands|url=https://www.cbs.nl/nl-nl/dossier/dossier-asiel-migratie-en-integratie/hoeveel-inwoners-hebben-een-herkomst-buiten-nederland|access-date=21 July 2023|website=opendata.cbs.nl|date=March 2023}}</ref>}}
| ethnic_groups_year = 2024
| religion = {{Tree list}}
* 56% [[Irreligion in the Netherlands|no religion]]
* 31% [[Christianity in the Netherlands|Christianity]]
** 17% [[Catholic Church in the Netherlands|Catholicism]]
** 14% [[Protestantism in the Netherlands|Protestantism]]
* 6% [[Islam in the Netherlands|Islam]]
* 7% [[Religion in the Netherlands|other]]
{{Tree list/end}}
| religion_ref = <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbs.nl/nl-nl/nieuws/2025/16/daling-aandeel-mensen-dat-aangeeft-bij-religie-te-horen-stagneert |title=Religieuze betrokkenheid; persoonskenmerken |website=[[Statistics Netherlands]] |date=18 April 2025 |language=nl}}</ref>
| religion_year = 2024
| government_type = Unitary [[Parliamentary system|parliamentary]] [[constitutional monarchy]]
| leader_title1 = [[Monarchy of the Netherlands|Monarch]]
| leader_name1 = [[Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands|Willem-Alexander]]
| leader_title2 = [[Prime Minister of the Netherlands|Prime Minister]]
| leader_name2 = [[Dick Schoof]]
| national_representation = [[European Parliament]]
| national_representation_type1 = [[Netherlands (European Parliament constituency)|Netherlands constituency]]
| national_representation1 = 31 seats
| legislature = [[States General of the Netherlands|States General]]
| upper_house = [[Senate (Netherlands)|Senate]]
| lower_house = [[House of Representatives (Netherlands)|House of Representatives]]
| area_km2 = 41865<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/caribische-deel-van-het-koninkrijk/vraag-en-antwoord/waaruit-bestaat-het-koninkrijk-der-nederlanden |title=Waaruit bestaat het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden? – Rijksoverheid.nl |date=19 May 2015}}</ref> {{efn|name=area|The area of the Netherlands with overseas territories. Metropolitan Netherlands is 41,543 square kilometers.}}<!-- Should match [[List of countries and dependencies by area]] -->
| area_rank = 134th
| area_sq_mi = 16039
| percent_water = 18.41<ref name="cia-worldfactbook-nl"/>
| elevation_max_m = 870
| elevation_max_ft =
| elevation_max_point = [[Mount Scenery]]
| population_census = 16,655,799<ref name="2011Census">{{cite web|url=https://www.cbs.nl/-/media/imported/documents/2014/44/2014-b57-pub.pdf?la=en-gb|title=Dutch Census 2011 Analysis and Methodology|publisher=[[Statistics Netherlands]]|page=9|date=19 November 2014|accessdate=9 June 2021}}</ref>
| population_census_year = 2011
| population_estimate = {{IncreaseNeutral}} {{data Netherlands|poptoday|formatnum}}<ref name="Counter">{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbs.nl/nl-nl/visualisaties/dashboard-bevolking/bevolkingsteller|title=Bevolkingsteller|publisher=[[Statistics Netherlands]]|language=Dutch|accessdate=9 June 2021}}</ref>
| population_estimate_rank = 69th
| population_estimate_year = {{CURRENTDAY}} {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}}
| population_density_km2 = 520
| population_density_sq_mi =
| population_density_rank = 26th
| GDP_PPP = {{increase}} $1.526 trillion<ref name="IMFWEO.NL">{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2025/april/weo-report?c=138,&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,&sy=2023&ey=2030&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 |title=World Economic Outlook Database, April 2025 Edition. (Netherlands) |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] |website=www.imf.org |date=22 April 2025 |access-date=26 May 2025}}</ref>
| GDP_PPP_year = 2025
| GDP_PPP_rank = 28th
| GDP_PPP_per_capita = {{increase}} $84,566<ref name="IMFWEO.NL"/>
| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 10th
| GDP_nominal = {{increase}} $1.272 trillion<ref name="IMFWEO.NL"/>
| GDP_nominal_year = 2025
| GDP_nominal_rank = 18th
| GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{increase}} $70,480<ref name="IMFWEO.NL"/>
| GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 10th
| Gini = 26.4<!--number only-->
| Gini_year = 2021
| Gini_change = decrease
| Gini_ref = <ref name=eurogini>{{cite web |url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tessi190/default/table?lang=en |title=Gini coefficient of equivalised disposable income – EU-SILC survey|publisher=[[Eurostat]] |website=ec.europa.eu |access-date=25 January 2023}}</ref>
| Gini_rank = 
| HDI = 0.955<!--number only-->
| HDI_year = 2023<!-- Please use the year to which the data refer, not the publication year-->
| HDI_change = increase
| HDI_ref = <ref name="UNHDR">{{Cite web |date=6 May 2025 |title=Human Development Report 2025 |url=https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2025reporten.pdf|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250506051232/https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2025reporten.pdf |archive-date=6 May 2025 |access-date=6 May 2025 |publisher=[[United Nations Development Programme]] |language=en}}</ref>
| HDI_rank = 8th
| currency = {{hlist|[[Euro]] (€) ([[ISO 4217|EUR]])|United States dollar (US$) ([[ISO 4217|USD]]){{efn|The euro is used in the European part of the Netherlands and replaced the [[Dutch guilder]] in 2002. The United States dollar is used in the [[Caribbean Netherlands]] and replaced the [[Netherlands Antillean guilder]] in 2011.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0028551 |title=Wet geldstelsel BES |publisher=Dutch government |date=30 September 2010 |access-date=11 January 2014}}</ref>}}}}
| timezone =
| utc_offset_list = {{hlist|[[UTC+01:00]] ([[Central European Time|CET]])|[[UTC−04:00]] ([[Atlantic Time Zone|AST]])}}{{efn|CET and CEST are used in the European Netherlands, and AST is used in the Caribbean Netherlands.}}
| utc_offset_list_DST = {{hlist|[[UTC+02:00]] ([[Central European Summer Time|CEST]])|[[UTC−04:00]] (AST)}}
| calling_code = [[Telephone numbers in the Netherlands|+31]], [[Telephone numbers in Curaçao and the Caribbean Netherlands|+599]]{{efn|+599 was the country code designated for the now dissolved [[Netherlands Antilles]]. The Caribbean Netherlands still use +599&nbsp;7 (for Bonaire), +599&nbsp;3 (for Sint Eustatius), and +599&nbsp;4 (for Saba).}}
| cctld = [[.nl]], [[.bq]]{{efn|.nl is the common internet top-level domain name for the Netherlands. The [[.eu]] domain is also used, as it is shared with other [[European Union]] member states. .bq is designated, but not in use, for the [[Caribbean Netherlands]].}}
|date_format = dd-mm-yyyy{{efn|See [[Date and time notation in the Netherlands]]}}
| drives_on = Right}}

{{nowrap|The '''Netherlands'''}}{{efn|{{langx|nl|Nederland}} {{IPA|nl|ˈneːdərlɑnt||Nl-Nederland.ogg}}}}, informally '''Holland'''<ref>See Etymology 1.2 Holland</ref>, is a country in [[Northwestern Europe]], with [[Caribbean Netherlands|overseas territories]] in the [[Caribbean]]. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the [[Kingdom of the Netherlands]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0002154/2017-11-17 |title=Statuut voor het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden |trans-title=Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands |language=nl |publisher=Government of the Netherlands |date=17 November 2017 |access-date=11 July 2020}}</ref> The Netherlands consists of [[Provinces of the Netherlands|twelve provinces]]; it borders [[Germany]] to the east and [[Belgium]] to the south, with a [[North Sea]] coastline to the north and west. It shares [[Maritime boundary|maritime borders]] with the [[United Kingdom]], Germany, and Belgium.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.defensie.nl/english/topics/hydrography/contents/maritime-zones-and-boundaries/netherlands-boundaries-in-the-north-sea |title=Netherlands boundaries in the North Sea |publisher=Ministry of Defence |access-date=15 August 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819083824/http://www.defensie.nl/english/topics/hydrography/contents/maritime-zones-and-boundaries/netherlands-boundaries-in-the-north-sea |archive-date=19 August 2014}}</ref> The official language is [[Dutch language|Dutch]], with [[West Frisian language|West Frisian]] as a secondary official language in the province of [[Friesland]].<ref name="official-and-recognised-languages"/> Dutch, [[English language|English]], and [[Papiamento]] are official in the [[Caribbean Netherlands|Caribbean territories]].<ref name="official-and-recognised-languages"/> People from the Netherlands are referred to as [[Dutch people|Dutch]].<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Babbel.com |last2=GmbH |first2=Lesson Nine |title=Why Do We Call People From The Netherlands 'Dutch'? |url=https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/the-netherlands-holland-and-dutch |access-date=2025-06-15 |website=Babbel Magazine |language=en}}</ref>

{{anchor|name}}''Netherlands'' literally means "lower countries" in reference to its low elevation and flat topography, with 26% below [[Height above mean sea level|sea level]].<ref name=":1" /> Most of the areas below sea level, known as [[Polder|''polders'']], are the result of [[Land reclamation in the Netherlands|land reclamation that began in the 14th century]].<ref name="Cavendish_2003">{{cite book|title=How it Works: Science and Technology|url=https://archive.org/details/howitworks09mars|url-access=registration|year=2003|publisher=Marshall Cavendish|isbn=978-0-7614-7323-7|page=[https://archive.org/details/howitworks09mars/page/1208 1208]}}</ref> In the [[Dutch Republic|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]].<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Netherlands – Dutch civilization in the Golden Age (1609–1713)|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Netherlands|access-date=10 November 2021|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref> During this time, its trading companies, the [[Dutch East India Company]] and the [[Dutch West India Company]], [[Dutch Empire|established colonies and trading posts]] all over the world.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Dutch Republic {{!}} History & Facts|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Dutch-Republic|access-date=10 November 2021|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=History of the Dutch Empire|url=http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/plaintexthistories.asp?historyid=aa61|access-date=10 November 2021|website=historyworld.net}}</ref> While neutral in the [[First World War]], the Netherlands was [[German invasion of the Netherlands|invaded]] and [[Reichskommissariat Niederlande|occupied]] by Nazi Germany in 1940 during the [[Second World War]], which lasted until the end of the war in 1945.

With a population of over 18 million people, all living within a total area of {{cvt|41,850|km2}}—of which the land area is {{cvt|33,500|km2}}—the Netherlands is the [[List of countries and dependencies by population density|26th most densely populated]] country, with a density of {{convert|541|/km2||disp=preunit|people |people}}. Nevertheless, it is the world's second-largest exporter of food and agricultural products by value, owing to its [[Soil fertility|fertile soil]], mild climate, [[Intensive farming|intensive agriculture]], and [[List of Dutch inventions and innovations|inventiveness]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Reiley |first=Laura |title=Cutting-edge tech made this tiny country a major exporter of food |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2022/netherlands-agriculture-technology/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=23 November 2022 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en}}</ref><ref name="hollandtrade.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.hollandtrade.com/sector-information/agriculture-and-food/?bstnum=4909|title=Agriculture and food|first=Netherlands Enterprise Agency|last=(RVO)|work=hollandtrade.com|access-date=26 August 2016|date=17 July 2015|archive-date=1 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101082732/http://www.hollandtrade.com/sector-information/agriculture-and-food/?bstnum=4909|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="nationalgeographic.com">{{cite web |date=September 2017 |title=How the Netherlands Feeds the World |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/holland-agriculture-sustainable-farming |url-access=subscription |access-date=15 January 2020 |publisher=[[National Geographic Society]]}}</ref> The four largest cities in the Netherlands are [[Amsterdam]], [[Rotterdam]], [[The Hague]] and [[Utrecht]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbs.nl/nl-nl/onze-diensten/methoden/classificaties/overig/gemeentegrootte-en-stedelijkheid |title=Gemeentegrootte en stedelijkheid |language=nl |publisher=[[Statistics Netherlands|CBS]] |access-date=16 December 2019}}</ref> Amsterdam is the country's most populous city and the nominal [[Capital of the Netherlands|capital]], though the primary national political institutions are located in The Hague.<ref>{{cite web |last=Dutch Wikisource |title=Grondwet voor het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden |trans-title=Constitution for the Kingdom of the Netherlands |language=nl |url=http://nl.wikisource.org/wiki/Grondwet_voor_het_Koninkrijk_der_Nederlanden |at=[http://nl.wikisource.org/wiki/Nederlandse_grondwet/Hoofdstuk_2#Artikel_32 Chapter 2, Article 32] |quote=... de hoofdstad Amsterdam ... |access-date=3 July 2013}}</ref>

The Netherlands has been a parliamentary [[constitutional monarchy]] with a [[Unitary state|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 [[Toleration|social tolerance]], having legalised [[Prostitution in the Netherlands|prostitution]] and [[Euthanasia in the Netherlands|euthanasia]], along with maintaining [[Drug policy of the Netherlands|a liberal drug policy]]. The Netherlands allowed [[women's suffrage]] in 1919 and was the first country to legalise [[Same-sex marriage in the Netherlands|same-sex marriage]] in 2001.<ref>{{cite news |date=1 April 2001 |title=Same-Sex Marriage Legalized in Amsterdam |publisher=[[CNN]] |url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0104/01/sm.10.html |url-status=dead |access-date=11 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303221411/http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0104/01/sm.10.html |archive-date=3 March 2016}}</ref> Its [[Mixed economy|mixed-market]] [[Developed country|advanced economy]] has the [[List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita|eleventh-highest]] per capita income globally. The Hague holds the seat of the [[States General of the Netherlands|States General]], [[Cabinet of the Netherlands|cabinet]], and [[Supreme Court of the Netherlands|Supreme Court]].<!--Do not change this without broad consensus--><ref>{{cite web|url=http://netherlandsmission.org/article.asp?articleref=AR00000154EN&categoryvalue=netherlands&subcategoryvalue=nlgeneralinfo |author=Permanent Mission of the Netherlands to the UN |title=General Information |access-date=26 June 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005025411/http://netherlandsmission.org/article.asp?articleref=AR00000154EN&categoryvalue=netherlands&subcategoryvalue=nlgeneralinfo |archive-date=5 October 2013}}</ref> The [[Port of Rotterdam]] is the [[List of busiest ports in Europe|busiest in Europe]].<ref name="Ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/-/ddn-20200402-2_2021-11-25">{{Cite web |url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/-/ddn-20200402-2 |title=Rotterdam: the largest freight port in the EU |publisher=European Commission |date=2 April 2020 |accessdate=25 November 2021}}</ref> [[Amsterdam Airport Schiphol|Schiphol]] is the [[List of the busiest airports in the Netherlands|busiest airport in the Netherlands]], and the [[List of the busiest airports in Europe|fourth busiest in Europe]]. Being a [[developed country]], the Netherlands is a founding member of the [[European Union]], [[eurozone]], [[Group of Ten (economics)|G10]], [[NATO]], [[OECD]], and [[World Trade Organization|WTO]], as well as a part of the [[Schengen Area]] and the trilateral [[Benelux]] Union. It hosts [[Intergovernmental organization|intergovernmental organisations]] and [[international court]]s, many of which are in The Hague.<ref>{{Cite book |last=van Krieken |first=Peter J. |author2=David McKay |title=The Hague: Legal Capital of the World |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-90-6704-185-0 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/haguelegalcapita0000unse}}</ref>

==Etymology==
{{Main|Terminology of the Low Countries}}

===Netherlands and the Low Countries===
The countries that comprise the region called the [[Low Countries]] (Netherlands, [[Belgium]], and [[Luxembourg]]) all have comparatively the same [[toponymy]]. Place names with {{lang|gem|Neder}}, {{lang|gem|Nieder}}, {{lang|gem|Nedre}}, {{lang|gem|Nether}}, {{lang|gem|Lage(r)}} or {{lang|gem|Low(er)}} (in [[Germanic languages]]) and {{lang|roa|Bas}} or {{lang|roa|Inferior}} (in [[Romance languages]]) are in use in low-lying places all over Europe. The [[Roman Empire|Romans]] made a distinction between the Roman provinces of downstream [[Germania Inferior]] (nowadays part of Belgium and the Netherlands) and upstream [[Germania Superior]]. 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.<ref name="Franks (Columbia Encyclopedia)">{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Franks.aspx |title=Franks |publisher=[[Columbia University Press]] |encyclopedia=[[Columbia Encyclopedia]] |year=2013 |access-date=1 February 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://nobhist.narod.ru/lorraine.html |title=Lotharingia / Lorraine (Lothringen) |date=5 September 2013 |access-date=1 February 2014}}</ref>

The [[Dukes of Burgundy]] used the term {{lang|fr|les pays de par deçà}} ("the lands over here") for the Low Countries.<ref name="BlockmansPrevenier2010">{{cite book |author1=Wim Blockmans |author2=Walter Prevenier |title=The Promised Lands: The Low Countries Under Burgundian Rule, 1369–1530 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Foy9GGgdcgC&q=duke+pays+de+par+deçà&pg=PA85 |date=3 August 2010 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-0-8122-0070-6 |pages=85–}}</ref> Under [[Habsburg Netherlands|Habsburg rule]], this became {{lang|fr|pays d'embas}} ("lands down here").<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=59Pae06JSiUC&q=The%20New%20Cambridge%20Modern%20History%3A%20Volume%202%2C%20The%20Reformation%2C%201520-1559&pg=PA342 |title=The New Cambridge Modern History: Volume 2, The Reformation, 1520–1559 |isbn=978-0-521-34536-1 |last1=Elton |first1=Geoffrey Rudolph |year=1990 |publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref> This was translated as {{lang|nl|Neder-landen}} in contemporary Dutch official documents.<ref name="Lem">{{cite web |last=Van der Lem |first=Anton |title=De Opstand in de Nederlanden 1555–1609;De landen van herwaarts over |url=http://www.dutchrevolt.leiden.edu/dutch/verhaal/Pages/verhaal01.aspx |access-date=11 March 2013 |archive-date=10 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010141427/http://www.dutchrevolt.leiden.edu/dutch/verhaal/Pages/verhaal01.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref> From a regional point of view, ''Niderlant'' was also the area between the [[Meuse (river)|Meuse]] and the lower [[Rhine]] in the late Middle Ages. From the mid-sixteenth century, the "Low Countries" and the "Netherlands" lost their original [[deixis|deictic]] meaning.

In most [[Romance languages]], the term "Low Countries" is officially used as the name for the Netherlands.

=== Holland ===
The term ''[[Holland]]'' has frequently been used [[Colloquialism|informally]] to [[Pars pro toto|refer to the whole]] of the modern country of the Netherlands in various languages,<ref name="MoFA">{{cite web |title=Holland or the Netherlands? |url=http://sweden.nlembassy.org/you-and-netherlands |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027142541/http://sweden.nlembassy.org/you-and-netherlands |archive-date=27 October 2016 |access-date=15 December 2012 |publisher=Dutch Embassy in Sweden}}</ref> including [[Dutch language|Dutch]]<ref name="Van Dale">G. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=11 May 2016 |title=Nederland vs. Holland |url=https://www.holland.com/be_nl/toerisme/informatie/algemeen/nederland-vs-holland.htm |access-date=5 February 2023 |website=holland.com |language=Dutch |quote=Wat is het verschil tussen Holland en Nederland? Nederland bestaat uit de 12 provincies, maar veel mensen gebruiken ook het woord Holland als ze het over Nederland hebben.}}</ref> 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 Holland|North]] and [[South Holland]]. Formerly these were a single province, and earlier the [[County of Holland]], which also included parts of present-day [[Utrecht (province)|Utrecht]]. The emphasis on Holland during the formation of the [[Dutch Republic]], the [[Eighty Years' War]], and the [[Anglo-Dutch Wars]] in the 17th and 18th centuries made Holland a ''[[pars pro toto]]'' for the entire country.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/about-us/style-book/1435302/Telegraph-style-book-places-and-peoples.html |title=Telegraph style book: places and peoples |access-date=31 March 2014 |location=London |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=12 April 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www2.media.uoa.gr/lectures/linguistic_archives/academic_papers0506/notes/stylesheets_3.pdf|title=The BBC News Styleguide|access-date=31 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227003642/http://www2.media.uoa.gr/lectures/linguistic_archives/academic_papers0506/notes/stylesheets_3.pdf|archive-date=27 February 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Many Dutch people object to the country being referred to as ''Holland'' instead of ''the Netherlands'', on much the same grounds as many [[Welsh people|Welsh]] or [[Scottish people|Scottish]] people object to the United Kingdom being referred to as England.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Oostendorp |first=Marc van |date=1 June 2018 |title=Nederland of Holland? |url=https://neerlandistiek.nl/2018/06/nederland-of-holland/ |access-date=1 September 2023 |website=Neerlandistiek |language=nl-NL}}</ref> In particular, those from regions other than Holland find it undesirable or misrepresentative to use the term Holland for the whole country,<ref name="MoFA"/> as the [[Holland]] 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''.''<ref>{{Cite web |date=31 December 2019 |title=Wennen aan The Netherlands, want Holland bestaat niet langer |url=https://nos.nl/artikel/2316869-wennen-aan-the-netherlands-want-holland-bestaat-niet-langer |access-date=1 September 2023 |website=nos.nl |language=nl}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=margoD |date=3 September 2020 |title=Wat is het verschil tussen Holland en Nederland? |url=https://wheninholland.com/weetjes/het-verschil-tussen-holland-en-nederland/ |access-date=1 September 2023 |website=When in Holland |language=nl-NL |archive-date=1 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230901205312/https://wheninholland.com/weetjes/het-verschil-tussen-holland-en-nederland/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Romano |first=Andrea |date=7 January 2020 |title=The Netherlands Will No Longer Be Called Holland |url=https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-news/netherlands-holland-official-name-change |access-date=5 February 2022 |website=Travel + Leisure |language=en}}</ref>

Often ''Holland'' or ''Hollanders'' is used by the [[Flemish people|Flemish]] to refer to the Dutch in the Netherlands,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Het Vlaams woordenboek » hollander |url=https://www.vlaamswoordenboek.be/definities/term/hollander |access-date=12 September 2023 |website=vlaamswoordenboek.be}}</ref> and by the southern Dutch (the Dutch living "''[[Grote rivieren|below the great rivers]]''", a natural [[Culture of the Netherlands|cultural]], [[Demographics of the Netherlands|social]], and [[Religion in the Netherlands|religious]] boundary formed by the rivers [[Rhine]] and [[Meuse]]) to refer to the northern Dutch (the Dutch living north of these rivers).<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=HOLLANDER – de betekenis volgens Encyclopedie van Noord Brabant |url=https://www.ensie.nl/encyclopedie-van-noord-brabant/hollander |access-date=12 September 2023 |website=ensie.nl}}</ref> The use of the term in this context by the southern Dutch is in a [[Pejorative|derogatory]] fashion.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> In the southern province of Limburg, the term is used for the Dutch from the other 11 provinces.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=25 October 2017 |title=Limburger vindt 'Hollander' bedreigender dan buitenlander |url=https://nos.nl/artikel/2199675-limburger-vindt-hollander-bedreigender-dan-buitenlander |access-date=12 September 2023 |website=nos.nl |language=nl}}</ref>

=== Dutch ===
''Dutch'' is used in English as the adjective for the Netherlands, as well as the [[demonym]]. The origins of the word go back to Proto-Germanic {{wikt-lang|gem-pro|*þiudiskaz}} ([[Onomastic Latinisation|Latinised]] into ''[[Theodiscus]]''), meaning "popular" or "of the people", the origin of [[Old Dutch]] {{wikt-lang|odt|*thiudisc}} and [[Old English]] {{wikt-lang|ang|þeodisc}}, meaning "(of) the common ([[Germanic peoples|Germanic]]) people".<ref>{{cite book |title=The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European World |last1=Mallory |first1=J.&nbsp;P. |last2=Adams |first2=D.&nbsp;Q. |author-link2=Douglas Q. Adams |year=2006 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=US |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yfZZX1qjpvkC |isbn=0-19-929668-5 |access-date=6 April 2016 |archive-date=31 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210831164332/https://books.google.com/books?id=yfZZX1qjpvkC |url-status=live}}, p. 269.</ref> At first, the English language used ''Dutch'' to refer to any or all speakers of [[West Germanic languages]]. The term gradually came to be used more narrowly to refer to the West Germanic people the English had the most contact with.<ref>M. Philippa e.a. (2003–2009) Etymologisch Woordenboek van het Nederlands [Duits]</ref>

==History==
{{Main|History of the Netherlands}}

===Prehistory (before 800 BC)===
{{Main|Prehistory of the Netherlands}}
{{multiple image |perrow=2|total_width=350|caption_align=center
| title =
| image1 = 5500vc ex leg.jpg|caption1=The Netherlands in 5500 BC
| image2 = BronzAgeElp.png|caption2=Bronze Age cultures in the Netherlands
}}
The oldest human ([[Neanderthal]]) traces in the Netherlands, believed to be about 250,000 years old, were found near [[Maastricht]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Roebroeks|first1=Wil|last2=Sier|first2=Mark J.|last3=Nielsen|first3=Trine Kellberg|last4=Loecker|first4=Dimitri De|last5=Parés|first5=Josep Maria|last6=Arps|first6=Charles E. S.|last7=Mücher|first7=Herman J.|title=Use of red ochre by early Neandertals|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=109|issue=6 |pages=1889–1894 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1112261109 |pmid=22308348|date=7 February 2012 |pmc=3277516 |bibcode=2012PNAS..109.1889R|doi-access=free| issn=0027-8424 }}</ref> At the end of the [[Weichselian glaciation|Ice Age]], the [[nomadic]] late [[Upper Paleolithic|Upper Palaeolithic]] [[Hamburg culture]] (13,000–10,000 BC) hunted [[reindeer]] in the area, using spears. The later [[Ahrensburg culture]] (11,200–9,500 BC) used [[bow and arrow]]. From [[Mesolithic Europe|Mesolithic]] [[Maglemosian culture|Maglemosian-like tribes]] (c. 8000 BC), the world's [[Pesse canoe|oldest canoe]] was found in [[Drenthe]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Van Zeist |first1=W. |title=De steentijd van Nederland |journal=Nieuwe Drentse Volksalmanak |volume=75 |pages=4–11 |year=1957}}</ref>

Indigenous late Mesolithic [[hunter-gatherer]]s from the [[Swifterbant culture]] (c. 5600 BC), related to the southern Scandinavian [[Ertebølle culture]], were strongly linked to rivers and open water.<ref name="Kooijmans1998">Louwe Kooijmans, L.P., "[https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/handle/1887/1108/171_060.pdf?sequence=1 Trijntje van de Betuweroute, Jachtkampen uit de Steentijd te Hardinxveld-Giessendam]", 1998, ''Spiegel Historiael'' 33, pp. 423–428</ref> Between 4800 and 4500 BC, the Swifterbant people started to adopt from the neighbouring [[Linear Pottery culture]] the practice of [[animal husbandry]], and between 4300 and 4000 BC agriculture.<ref>Volkskrant 24 August 2007 "[http://www.volkskrant.nl/wetenschap/article455140.ece/Prehistorische_akker_gevonden_bij_Swifterbant Prehistoric agricultural field found in Swifterbant, 4300–4000 BC] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090919141403/http://www.volkskrant.nl/wetenschap/article455140.ece/Prehistorische_akker_gevonden_bij_Swifterbant |date=19 September 2009}}"</ref> The [[Funnelbeaker culture]] (4300–2800 BC) erected the [[dolmens]], large stone grave monuments found in [[Drenthe]]. There was a quick transition from the Funnelbeaker [[Early European Farmers|farming culture]] to the pan-European [[Corded Ware]] [[Pastoralism|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]] period, until it too was succeeded by the Corded Ware culture.

The subsequent [[Beaker culture|Bell Beaker culture]] (2700–2100 BC)<ref>{{cite book |editor-first=Harry |editor-last=Fokkens |editor-first2=Franco |editor-last2=Nicolis |title=Background to beakers : inquiries in regional cultural backgrounds to the Bell Beaker complex|date=2012|publisher=Sidestone|location=Leiden|isbn=978-90-8890-084-6|page=131}}</ref> introduced metalwork in copper, gold and later bronze and opened new international trade routes, reflected in [[Copper Age Europe|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]] (1800–800 BC),<ref>{{cite web|last1=Fokkens|first1=Harry|title=The Periodisation of the Dutch Bronze Age: a Critical Review|url=https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/handle/1887/19822/Fokkens_2001_The%20periodisation%20of%20the%20Dutch%20Bronze%20Age%20a%20critical%20review[1]_Redacted.pdf?sequence=1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010141442/https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/handle/1887/19822/Fokkens_2001_The%20periodisation%20of%20the%20Dutch%20Bronze%20Age%20a%20critical%20review%5b1%5d_Redacted.pdf?sequence=1|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 October 2017|website=Open Access Leiden University|publisher=Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden|access-date=7 July 2017}}</ref> a Middle Bronze Age culture marked by [[earthenware]] pottery. The southern region became dominated by the related [[Hilversum culture]] (1800–800 BC).

===Celts, Germanic tribes and Romans (800 BC–410 AD)===
{{Main|Iron Age Europe|Celts|Germanic peoples|Netherlands in the Roman era}}

From 800 BC onwards, the [[Iron Age Europe|Iron Age]] Celtic [[Hallstatt culture]] became influential, replacing the [[Hilversum culture]]. Iron ore brought a measure of prosperity and was available throughout the country. [[Blacksmith|Smiths]] travelled from settlement to settlement with bronze and iron, fabricating tools on demand. The [[Vorstengraf (Oss)|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 peoples|Germanic]] tribes from the North. By the time this migration was complete, around 250 BC, a few general cultural and linguistic groups had emerged.<ref>''The New Encyclopædia Britannica'', 15th edition, 22:641–642</ref><ref name="Verhaal">de Vries, Jan W., Roland Willemyns and Peter Burger, ''Het verhaal van een taal'', Amsterdam: Prometheus, 2003, pp. 12, 21–27</ref> The [[North Sea Germanic]] [[Ingaevones]] inhabited the northern part of the [[Low Countries]]. They would later develop into the [[Frisii]] and the early [[Saxons]].<ref name="Verhaal" /> The [[Weser–Rhine Germanic]] (or [[Istvaeones]]) extended along the middle Rhine and [[Weser]] and inhabited the Low Countries south of the great rivers. These tribes would eventually develop into the [[Salian Franks]].<ref name="Verhaal" /> The [[Celts|Celtic]] [[La Tène culture]] (c. 450 BC to the Roman conquest) expanded over a wide range, including the southern area of the [[Low Countries]]. 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.<ref>Hachmann, Rolf, Georg Kossack and Hans Kuhn, ''Völker zwischen Germanen und Kelten'', 1986, pp. 183–212</ref><ref name="Lendering">Lendering, Jona, [https://www.livius.org/ga-gh/germania/inferior.htm "Germania Inferior"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027034706/http://www.livius.org/ga-gh/germania/inferior.htm |date=27 October 2016}}, Livius.org. Retrieved 6 October 2011.</ref>

[[File:Germania 70.svg|thumb|The Rhine frontier around 70 AD]]
The first author to describe the coast of [[Holland]] and [[Flanders]] was the geographer [[Pytheas]], who noted in c. 325 BC that in these regions, "more people died in the struggle against water than in the struggle against men."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lendering |first1=Jona |title=The Edges of the Earth (3) – Livius |url=https://www.livius.org/articles/concept/the-edges-of-the-earth-1/the-edges-of-the-earth-3/ |website=livius.org |access-date=28 February 2019}}</ref> During the [[Gallic Wars]], the area south and west of the [[Rhine]] was conquered by [[Roman Empire|Roman forces]] under [[Julius Caesar]] from 57 BC to 53 BC.<ref name="Lendering"/> Caesar describes two main Celtic tribes living in what is now the southern Netherlands: the [[Menapii]] and the [[Eburones]]. Under [[Augustus]], the [[Roman Empire]] would conquer the entirety of the modern day Netherlands, incorporating it into the province of [[Germania Antiqua]] in 7 BC, but would be repelled back across the Rhine after the [[Battle of the Teutoburg Forest|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]]: [[Nijmegen]] and [[Voorburg]]. In the first part of [[Gallia Belgica]], the area south of the Limes became part of the [[Roman province]] of [[Germania Inferior]]. The area to the north of the Rhine, inhabited by the Frisii, remained outside Roman rule, while the Germanic border tribes of the [[Batavi (Germanic tribe)|Batavi]] and [[Cananefates]] served in the [[Ala (Roman allied military unit)|Roman cavalry]].<ref>Roymans, Nico, ''Ethnic Identity and Imperial Power: The Batavians in the Early Roman Empire'', Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2005, pp 226–227</ref> The Batavi rose against the Romans in the [[Revolt of the Batavi|Batavian rebellion]] 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.<ref name="Previté-Orton">Previté-Orton, Charles, ''The Shorter Cambridge Medieval History'', vol. I, pp. 51–52, 151</ref> 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]] and the Southwest Netherlands, they were raiding the [[English Channel]]. Roman forces pacified the region but did not expel the Franks, who continued to be feared at least until the time of [[Julian (emperor)|Julian the Apostate]] (358) when Salian Franks were allowed to settle as ''[[foederati]]'' in [[Texandria]].<ref name="Previté-Orton"/>

===Early Middle Ages (411–1000)===
{{Main|Frankish Kingdom|Frisian Kingdom}}
[[File:Frisia 716-la.svg|thumb|upright|[[Franks]], [[Frisians]] and [[Saxons]], c. 716 AD]]
After the [[Roman Empire|Roman]] government in the area collapsed in roughly the year 406,<ref name=":022">{{Cite book |last=Rietbergen |first=P. J. A. N. |title=A Short History of the Netherlands: From Prehistory to the Present Day |publisher=Bekking |year=2000 |isbn=90-6109-440-2 |edition=4th |location=Amersfoort |pages=158 |oclc=52849131}}</ref> the Franks expanded their territories into numerous kingdoms. By the 490s, [[Clovis I]] had conquered and united all these territories in the southern Netherlands in one [[Frankish kingdom]], and from there continued his conquests into [[Gaul]]. During this expansion, Franks migrating to the south (modern territory of France and Walloon part of Belgium) eventually adopted the [[Vulgar Latin]] of the local population.<ref name="Verhaal"/> 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]], which by the ninth century had evolved into Old Low Franconian or Old Dutch.<ref name="Verhaal"/> A Dutch-French language boundary hence came into existence.<ref name="Verhaal"/><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j10lCgAAQBAJ|title=History of the Low Countries|last=Blom|first=J. C. H.|date=30 June 2006|publisher=Berghahn Books|isbn=978-1-84545-272-8|pages=6–18|language=en}}</ref>
[[File:Franks expansion.gif|thumb|left|Frankish expansion (481 to 870 AD)]]
To the north of the Franks, climatic conditions improved, and during the [[Migration Period]] [[Saxons]], the closely related [[Angles (tribe)|Angles]], [[Jutes]], and [[Frisii]] settled the coast.<ref name="Ethnic Constructs in Antiquity">{{Cite book |last=Bazelmans |first=Jos |year=2009 |editor1-last=Derks |editor1-first=Ton |editor2-last=Roymans |editor2-first=Nico |chapter=The early-medieval use of ethnic names from classical antiquity: The case of the Frisians |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fM_cmuhmSbIC&pg=PA321 |title=Ethnic Constructs in Antiquity: The Role of Power and Tradition |publisher=Amsterdam University |publication-date=2009 |location=Amsterdam |pages=321–337 |isbn=978-90-8964-078-9 |access-date=3 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830194912/http://s393993344.online.de/ssoar/handle/document/27183 |archive-date=30 August 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Many moved on to England and came to be known as [[Anglo-Saxons]], but those who stayed would be referred to as [[Frisians]] and their language as [[Frisian languages|Frisian]].<ref name="Ethnic Constructs in Antiquity"/> 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, King of the Frisians|Redbad]] emerged with [[Traiectum (Utrecht)|Traiectum]] ([[Utrecht (city)|Utrecht]]) as its centre of power,<ref name="Ethnic Constructs in Antiquity"/><ref>[http://www.bertsgeschiedenissite.nl/ijzertijd/eeuw1ac/frisii.html Frisii en Frisiaevones, 25–08–02 (Dutch)] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003101550/http://www.bertsgeschiedenissite.nl/ijzertijd/eeuw1ac/frisii.html |date=3 October 2011}}, Bertsgeschiedenissite.nl. Retrieved 6 October 2011</ref> while [[Dorestad]] was a flourishing trading place.<ref>Willemsen, A. (2009), ''Dorestad. Een wereldstad in de middeleeuwen'', Walburg Pers, Zutphen, pp. 23–27, {{ISBN|978-90-5730-627-3}}</ref><ref name="Atlas">{{cite book |title=Atlas of Medieval Europe |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q50IyzCMQxgC&q=dorestad&pg=PA57 |last=MacKay |first=Angus|author2=David Ditchburn |year=1997 |page=57 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-0-415-01923-1}}</ref> 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 [[Frisian–Frankish wars|series of wars]]. With the approval of the Franks, the [[Anglo-Saxon mission|Anglo-Saxon]] missionary [[Willibrord]] converted the Frisian people to Christianity and established the [[Archdiocese of Utrecht (695–1580)|Archdiocese of Utrecht]]. However, his successor [[Boniface]] was murdered by the Frisians in 754.

[[File:Rorik by H. W. Koekkoek.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Rorik of Dorestad]], [[Viking]] ruler of [[Friesland]] (romantic 1912 depiction)]]
The Frankish [[Carolingian empire]] controlled much of Western Europe. In 843, it was divided into three parts—[[East Francia|East]], [[Middle Francia|Middle]], and [[West Francia]]. 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]] in the north to the [[Kingdom of Italy (medieval)|Kingdom of Italy]] in the south. Around 850, [[Lothair I]] 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]] passed to [[Lothair II of Lotharingia|Lothair II]] and subsequently were named [[Lotharingia]]. After he died in 869, Lotharingia was partitioned, into [[Upper Lotharingia|Upper]] and [[Lower Lotharingia]], the latter comprising the Low Countries that became part of [[East Francia]] 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.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |date=1 June 2023 |title=Lindisfarne raid I Facts, Summary, & Significance |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Lindisfarne-Raid |access-date=21 June 2023 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en}}</ref>

===High Middle Ages (1000–1384)===
{{Main|History of urban centres in the Low Countries}}
[[File:Graftombe Ridder Arnold van der Sluijs.jpg|thumb|A medieval tomb of the Brabantian knight Arnold van der Sluijs]]

The [[Holy Roman Empire]] 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.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Louis II {{!}} king of the East Franks |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Louis-II-king-of-the-East-Franks |access-date=21 June 2023 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en}}</ref> [[County of Holland|Holland]], [[County of Hainaut|Hainaut]], [[County of Flanders|Flanders]], [[Duchy of Gelre|Gelre]], [[Duchy of Brabant|Brabant]], and [[Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht|Utrecht]] 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 led to increase in population, reclamation of wasteland by farmers, and steady growth of trade and industry.<ref name=":022" /> Towns grew around [[monasteries]] and [[castles]], and a mercantile middle class began to develop in these urban areas, especially in Flanders, and later Brabant. Wealthy cities started to buy certain [[City rights in the Low Countries|privileges]] for themselves from the sovereign.

Around 1100 AD, farmers from [[County of Flanders|Flanders]] and [[Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht|Utrecht]] 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hook and Cod wars |url=https://vanosnabrugge.org/hook-cod.htm |website=van Osnabrugge Genealogy |date=2024 |access-date=October 30, 2025 |quote=The Hook and Cod wars ... were fought over the title of count of Holland, but some have argued that the underlying reason was because of the power struggle of the bourgeois in the cities against the ruling nobility. The Cod fraction generally consisted of the more progressive cities of Holland. The Hook fraction consisted for a large part of the conservative noblemen. [...] The result of these battles and especially of her defeat at the Battle of Brouwershaven, was that Jacqueline was allowed to retain the titles of countess of Hainaut and Holland, but that Philip would rule the county.}}</ref>

===Burgundian, Habsburg and Spanish Habsburg Netherlands (1384–1581)===
{{Main|Burgundian Netherlands|Habsburg Netherlands|Spanish Netherlands}}
{{multiple image|perrow=1/2/1|align=left|total_width=250|caption_align=center
| title = Habsburg Netherlands
| image1 = Carlos V en Mühlberg, by Titian, from Prado in Google Earth.jpg|caption1=''[[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]], Lord of the Netherlands at the [[Battle of Mühlberg]]'' (1547), by [[Titian]]
| image2 = Political map of the Low Countries (1350)-NL.svg|caption2=The Low Countries in the late 14th century
| image3 = William I, Prince of Orange by Adriaen Thomasz. Key Rijksmuseum Amsterdam SK-A-3148.jpg|caption3=[[William the Silent|Prince William I of Orange]], leader of the [[Eighty Years' War|Dutch Revolt]], by [[Adriaen Thomasz. Key]]
}}

Most of the [[Holy Roman Empire|Imperial]] and [[France in the Middle Ages|French]] fiefs in what is now the Netherlands and Belgium were united in a [[personal union]] by Philip the Good in 1433. The [[House of Valois-Burgundy]] and their [[House of Habsburg|Habsburg]] heirs would rule the Low Countries from 1384 to 1581. The new rulers defended Dutch trading interests. The fleets of the [[County of Holland]] defeated the fleets of the [[Hanseatic League]] several times. [[Amsterdam]] grew and in the 15th century became the primary trading port in Europe for grain from the [[Baltic region]]. 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]] of the former [[wetland]]s to reduce to a level that was too low for drainage to be maintained.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |date=31 May 2023 |title=Low Countries {{!}} Facts, Map, & History  |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Low-Countries |access-date=21 June 2023 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en}}</ref>

Under Habsburg [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]], all fiefs in the current Netherlands region were united into the [[Seventeen Provinces]], which included most of present-day Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of France and Germany. In 1568, under [[Philip II of Spain|Phillip II]], the [[Eighty Years' War]] between the Provinces and their [[Spanish Empire|Spanish]] ruler began. The level of ferocity exhibited by both sides can be gleaned from a Dutch chronicler's report:<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/risedutchrepubl01motlgoog|title=The Rise of the Dutch Republic, Volume 2|last=Motley|first=John|year=1859|pages=[https://archive.org/details/risedutchrepubl01motlgoog/page/n33 25]}}</ref>
<blockquote>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.</blockquote>

The [[Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba|Duke of Alba]] attempted to suppress the Protestant movement in the Netherlands. Netherlanders were "burned, strangled, beheaded, or buried alive" by his "[[Council of Troubles|Blood Council]]" and Spanish soldiers. Bodies were displayed along roads to terrorise the population into submission. Alba boasted of having executed 18,600;<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://necrometrics.com/pre1700a.htm#Ne1566|title=Twentieth Century Atlas – Historical Body Count|website=necrometrics.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Clodfelter |first1=Micheal |title=Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492–2015, 4th ed. |date=9 May 2017 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-7470-7 |pages=16 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8urEDgAAQBAJ |access-date=11 November 2020 |language=en}}</ref> this figure does not include those who perished by war and famine.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sharp Hume|first=Martin Andrew|title=The Spanish People: Their Origin, Growth and Influence|date=1901|page=372}}</ref>

The first great siege was Alba's effort to capture [[Haarlem]] 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 [[Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo, 4th Duke of Alba|Don Fadrique]] was unable to honour, when his soldiers mutinied, angered over pay owed and the miserable conditions of the campaign.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Arnade |first1=Peter J. |title=Beggars, Iconoclasts, and Civic Patriots: The Political Culture of the Dutch Revolt |page=237}}</ref> On 4 November 1576, Spanish [[tercio]]s seized [[Antwerp]] 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.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Durant |first1=Will |last2=Durant |first2=Ariel |title=The Age of Reason Begins: A History of European Civilization in the Period of Shakespeare, Bacon, Montaigne, Rembrandt, Galileo, and Descartes: 1558–1648 |page=451}}</ref>

[[File:Philip II of Spain berating William the Silent Prince of Orange by Cornelis Kruseman.jpg|thumb|[[Philip II of Spain]] reproaches William of Orange in [[Vlissingen]] upon his departure from the Netherlands in 1559.]]
Following the [[sack of Antwerp]], delegates from Catholic Brabant, Protestant Holland and Zeeland agreed to join Utrecht and [[William the Silent]] 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]] 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.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gillespie |first1=Alexander |title=The Causes of War: Volume III: 1400 CE to 1650 CE |date=2017 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |page=131}}</ref> In light of the [[Battle of Gembloux (1578)|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]] in which they committed to support each other against the Spanish.<ref>Motley, John Lothrop (1855). [https://books.google.com/books?id=8isNLCXfNycC&pg=PA411 ''The Rise of the Dutch Republic''] Vol. III, Harper Bros.: New York, p. 411.</ref> The Union of Utrecht is seen as the foundation of the modern Netherlands.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Union of Utrecht {{!}} European history  |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Union-of-Utrecht |access-date=21 June 2023 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en}}</ref>

Spanish troops sacked [[Maastricht]] in 1579, killing over 10,000 civilians.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nolan |first1=Cathal J. |title=The Age of Wars of Religion, 1000–1650: An Encyclopedia of Global Warfare and Civilization, Volume 1 |date=2006 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |page=247}}</ref> In 1581, the northern provinces adopted the [[Act of Abjuration]], the declaration of independence in which the provinces officially deposed Philip II.<ref>Motley, John Lothrop (1855). [https://books.google.com/books?id=8isNLCXfNycC&pg=PA508 ''The Rise of the Dutch Republic''] Vol. III, Harper Bros.: New York, p. 508.</ref> Against the rebels Philip could draw on the resources of the [[Spanish Empire]]. Elizabeth I sympathised with the Dutch struggle and sent an army of 7,600 soldiers to aid them.<ref>Willson, David Harris (1972). ''History of England'', Holt, Rinehart & Winston: New York, p. 294.</ref> English forces faced the Spanish in the Netherlands under the [[Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma|Duke of Parma]] 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.<ref>{{cite book |title=Ground Warfare: An International Encyclopedia, Volume 1 |date=2002 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |page=45}}</ref> The war continued until 1648, when Spain under King [[Philip IV of Spain|Philip IV]] recognised the independence of the seven north-western provinces in the [[Peace of Münster]].<ref name=":022" /> Parts of the southern provinces became ''de facto'' colonies of the new republican-mercantile empire.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=History of Spain |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-Spain |access-date=21 June 2023 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en}}</ref>

===Dutch Republic (1581–1795)===
{{Main|Dutch Republic|Evolution of the Dutch Empire}} 
[[File:Hendrick Avercamp - Winterlandschap met schaatsers bij de stad Kampen.jpg|thumb|left|''Winter landscape with skaters near the city of [[Kampen, Overijssel|Kampen]]'' by [[Hendrick Avercamp]] (1620s)]]
Following the declaration of independence, the provinces of [[County of Holland|Holland]], [[County of Zeeland|Zeeland]], [[Lordship of Groningen|Groningen]], [[Lordship of Friesland|Friesland]], [[Lordship of Utrecht|Utrecht]], [[Lordship of Overijssel|Overijssel]], and [[Duchy of Gelderland|Gelderland]] entered into a [[confederation]]. 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 confederal government, known as the [[States General of the Netherlands|States General]], was headquartered in [[The Hague]] and comprised representatives from each of the seven provinces. The sparsely populated region of [[Lordship of Drenthe|Drenthe]] was part of the republic, albeit not considered a province in its own right. Moreover, during the [[Eighty Years' War]], the Republic came to occupy a number of [[Generality Lands]] located in [[County of Flanders|Flanders]], [[Duchy of Brabant|Brabant]] and [[Duchy of Limburg|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]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XjTSBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA66|title=The Dutch Republic in the Seventeenth Century: The Golden Age|last=Prak|first=Maarten|date=22 September 2005|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-316-34248-0|language=en}} p. 66</ref>

[[File:Johannes Lingelbach 001.jpg|thumb|[[Amsterdam]]'s [[Dam Square]] in 1656 by [[Johannes Lingelbach]]]]
In the [[Dutch Golden Age]], spanning much of the 17th century, the [[Dutch Empire]] grew to become one of the major seafaring and economic powers. Science, military and art (especially [[Dutch Golden Age painting|painting]]) were among the most acclaimed in the world. By 1650, the Dutch owned 16,000 merchant ships.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/database/article_display_printable.cfm?HHID=682 |title=The Middle Colonies: New York |access-date=14 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114182245/http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/database/article_display_printable.cfm?HHID=682 |archive-date=14 January 2012}} Digital History.</ref> The [[Dutch East India Company]] and the [[Dutch West India Company]] established [[Dutch colonial empire|colonies]] and [[trading post]]s all over the world. The [[New Netherland|Dutch settlement in North America]] began with the founding of [[New Amsterdam]] in 1614. In South Africa, the Dutch settled the [[Cape Colony]] in 1652. [[Dutch colonisation of the Guianas|Dutch colonies in South America]] were established along the many rivers in the fertile [[Guyana]] plains, among them [[Surinam (Dutch colony)|Colony of Surinam]] (now [[Suriname]]). In Asia, the Dutch established a presence in [[Dutch India|India]], the [[Dutch East Indies]] (now [[Indonesia]]), [[Dutch Formosa|Formosa]] (now [[Taiwan]]), and the only western trading post in Japan, [[Dejima]].<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Dutch West India Company {{!}} Dutch trading company  |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Dutch-West-India-Company |access-date=21 June 2023 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en}}</ref> During the period of [[Proto-industrialisation]], the empire received 50% of textiles and 80% of silks import from the India's [[Mughal Empire]].<ref name="tong">{{cite book |author=Junie T. Tong |year=2016 |title=Finance and Society in 21st Century China: Chinese Culture Versus Western Markets |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_UQGDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA151 |publisher=CRC Press |page=151 |isbn=978-1-317-13522-7}}</ref><ref name="esposito">{{cite book |editor1=John L. Esposito |editor1-link=John L. Esposito |year=2004 |title=The Islamic World: Past and Present |volume=1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KZcohRpc4OsC&pg=PT190 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=174 |isbn=978-0-19-516520-3}}</ref><ref>Nanda, J. N (2005). {{cite book |year=2005 |title=Bengal: the unique state |publisher=Concept Publishing Company. p. 10. |isbn=978-81-8069-149-2 |quote=Bengal [...] was rich in the production and export of grain, salt, fruit, liquors and wines, precious metals and ornaments besides the output of its handlooms in silk and cotton. Europe referred to Bengal as the richest country to trade with.}}</ref><ref name="Prakash">[[Om Prakash (historian)|Om Prakash]], "[http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX3447600139/WHIC?u=seat24826&xid=6b597320 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</ref>

[[File:Storck, Four Days Battle.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Four Days' Battle]] during the [[Second Anglo-Dutch War]], 1–4 June 1666]]
Many economic historians regard the Netherlands as the first thoroughly capitalist country. In early modern Europe, it had the wealthiest trading city in [[Amsterdam]], and the first full-time [[Euronext Amsterdam|stock exchange]]. The inventiveness of the traders led to insurance and retirement funds as well as phenomena such as the [[Boom and bust|boom-bust cycle]], the world's first [[Asset price inflation|asset-inflation bubble]], the [[tulip mania]] of 1636–1637, and the world's first [[bear raid]]er, [[Isaac le Maire]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.lrb.co.uk/v23/n07/murray-sayle/japan-goes-dutch|title=Japan Goes Dutch|magazine=London Review of Books|date=5 April 2001|author=Sayle, Murray |volume=23|issue=7|pages=3–7}}</ref> In 1672 – known in Dutch history as the [[Rampjaar]] (Disaster Year) – the Dutch Republic was attacked by France, England and two German bishoprics simultaneously, in what would become known as the [[Franco-Dutch War]]. [[Third Anglo-Dutch War|At sea]], it could successfully prevent the English and French navies from blockading the western shores. On land the Republic was almost overrun by the advancing French and German armies from the east, but the Dutch managed to turn the tide by [[Hollandic Water Line|inundating parts of Holland]].<ref name="Rowman & Littlefield">{{cite book|last1=Koopmans|first1=Joop W.|title=Historical Dictionary of the Netherlands|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1-4422-5593-7|pages=233|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GU-xCgAAQBAJ&q=main+political+factions+dutch+society+18th+century&pg=PA271|language=en|date=5 November 2015}}</ref>

[[File:Nederlandse troepen tijdens de Slag bij Malplaquet (cropped).jpg|thumb|Dutch troops at the [[Battle of Malplaquet]], 11 September 1709.]]
From 1672 to 1712, the Republic, led by [[William III of England|William III of Orange]] 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]] and the [[War of the Spanish Succession]], the Republic was at the centre of anti-French coalitions. The Dutch ultimately successfully defended the [[Spanish Netherlands]], established a [[Barrier Treaty|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]].{{sfn|Van Nimwegen|2020|p=354}} 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.{{sfn|Elliott|2014|p=8}} Between 1590 and 1713, the [[Dutch States Army|Dutch army]] had been one of Europe's largest and most capable armies. However, following the [[Peace of Utrecht|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.{{sfn|Israel|1995|pp=985–986}}

===Batavian Republic and Kingdom (1795–1890)===
{{Main|Batavian Republic|Kingdom of Holland|Sovereign Principality of the United Netherlands|United Kingdom of the Netherlands|Kingdom of the Netherlands}}

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 [[Dutch States Party|''Staatsgezinden'']] and the supporters of the [[stadtholder]] the [[Orangism (Netherlands)|''Prinsgezinden'']] as main political factions.<ref name="Rowman & Littlefield"/> With the armed support of [[French Revolution|revolutionary France]], [[Patriots (Dutch Republic)|Dutch republicans]] proclaimed the [[Batavian Republic]], modelled after the [[French First Republic|French Republic]] and rendering the Netherlands a [[unitary state]] 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]] as a puppet kingdom governed by his brother [[Louis Bonaparte]]. 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 [[Incorporation (Netherlands)|became part of the French Empire]] until November 1813, when Napoleon was defeated in the [[Battle of Leipzig]].<ref>{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-66658-3_1|title=Napoleonic Governance in the Netherlands and Northwest Germany: Conquest, Incorporation, and Integration|chapter=Introduction: Napoleonic Governance and the Integration of Europe |series=War, Culture and Society, 1750 –1850 |date=19 January 2024 |pages=1–22 |publisher=Springer |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-66658-3_1 |isbn=978-3-030-66658-3 |last1=Van Der Burg |first1=Martijn }}</ref>

[[File:Dutch Empire35.PNG|thumb|Map of the [[Dutch Empire|Dutch colonial empire]]. Light green: territories administered by or originating from territories administered by the [[Dutch East India Company]]; dark green: the [[Dutch West India Company]]. In yellow are the territories occupied later, during the 19th century.]]
[[William I of the Netherlands|William Frederick]], son of the last stadtholder, returned to the Netherlands in 1813 and proclaimed himself [[Sovereign Principality of the United Netherlands|Sovereign Prince]]. Two years later, the [[Congress of Vienna]] added the southern Netherlands to the north to create a strong country on the northern border of France. William Frederick raised this [[United Kingdom of the Netherlands|United Netherlands]] to the status of a kingdom and proclaimed himself as [[William I of the Netherlands|King William I]] in 1815.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=History of France  |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-France |access-date=21 June 2023 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en}}</ref> William became hereditary [[Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg|Grand Duke of Luxembourg]] in exchange for his German possessions. However, the Southern Netherlands had been culturally separate from the north since 1581, and [[Belgian Revolution|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]] between Luxembourg and the Netherlands was severed in 1890, when [[William III of the Netherlands|William III]] died with no surviving male heirs. [[Salic Law|Ascendancy laws]] prevented his daughter [[Wilhelmina of the Netherlands|Queen Wilhelmina]] from becoming the next Grand Duchess.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |date=2 June 2023 |title=William I {{!}} king of The Netherlands  |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-I-king-of-The-Netherlands |access-date=21 June 2023 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Belgium – Industrial Revolution, Belgian Revolution, and Unionist Coalition  |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Belgium/The-Austrian-Netherlands |access-date=21 June 2023 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en}}</ref> The Netherlands abolished slavery in its colonies in 1863.<ref>Finkelman and Miller, ''Macmillan Encyclopedia of World Slavery'' 2:637</ref> Enslaved people in [[Suriname]] would be fully free only in 1873.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ascleiden.nl/content/webdossiers/dutch-involvement-transatlantic-slave-trade-and-abolition|title=Dutch involvement in the transatlantic slave trade and abolition|work=ascleiden.nl|date=24 June 2013}}</ref>

===World wars and beyond (1890–present)===
{{Main|History of the Netherlands (1900–present)|Netherlands in World War I|Netherlands in World War II}}
[[File:Een uitzinnige menigte verwelkomt de Canadese bevrijders in Utrecht - An ecstatic crowd in Utrecht welcomes the Canadian liberators (4502667274).jpg|thumb|left|upright|People celebrating the [[Liberation Day (Netherlands)|liberation of Utrecht]] at the end of [[World War II]] on 7 May 1945]]
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]] in 1916.<ref name="Abbenhuis">Abbenhuis, Maartje M. (2006) [https://books.google.com/books?id=5gMCfhUR6Y0C The Art of Staying Neutral]. Amsterdam University Press, {{ISBN|978-90-5356-818-7}}.</ref> That changed in World War II, when [[German invasion of the Netherlands|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 [[History of the Jews in the Netherlands|Dutch Jews]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kampwesterbork.nl/site1.2/English/KAMP/k08.html |title=93 trains |access-date=7 December 2004 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041207064440/http://www.kampwesterbork.nl/site1.2/English/KAMP/k08.html |archive-date=7 December 2004}}. kampwesterbork.nl</ref> were transported to Nazi [[extermination camp]]s; only a few survived. Dutch workers were conscripted for forced labour in Germany, [[Dutch resistance|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 [[Volunteer Legion Netherlands|joined the Waffen SS]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.waffen-ss.nl/main.php|title=Nederlanders in de Waffen-SS|website=waffen-ss.nl|access-date=13 November 2015|archive-date=2 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151202043232/http://www.waffen-ss.nl/main.php|url-status=dead}}</ref> Political [[Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy|collaborators]] were members of the fascist [[National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands|NSB]], the only legal political party in the occupied Netherlands. On 8 December 1941, the [[Dutch government-in-exile]] in London declared war on Japan,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/policy/1941/411208c.html |title=The Kingdom of the Netherlands declares war with Japan |publisher=ibiblio |access-date=2 October 2009}}</ref> but could not prevent the [[Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies]].<ref>[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+id0029) Library of Congress, 1992, "Indonesia: World War II and the Struggle For Independence, 1942–50; The Japanese Occupation, 1942–45"] Access date: 9 February 2007.</ref> In 1944–45, the [[First Canadian Army]] liberated much of the Netherlands.<ref>{{cite video |year=1944 |title=Video: Allies Set For Offensive |url=https://archive.org/details/gov.archives.arc.39141 |publisher=[[Universal Newsreel]] |access-date=21 February 2012}}</ref> Soon after [[Victory in Europe Day|VE Day]], the Dutch fought a [[Indonesian National Revolution|colonial war against the new Republic of Indonesia]].<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |date=17 June 2023 |title=Sukarno {{!}} Indonesian Nationalist & 1st President of Indonesia  |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sukarno |access-date=21 June 2023 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=History of the Netherlands  |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-the-Netherlands |access-date=21 June 2023 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en}}</ref>

====Decolonisation====
In 1954, the [[Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands]] reformed the political structure as a result of international pressure to carry out [[decolonisation]]. The Dutch colonies of [[Surinam (Dutch colony)|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]] followed in 1975. The Netherlands was one of the founding members of [[Benelux]] and [[NATO]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Benelux |url=https://gouvernement.lu/en/dossiers/2018/benelux.html |website=gouvernement.lu |access-date=21 November 2022 |language=en |date=4 January 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Member countries |url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_52044.htm |publisher=NATO |access-date=21 November 2022 |language=en}}</ref> In the 1950s, the Netherlands became one of the six founding countries of the [[European Communities]], following the 1952 establishment of the [[European Coal and Steel Community]], and subsequent 1958 creations of the [[European Economic Community]] and [[European Atomic Energy Community]].<ref name="NL: EU member state">{{cite web |title=The Netherlands: EU member state – European Union – Government.nl |url=https://www.government.nl/topics/european-union/the-netherlands-eu-member-state |website=government.nl |access-date=21 November 2022 |date=26 September 2012}}</ref> In 1993, the former two were incorporated into the [[European Union]].<ref name="NL: EU member state" />

Government-encouraged emigration efforts to reduce population density prompted some 500,000 [[Dutch people|Dutch]] to leave the country after the war.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/409956/Netherlands |title=Netherlands |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica Online]] |publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]] |access-date=8 September 2012}}</ref> 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]], [[Human sexuality|sexuality]], [[disarmament]] and [[environmental issues]]. In 2002 the [[euro]] was introduced as [[fiat money]], and in 2010 the [[Netherlands Antilles]] was [[Dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles|dissolved]]. Referenda were held on each island. As a result, [[Bonaire]], [[Sint Eustatius]] and [[Saba (island)|Saba]] (the BES islands) were incorporated as ''[[Special municipality (Netherlands)|special municipalities]]'' upon the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles. The special municipalities are collectively known as the [[Caribbean Netherlands]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Grommé|first= Francisca|chapter= "Thinking, seeing, and doing like a kingdom: The making of Caribbean Netherlands statistics and the 'native Bonairian'|year=2021|doi=10.36019/9781978818705-008|title=Equaliberty in the Dutch Caribbean: Ways of Being Non/Sovereign|pages= 101–117|isbn= 978-1-9788-1870-5|url= https://pure.eur.nl/en/publications/11e04fa0-02d7-49d6-a16b-a727a1d6c889|chapter-url= https://www.researchgate.net/publication/353121877}}</ref>

==Geography==
{{Further|Geography of the Netherlands}}
[[File:2012-NL-prov-relief-3000.jpg|thumb|Relief map of the European Netherlands]]

The European Netherlands has a total area of {{convert|41543|km2|abbr=on}}, including water bodies, and a land area of {{convert|33481|km2|abbr=on}}. The [[Caribbean Netherlands]] has a total area of {{convert|328|km2|abbr=on}}<ref>{{Cite web |author=Central Bureau of Statistics |title=Land – en tuinbouwcijfers |publisher=Government of the Netherlands, Department of Publication and Information|url=https://www.cbs.nl/-/media/imported/documents/2009/36/2009-j29-pub.pdf |issn=1386-9566 |language=nl |year=2009 |page=14 |access-date=6 January 2018}}</ref> It lies between latitudes [[50th parallel north|50°]] and [[54th parallel north|54° N]], and longitudes [[3rd meridian east|3°]] and [[8th meridian east|8° E]].

The Netherlands is geographically very low relative to sea level and is considered a flat country, with about 26% of its area<ref name=":1">{{cite journal |last1=Schiermeier |first1=Quirin |title=Few fishy facts found in climate report |journal=Nature |date=5 July 2010 |volume=466 |issue=170 |pages=170 |doi=10.1038/466170a |pmid=20613812 |doi-access=free}}</ref> and 21% of its population<ref name=milrek>{{cite web |title=Milieurekeningen 2008 |publisher=[[Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek]] |url=http://www.cbs.nl/NR/rdonlyres/D2CE63F9-D210-4006-B68B-98BE079EA9B6/0/2008c167pub.pdf |access-date=4 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100215002601/http://www.cbs.nl/NR/rdonlyres/D2CE63F9-D210-4006-B68B-98BE079EA9B6/0/2008c167pub.pdf |archive-date=15 February 2010 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref> below sea level. The European part of the country is for the most part flat, with the exception of [[foothills]] in the far southeast, up to a height of no more than {{Convert|322|m|ft|abbr=on}} at the [[Vaalserberg]], and some low hill ranges in the central parts. Most of the areas below sea level are caused by [[peat]] extraction or achieved through [[land reclamation in the Netherlands|land reclamation]]. Since the late 16th century, large [[polder]] areas are preserved through elaborate drainage systems that include [[Levee|dikes]], canals and pumping stations.

Much of the country was originally formed by the [[estuary|estuaries]] of three large European rivers: the [[Rhine]] (''Rijn''), the [[Meuse]] (''Maas'') and the [[Scheldt]] (''Schelde''), as well as their [[tributary|tributaries]]. The south-western part of the Netherlands is a [[river delta]] of these rivers, the [[Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=de Haas |first1=Tjalling |last2=van der Valk |first2=Lambertus |last3=Cohen |first3=Kim M. |last4=Pierik |first4=Harm Jan |last5=Weisscher |first5=Steven A. H. |last6=Hijma |first6=Marc P. |last7=van der Spek |first7=Ad J. F. |last8=Kleinhans |first8=Maarten G. |date=February 2019 |title=Long-term evolution of the Old Rhine estuary: Unravelling effects of changing boundary conditions and inherited landscape |journal=The Depositional Record |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=84–108 |doi=10.1002/dep2.56 |issn=2055-4877 |pmc=6743690 |pmid=31543980|bibcode=2019DepRe...5...84D }}</ref>
[[File:Nijlânnermolen Workum.jpg|thumb|Landscape at [[Workum]], [[Friesland]]]]
The European Netherlands is divided into north and south parts by the Rhine, the [[Waal (river)|Waal]], its main tributary branch, and the Meuse. These rivers functioned as a natural barrier between [[fief]]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]] river, discharges into [[IJsselmeer|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]], which has its own language).<ref name="international2000">Welschen, Ad: Course ''Dutch Society and Culture'', International School for Humanities and Social Studies ISHSS, Universiteit van Amsterdam, 2000–2005.</ref>

=== Geology ===
{{main|Geology of the Netherlands}}

The Netherlands is mostly composed of [[river delta|deltaic]], [[coast]]al and [[Aeolian processes|aeolian]] derived sediments during the [[Pleistocene]] [[glacial]] and [[interglacial]] periods.<ref name="international2000" />

Nearly the entire west Netherlands is composed of the [[Rhine]]-[[Meuse]] river [[estuary]]. In the east of the Netherlands, remains are found of the [[Last Glacial Period|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]] are built on these hills.<ref>{{cite book |last1= Wong |first1=Th.E. |last2=Batjes |first2=D.A.J.|last3=Jager|first3=J. de|year=2007 |title=Geology of the Netherlands |publisher=[[KNAW]] |isbn=978-90-6984-481-7}}</ref>

===Floods===
{{Main|Flood control in the Netherlands|List of floods in the Netherlands|Storm tides of the North Sea}}
[[File:Christmas flood 1717.jpg|thumb|The [[Christmas Flood of 1717]] resulted in the death of thousands.]]

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 neighbouring Germany, killing more than 50,000 people in one of the most destructive floods in recorded history.<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1485002/Zuiderzee-floods Zuiderzee floods (Netherlands history)]. Britannica Online Encyclopedia.</ref> The [[St. Elizabeth's flood (1421)|St. Elizabeth flood]] of 1421 and the mismanagement in its aftermath destroyed a newly reclaimed [[polder]], replacing it with the {{convert|72|km2|mi2|abbr=on}} ''[[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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.architectural-review.com/essays/dutch-delta-works-from-engineering-feat-to-cultural-statement|title=Dutch Delta Works: from engineering feat to cultural statement|first=Ronald|last=Rietveld|date=8 June 2017}}</ref>

[[File:The Netherlands compared to sealevel.png|thumb|left|Map illustrating areas of the Netherlands below sea level]]
The consequences of disasters were, to an extent, increased through human activity. Relatively high-lying [[swamp]]land was drained to be used as farmland. The drainage caused the fertile [[peat]] 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.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Netherlands : Fugros Ground Investigation Links Dutch Subsidence to Former Peat Extraction |journal=MENA Report |date=20 September 2021}}</ref>

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 ''[[terp]]s''. 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 [[windmill]]s had come into use to pump water. The windmills were later used to drain lakes, creating the famous [[polder]]s.<ref>{{cite web|title=Windmills in Dutch History|url=http://www.let.rug.nl/polders/boekje/history.htm|website=Let.rug.nl|publisher=Rijks Universiteit Groningen|access-date=7 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170705084250/http://www.let.rug.nl/polders/boekje/history.htm|archive-date=5 July 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>
In 1932 the ''[[Afsluitdijk]]'' ("Closure Dike") was completed, blocking the former ''[[Zuiderzee]]'' (Southern Sea) from the North Sea and thus creating the [[IJsselmeer]] ([[IJssel]] Lake). It became part of the larger [[Zuiderzee Works]] in which four polders totalling {{convert|2500|km2|mi2|0}} were reclaimed from the sea.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sdu.nl/staatscourant/gemeentes/gem533nh.htm |publisher=sdu.nl |title=Kerngegevens gemeente Wieringermeer |access-date=21 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080106163025/http://www.sdu.nl/staatscourant/gemeentes/gem533nh.htm |archive-date=6 January 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sdu.nl/staatscourant/PROVINCIES/flevoland.htm |publisher=sdu.nl |title=Kerngegevens procincie Flevoland |access-date=21 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071226115958/http://www.sdu.nl/staatscourant/PROVINCIES/flevoland.htm |archive-date=26 December 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Nickerson |first=Colin |title=Netherlands relinquishes some of itself to the waters |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |date=5 December 2005 |url=https://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2005/12/05/holland_goes_beyond_holding_back_the_tide/ |access-date=10 October 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060630210923/http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2005/12/05/holland_goes_beyond_holding_back_the_tide/ |archive-date=30 June 2006}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Olsthoorn |first=A.A. |author2=Richard S.J. Tol |title=Floods, flood management and climate change in The Netherlands |publisher=Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit |date=February 2001 |url=http://de.scientificcommons.org/16816958 |oclc=150386158 |access-date=10 October 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071022043234/http://de.scientificcommons.org/16816958 |archive-date=22 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tol |first1=Richard S. J. |last2=van der Grijp |first2=Nicolien |last3=Olsthoorn |first3=Alexander A. |last4=van der Werff |first4=Peter E. |title=Adapting to Climate: A Case Study on Riverine Flood Risks in the Netherlands |journal=Risk Analysis |volume=23 |issue=3 |pages=575–583 |year=2003 |doi=10.1111/1539-6924.00338 |pmid=12836850|bibcode=2003RiskA..23..575T |url=http://dare.ubvu.vu.nl/bitstream/1871/31872/1/158073.pdf |hdl=1871/31872 |s2cid=1054016}}</ref>

===Delta Works===
{{Main|Delta Works|Flood control in the Netherlands}}
[[File:Karte der Bauwerke des Deltaprojekts.png|thumb|left|The [[Delta Works]] are located in the provinces of [[South Holland]] and [[Zeeland]].]]

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 {{convert|3000|km|mi|abbr=on}} of outer sea-dikes and {{convert|10000|km|mi|abbr=on}} of the inner, canal, and river dikes, and by closing off the sea [[estuary|estuaries]] 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]].<ref>[http://www.asce.org/Content.aspx?id=2147487305 Seven Wonders] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100802060056/http://www.asce.org/Content.aspx?id=2147487305 |date=2 August 2010}}. Asce.org (19 July 2010). Retrieved on 21 August 2012.</ref>

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 {{convert|1.10|m|ft|abbr=on|0}} and a simultaneous land height decline of {{convert|10|cm|in|abbr=on|0}}. The plan encompasses the reinforcement of existing coastal defences like [[Levee|dike]]s and [[dune]]s with {{convert|1.30|m|ft|abbr=on}} 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.<ref name=NYT021313>{{cite news|title=Going With the Flow|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/17/arts/design/flood-control-in-the-netherlands-now-allows-sea-water-in.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130214132056/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/17/arts/design/flood-control-in-the-netherlands-now-allows-sea-water-in.html |archive-date=14 February 2013 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=19 February 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=13 February 2013|author=Kimmelman, Michael}}</ref>

===Climate change===
{{main|Climate change in the Netherlands}}
The Netherlands is already affected by [[climate change]]. The average temperature in the Netherlands rose by more than 2°C from 1901 to 2020.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://cdn.knmi.nl/knmi/asc/klimaatsignaal21/KNMI_Klimaatsignaal21.pdf |title=Klimaatsignaal 21: hoe het klimaat in Nederland snel verandert |publisher=KNMI |year=2021 |location=De Bilt |pages=11 |language=nl |author=Koninklijk Nederlands Meteorologisch Instituut}}</ref> 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 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,<ref>{{Cite news |title=EEA greenhouse gases — data viewer — European Environment Agency |url=https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/data-viewers/greenhouse-gases-viewer |access-date=2023-04-04 |newspaper=European Environment Agency |language=en}}</ref> in part due to the large number of cows.<ref name="The Economist">{{Cite news |title=The cucumber Saudis: how the Dutch got too good at farming |newspaper=The Economist |url=https://www.economist.com/europe/2023/03/23/the-cucumber-saudis-how-the-dutch-got-too-good-at-farming |access-date=2023-04-04 |issn=0013-0613 |url-access=registration |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230323153856/https://www.economist.com/europe/2023/03/23/the-cucumber-saudis-how-the-dutch-got-too-good-at-farming |archive-date=2023-03-23 |url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref name="BBC">{{cite web|date=20 December 2019|title=Netherlands climate change: Court orders bigger cuts in emissions|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50864569|language=English|newspaper=BBC}}</ref><ref name="AP">{{cite web|date=20 December 2019|title=Activists cheer victory in landmark Dutch climate case|url=https://apnews.com/5534fe18ac5352ba43c74c9a64d6a20a|language=English|newspaper=Associated Press}}</ref> In 2021 [[Greenhouse gas|{{co2}} emissions]] were down 14% compared to 1990 levels.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Statistiek |first=Centraal Bureau voor de |title=Hoe groot is onze broeikasgasuitstoot? |url=https://www.cbs.nl/nl-nl/dossier/dossier-broeikasgassen/hoe-groot-is-onze-broeikasgasuitstoot-wat-is-het-doel- |access-date=2023-07-09 |website=Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek |language=nl-NL}}</ref> The goal of the Dutch government is to reduce emissions in 2030 by 49%.<ref>{{cite web|date=2019|title=Long-term strategy on climate mitigation – The Netherlands|url=https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/LTS1_Netherlands.pdf|access-date=16 May 2021|website=unfccc}}</ref>

===Nature===
{{Further|List of national parks of the Netherlands}}
[[File:Relax - Flickr - Rob Oo.jpg|thumb|[[Harbor seal|Common seals]] off the coast of [[Terschelling]], a [[Wadden Sea]] island]]
The Netherlands has 21 national parks<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home |url=https://nationaalpark.nl/ |access-date=27 January 2023 |website=Nationaal Park |language=nl-NL}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.natuurmonumenten.nl/over-natuurmonumenten|title=Over Natuurmonumenten|website=Natuurmonumenten}}</ref> The [[Wadden Sea]] in the north, with its [[tidal flat]]s and [[wetland]]s, is rich in [[biodiversity|biological diversity]], and is a [[World Heritage Site|UNESCO World Heritage Nature Site]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=|first=|title=Wadden Sea |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1314/ |access-date=27 January 2023 |publisher=[[UNESCO]] World Heritage Centre |language=en}}</ref> The [[Eastern Scheldt]], formerly the northeast [[estuary]] of the river [[Scheldt]] was designated a national park in 2002, making it the largest national park in the Netherlands at an area of {{convert|370|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}.

[[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]].<ref name="DinersteinOlson2017">{{cite journal|last1=Dinerstein|first1=Eric|last2=Olson|first2=David|last3=Joshi|first3=Anup|last4=Vynne|first4=Carly|last5=Burgess|first5=Neil D.|last6=Wikramanayake|first6=Eric|last7=Hahn|first7=Nathan|last8=Palminteri|first8=Suzanne|last9=Hedao|first9=Prashant|last10=Noss|first10=Reed|last11=Hansen|first11=Matt|last12=Locke|first12=Harvey|last13=Ellis|first13=Erle C|last14=Jones|first14=Benjamin|last15=Barber|first15=Charles Victor|last16=Hayes|first16=Randy|last17=Kormos|first17=Cyril|last18=Martin|first18=Vance|last19=Crist|first19=Eileen|last20=Sechrest|first20=Wes|last21=Price|first21=Lori|last22=Baillie|first22=Jonathan E. M.|last23=Weeden|first23=Don|last24=Suckling|first24=Kierán|last25=Davis|first25=Crystal|last26=Sizer|first26=Nigel|last27=Moore|first27=Rebecca|last28=Thau|first28=David|last29=Birch|first29=Tanya|last30=Potapov|first30=Peter|last31=Turubanova|first31=Svetlana|last32=Tyukavina|first32=Alexandra|last33=de Souza|first33=Nadia|last34=Pintea|first34=Lilian|last35=Brito|first35=José C.|last36=Llewellyn|first36=Othman A.|last37=Miller|first37=Anthony G.|last38=Patzelt|first38=Annette|last39=Ghazanfar|first39=Shahina A.|last40=Timberlake|first40=Jonathan|last41=Klöser|first41=Heinz|last42=Shennan-Farpón|first42=Yara|last43=Kindt|first43=Roeland|last44=Lillesø|first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow|last45=van Breugel|first45=Paulo|last46=Graudal|first46=Lars|last47=Voge|first47=Maianna|last48=Al-Shammari|first48=Khalaf F.|last49=Saleem|first49=Muhammad|display-authors=1|title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm|journal=BioScience|volume=67|issue=6|year=2017|pages=534–545|issn=0006-3568|doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014 |doi-access=free |pmid=28608869|pmc=5451287}}</ref> In 1871, the last old original natural woods were cut down.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Beekbergerwoud - Natuurgebied |url=https://www.natuurmonumenten.nl/natuurgebieden/beekbergerwoud |access-date=13 June 2022 |website=Natuurmonumenten |language=nl}}</ref> 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.<ref name="FLII-Supplementary">{{cite journal|last1=Grantham|first1=H. S.|last2=Duncan|first2=A.|last3=Evans|first3=T. D.|last4=Jones|first4=K. R.|last5=Beyer|first5=H. L.|last6=Schuster|first6=R.|last7=Walston|first7=J.|last8=Ray|first8=J. C.|last9=Robinson|first9=J. G.|last10=Callow|first10=M.|last11=Clements|first11=T.|last12=Costa|first12=H. M.|last13=DeGemmis|first13=A.|last14=Elsen|first14=P. R.|last15=Ervin|first15=J.|last16=Franco|first16=P.|last17=Goldman|first17=E.|last18=Goetz|first18=S.|last19=Hansen|first19=A.|last20=Hofsvang|first20=E.|last21=Jantz|first21=P.|last22=Jupiter|first22=S.|last23=Kang|first23=A.|last24=Langhammer|first24=P.|last25=Laurance|first25=W. F.|last26=Lieberman|first26=S.|last27=Linkie|first27=M.|last28=Malhi|first28=Y.|last29=Maxwell|first29=S.|last30=Mendez|first30=M.|last31=Mittermeier|first31=R.|last32=Murray|first32=N. J.|last33=Possingham|first33=H.|last34=Radachowsky|first34=J.|last35=Saatchi|first35=S.|last36=Samper|first36=C.|last37=Silverman|first37=J.|last38=Shapiro|first38=A.|last39=Strassburg|first39=B.|last40=Stevens|first40=T.|last41=Stokes|first41=E.|last42=Taylor|first42=R.|last43=Tear|first43=T.|last44=Tizard|first44=R.|last45=Venter|first45=O.|last46=Visconti|first46=P.|last47=Wang|first47=S.|last48=Watson|first48=J. E. M.|display-authors=1|title=Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity – Supplementary Material|journal=Nature Communications|volume=11|issue=1|year=2020|page=5978|issn=2041-1723|doi=10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3|pmid=33293507|pmc=7723057|bibcode=2020NatCo..11.5978G}}</ref>

[[Nitrogen pollution]] is a problem.<ref name="The Economist"/> The number of flying insects in the Netherlands has dropped by 75% since the 1990s.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.consoglobe.com/insectes-disparaitre-cg |title=Les insectes sont bel et bien en train de disparaître |language=fr |trans-title=Insects are well and truly disappearing |first=Paul |last=Malo |date=18 November 2019 |website=consoglobe.com}}</ref>

===Caribbean islands===
{{Main|Bonaire|Sint Eustatius|Saba (island)|Caribbean Netherlands}}
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]] 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]].<ref name="Caribbean-Borders">{{cite web |title=Maritime boundaries of the Caribbean part of the Kingdom |url=https://english.defensie.nl/topics/hydrography/maritime-limits-and-boundaries/maritime-boundaries-of-the-caribbean-part-of-the-kingdom |publisher=Ministry of Defence |date=15 November 2017 |access-date=5 August 2020 |language=en}}</ref> The islands of the Caribbean Netherlands enjoy a tropical [[climate]] with warm weather all year round.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Biasutti |first1=Michela |last2=Sobel |first2=Adam H. |last3=Camargo |first3=Suzana J. |last4=Creyts |first4=Timothy T. |date=1 June 2012 |title=Projected changes in the physical climate of the Gulf Coast and Caribbean |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-011-0254-y |journal=Climatic Change |language=en |volume=112 |issue=3 |pages=819–845 |doi=10.1007/s10584-011-0254-y |bibcode=2012ClCh..112..819B |s2cid=8304158 |issn=1573-1480}}</ref>

[[File:Kleine Bonaire-Underwater life(js).jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Underwater life of [[Klein Bonaire]]]]
Within this island group:
* [[Bonaire]] is part of the [[ABC islands (Leeward Antilles)|ABC islands]] within the [[Leeward Antilles]] island chain off the [[Venezuela]]n coast. The Leeward Antilles have a mixed volcanic and coral origin.
* [[Saba (island)|Saba]] and [[Sint Eustatius]] 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 language|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]], {{convert|870|m|ft|abbr=on}}, on [[Saba (island)|Saba]]. This is the highest point in the country and in the entire Kingdom of the Netherlands.

==Government and politics==
{{Main|Politics of the Netherlands}}
{{multiple image
 | align             = right
 | direction         = horizontal
 | caption_align     = center
 | image1            = Zijne Majesteit Koning Willem-Alexander met koningsmantel april 2013 (cropped).jpeg
 | width1            = 120
 | caption1          = [[Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands|Willem-Alexander]]<br />[[Monarchy of the Netherlands|King of the Netherlands]]<br />since 30 April 2013
 | image2            = Directeur-generaal_AIVD_Dick_Schoof_(cropped).jpg
 | width2            = 120
 | caption2          = [[Dick Schoof]]<br />[[Prime Minister of the Netherlands]]<br />since 2 July 2024
}}

The Netherlands has been a [[constitutional monarchy]] 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. According to [[International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance|International IDEA]]’s Global State of Democracy (GSoD) Indices and Democracy Tracker, the Netherlands performs in the high range on overall democratic measures, with particular strengths in political representation, including elected government and inclusive suffrage.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Netherlands {{!}} The Global State of Democracy |url=https://www.idea.int/democracytracker/country/netherlands |access-date=2025-10-06 |website=www.idea.int |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Global State of Democracy Indices {{!}} The Global State of Democracy |url=https://www.idea.int/democracytracker/gsod-indices |access-date=2025-10-06 |website=www.idea.int}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Home {{!}} The Global State of Democracy |url=https://www.idea.int/democracytracker/ |access-date=2025-10-06 |website=www.idea.int}}</ref> Furthermore, the Netherlands was ranked as the 17th best electoral democracy in the world by [[V-Dem Democracy indices]] in 2023<ref name="vdem_dataset">{{cite journal |last1=Coppedge |first1=Michael |first2=John |last2=Gerring |first3=Carl Henrik |last3=Knutsen |first4=Staffan I. |last4=Lindberg |first5=Jan |last5=Teorell |first6=Nazifa |last6=Alizada |first7=David |last7=Altman |first8=Michael |last8=Bernhard |first9=Agnes |last9=Cornell |first10=M. Steven |last10=Fish |first11=Lisa |last11=Gastaldi |first12=Haakon |last12=Gjerløw |first13=Adam |last13=Glynn |first14=Allen |last14=Hicken |first15=Garry |last15=Hindle |first16=Nina |last16=Ilchenko |first17=Joshua |last17=Krusell |first18=Anna |last18=Lührmann |first19=Seraphine F. |last19=Maerz |first20=Kyle L. |last20=Marquardt |first21=Kelly |last21=McMann |first22=Valeriya |last22=Mechkova |first23=Juraj |last23=Medzihorsky |first24=Pamela |last24=Paxton |first25=Daniel |last25=Pemstein |first26=Josefine |last26=Pernes |first27=Johannes |last27=von Römer |first28=Brigitte |last28=Seim |first29=Rachel |last29=Sigman |first30=Svend-Erik |last30=Skaaning |first31=Jeffrey |last31=Staton |first32=Aksel |last32=Sundström |first33=Eitan |last33=Tzelgov |first34=Yi-ting |last34=Wang |first35=Tore |last35=Wig |first36=Steven |last36=Wilson |first37=Daniel |last37=Ziblatt |date=2021 |title=V-Dem [Country–Year/Country–Date] Dataset v11.1 |journal=Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Project |doi=10.23696/vdemds21}}</ref> and 9th most democratic country in the world by the [[Democracy Index|Democracy Index (The Economist)]] in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023 |title=Democracy Index 2022: Frontline democracy and the battle for Ukraine |url=https://pages.eiu.com/rs/753-RIQ-438/images/DI-final-version-report.pdf |website=[[Economist Intelligence Unit]] |page=3 |language=en-GB |access-date=20 May 2023 |archive-date=30 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230330123307/https://pages.eiu.com/rs/753-RIQ-438/images/DI-final-version-report.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

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.<!-- Commented out: "The monarch can exert some influence during the formation of a new cabinet, where they serve as neutral arbiter between the political parties." Information: The Dutch Lower House (Tweede Kamer) relieved the monarch of this role on 27 March 2012. -->

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]].

[[File:Den Haag - panoramio - Nikolai Karaneschev.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Binnenhof]], where the lower and upper houses of the States General meet]]

The cabinet is [[Ministerial responsibility|responsible]] to the [[Bicameralism|bicameral]] parliament, the [[States General of the Netherlands|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 election]]s 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.government.nl/topics/parliament/senate-and-house-of-representatives|title=The House of Representatives and Senate – Parliament – Government.nl|first=Ministerie van Algemene|last=Zaken|date=12 October 2011|website=government.nl}}</ref>

===Political culture===
{{Main|Political parties of the Netherlands|Politics of the Netherlands}}

[[File:Red-light district of Amsterdam by day. 2012.JPG|thumb|[[De Wallen]], Amsterdam's red-light district, offers activities such as legal [[Prostitution in the Netherlands|prostitution]], symbolizing the Dutch political culture and tradition of tolerance.]]

Both trade unions and [[employers organisation]]s 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 [[Toleration|social tolerance]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Buruma|first=Ybo|date=2007|title=Dutch Tolerance: On Drugs, Prostitution, and Euthanasia|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/650185|journal=Crime and Justice|volume=35|issue=1|pages=73–113|doi=10.1086/650185|jstor=10.1086/650185|s2cid=144295342|issn=0192-3234|url-access=subscription}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kaplan |first=Benjamin J. |url=https://brill.com/view/book/9789004353954/BP000009.xml |title="Dutch" Religious Tolerance: Celebration and Revision |date=5 September 2019 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-35395-4 |language=en}}</ref> Protection for [[LGBTQ rights in the Netherlands|LGBTQ]] and abortion rights are enshrined within the Netherlands' foreign aid policy.<ref>{{cite web |title=Feminist foreign policy explained |date=18 November 2022 |url=https://www.government.nl/latest/news/2022/11/18/feminist-foreign-policy-netherlands |publisher=Government of the Netherlands |access-date=8 September 2023}}</ref>

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 2025, the centrist-liberal [[Democrats 66]] of [[Rob Jetten]] was the winner of [[2023 Dutch general election|a general election]], securing 26 out of 150 seats in the House of Representatives.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/rob-jetten-geert-wilders-centrist-d66-wins-dutch-election/|website=[[Politico]]|access-date=16 November 2025|date=31 October 2025|title=Centrist D66 beats the far right to win Dutch election, national press agency announces|last1=Cokelaere|first1=Hanne|last2=Hartog|first2=Eva}}</ref> [[2025 Dutch cabinet formation|A cabinet formation]] was ongoing {{As of|2025|11|lc=yes}} to form a new government.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://nos.nl/artikel/2590201-hans-wijers-informateur-namens-d66-sybrand-buma-namens-cda|website=[[Nederlandse Omroep Stichting|NOS]]|language=nl|access-date=16 November 2025|date=12 November 2025|title=Hans Wijers informateur namens D66, Sybrand Buma namens CDA|trans-title=Hans Wijers informateur on behalf of D66, Sybrand Buma on behalf of the CDA}}</ref>

=== Administrative divisions ===

[[File:Map provinces Netherlands-en.svg|thumb|upright=0.9|[[Provinces of the Netherlands|Provinces]] and [[Caribbean Netherlands#Administration|territories]] of the Netherlands]]

{{Main|Administrative divisions of the Netherlands|Public body (Netherlands)}}

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).<ref name="CBS_code">{{cite web |url=https://www.cbs.nl/nl-nl/onze-diensten/methoden/classificaties/overig/gemeentelijke-indelingen-per-jaar/indeling-per-jaar/gemeentelijke-indeling-op-1-januari-2023 |title=Gemeentelijke indeling op 1 januari 2023 |trans-title=Municipalities on 1 January 2021 |language=nl |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |work=CBS Classifications |publisher=[[Statistics Netherlands|CBS]] |access-date=16 January 2023}}</ref>

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.<ref name=WATER>{{cite web|url=http://www.uvw.nl/de-waterschappen.html |title=De waterschappen |language=nl |access-date=7 June 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103064157/http://www.uvw.nl/de-waterschappen.html |archive-date=3 November 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.waterschappen.nl/mijn-waterschap/ |title=Mijn waterschap |language=nl |access-date=6 May 2021}}</ref> 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]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.exclave.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4&Itemid=10|title=Baarle-Hertog and Baarle Nassau|website=Exclave.eu|access-date=21 November 2016}}</ref> and within those are 8 Dutch [[Enclave and exclave|enclaves]].
<!--As prose text is preferred overly detailed data charts and diagrams such as weather data boxes, population charts and past elections results etc should be reserved for main sub articles on the topic as per WP:DETAIL.--->

{| class="sortable wikitable" style="width:60em" {{right}}
|-
! style=width:8em | Province
! style=width:7em | Capital
! style=width:6em | Largest city
! Total area<br/>(km<sup>2</sup>)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.waarstaatjeprovincie.nl/Paginas/Ruimtelijke%20ordening/Oppervlakte.aspx |title=Oppervlakte |access-date=10 January 2020 |archive-date=4 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210504021427/https://www.waarstaatjeprovincie.nl/Paginas/Ruimtelijke%20ordening/Oppervlakte.aspx |url-status=dead}}</ref>
! Land area<br/>(km<sup>2</sup>)<ref name="NL data">{{cite web |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/netherlands/cities/ |title=Netherlands : Major Urban Centers |date=15 September 2022 |website=City Population |access-date=28 October 2023}}</ref>
! Population<br/>(2023)<ref name="NL data"/>
! Density<br/>(/km<sup>2</sup>)
|-
| {{left}} {{flag|Drenthe}} || colspan="2" | {{center| [[Assen]]}}
| 2,680 || 2,633 || 502,051 || 191
|-
| {{left}} {{flag|Flevoland}} || {{center| [[Lelystad]]}} || {{center| [[Almere]]}}
| 2,412 || 1,410 || 444,701 || 315
|-
| {{left}} {{flag|Friesland}} || colspan="2" | {{center| [[Leeuwarden]]}}
| 5,753 || 3,340 || 659,551 || 197
|-
| {{left}} {{flag|Gelderland}} || {{center| [[Arnhem]]}} || {{center| [[Nijmegen]]}}
| 5,136 || 4,960 || 2,133,708 || 430
|-
| {{left}} {{flag|Groningen}} || colspan="2" | {{center| [[Groningen (city)|Groningen]]}}
| 2,955 || 2,316 || 596,075 || 257
|-
| {{left}} {{flag|Limburg (Netherlands)|name=Limburg}} || colspan="2" | {{center| [[Maastricht]]}}
| 2,210 || 2,145 || 1,128,367 || 526
|-
| {{left}} {{flag|North Brabant }} || {{center| [['s-Hertogenbosch]]}} || {{center| [[Eindhoven]]}}
| 5,082 || 4,902 || 2,626,210 || 536
|-
| {{left}} {{flag|North Holland}} || {{center| [[Haarlem]]}} || {{center| [[Amsterdam]]}}
| 4,092 || 2,663 || 2,952,622 || 1,109
|-
| {{left}} {{flag|Overijssel}} || {{center| [[Zwolle]]}} || {{center| [[Enschede]]}}
| 3,421 || 3,317 || 1,184,333 || 357
|-
| {{left}} {{flag|South Holland}} || {{center| [[The Hague]]}} || {{center| [[Rotterdam]]}}
| 3,308 || 2,698 || 3,804,906 || 1,410
|-
| {{left}} {{flag|Utrecht}} || colspan="2" | {{center| [[Utrecht (city)|Utrecht]]}}
| 1,560 || 1,484 || 1,387,643 || 935
|-
| {{left}} {{flag|Zeeland}} || colspan="2" | {{center| [[Middelburg, Zeeland|Middelburg]]}}
| 2,933 || 1,780 || 391,124 || 220
|- class="sortbottom"
! colspan="3"| Mainland
! 41,543 || 33,647 || 17,811,291 || 529
|}

The administrative structure on the three BES islands, collectively known as the [[Caribbean Netherlands]], is outside the twelve provinces. These islands have the status of ''openbare lichamen ([[Public body (Netherlands)|public bodies]])''.<ref name=WOLBES>{{cite web|url=http://www.eerstekamer.nl/wetsvoorstel/31954_wet_openbare_lichamen|title=31.954, Wet openbare lichamen Bonaire, Sint Eustatius en Saba|language=nl|publisher=Eerste kamer der Staten-Generaal|quote=De openbare lichamen vallen rechtstreeks onder het Rijk omdat zij geen deel uitmaken van een provincie. <br />"Through the establishment of the BES islands as public bodies, rather than communities, the BES islands' rules may deviate from the rules in the European part of the Netherlands. The Dutch legislation will be introduced gradually. The public bodies fall directly under the central government because they are not part of a province."|access-date=15 October 2010}}</ref> In the Netherlands these administrative units are often referred to as ''special municipalities''.

{| class="sortable wikitable" {{right}}
|-
! Island
! Capital
! Area<br/>(km<sup>2</sup>)<ref name="BES">{{cite web |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/caribbeannetherlands/ |title=Caribbean Netherlands |date=23 July 2023 |website=City Population |access-date=28 October 2023}}</ref>
! Population<br/>(2023)<ref name="BES"/>
! Density<br/>(/km<sup>2</sup>)
|-
| {{left}} {{flag|Bonaire}} || {{center| [[Kralendijk]]}}
| 288 || 24,090 || 84
|-
| {{left}} {{flag|Saba}} || {{center| [[The Bottom]]}}
| 13 || 2,035 || 157
|-
| {{left}} {{flag|Sint Eustatius}} || {{center| [[Oranjestad, Sint Eustatius|Oranjestad]]}}
| 21 || 3,293 || 157

|- class="sortbottom"
! colspan="2" | Caribbean Netherlands
! 322 || 29,418 || 91
|}

===Foreign relations===
{{Main|Foreign relations of the Netherlands|List of diplomatic missions of the Netherlands}}
[[File:TheHague PeacePalace 016 5771.jpg|thumb|The [[Peace Palace]] (''Vredespaleis''), in [[The Hague]]]]
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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2024 Global Peace Index |url=https://www.economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GPI-2024-web.pdf}}</ref> Since World War II, the Netherlands has become a member of a large number of international organisations, most prominently the UN, [[NATO]] 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]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Drug Kingpin Trial 'Ultimate Test' for Dutch Rule of Law |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/drug-kingpin-trial-ultimate-test-for-dutch-rule-of-law/6885306.html |access-date=18 July 2023 |agency=Agence France-Presse |publisher=VOA |date=21 December 2022}}</ref>

The historical ties inherited from its colonial past in [[Indonesia]] and [[Suriname]] still influence the foreign relations of the Netherlands. Many with heritage from these countries now live permanently in the Netherlands.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/suriname/|title=Suriname|date=6 December 2023|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|via=CIA.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://scholarhub.ui.ac.id/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=wacana|title=Indonesian political exiles in the Netherlands after 1965; Postcolonial nationalists in an era of transnationalism}}</ref>

===Military===
{{Main|Armed forces of the Netherlands}}
{{Multiple image
| direction         = vertical
| caption_align     = center
| image1            = HNLMS Holland.jpg
| caption1          = [[Holland-class offshore patrol vessel|''Holland''-class offshore patrol vessel]] of the [[Royal Netherlands Navy]]
| image2            = Aankomst F-35 Leeuwarden-4.jpg
| caption2          = [[F-35 Lightning II]] of the [[Royal Netherlands Air Force]]
}}
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]] 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]].<ref name="Vol. 21, No. 3, 429–458">{{cite journal|last=Dimitriu|first=George|author2=de Graaf |title=The Dutch COIN Approach: Three years in Uruzgan|journal=Small Wars & Insurgencies|date=September 2010|volume=21|issue=3|pages=429–458|url=https://www.academia.edu/3091201|doi=10.1080/09592318.2010.505471|hdl=1887/16536|s2cid=144724148 |hdl-access=free}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Red Cross urges Netherlands to sign UN nuclear weapons ban |url=https://nltimes.nl/2019/02/11/red-cross-urges-netherlands-sign-un-nuclear-weapons-ban |work=NL Times |date=11 February 2019}}</ref>

The military is composed of four branches, all of which carry the prefix ''Koninklijke'' (Royal):
<!-- Pls do not change any of these from 'Royal Netherlands' to 'Dutch', the official name of ALL branches of the Army is Royal Netherlands-->
* ''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.<ref>[http://www.korpscommandotroepen.nl/index.php?l=nl&p=118 KCT. Official website of the Dutch Commando Foundation] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110205094656/http://www.korpscommandotroepen.nl/index.php?l=nl&p=118 |date=5 February 2011}}. Korpscommandotroepen.nl (14 April 2010). Retrieved on 21 August 2012.</ref> The Dutch Ministry of Defence employs more than 70,000 personnel, including over 20,000 civilians and over 50,000 military personnel.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.defensie.nl/onderwerpen/werken_bij_defensie |title=Ministerie van defensie – Werken bij Defensie |publisher=Mindef.nl |access-date=29 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811142105/http://www.defensie.nl/onderwerpen/werken_bij_defensie |archive-date=11 August 2011}}</ref>

==Economy==
{{Main|Economy of the Netherlands}}
[[File:Economic growth of the Netherlands.jpg|thumb|Historical GDP per capita development ([[Our World in Data]])]]

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.<ref>{{cite web |first= |date=4 June 2017 |title=The 2017 IMD World Competitiveness Ranking |url=http://www.imd.org/globalassets/wcc/docs/release-2017/2017-world_competitiveness_ranking.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170604200349/http://www.imd.org/globalassets/wcc/docs/release-2017/2017-world_competitiveness_ranking.pdf |archive-date=4 June 2017 |access-date=3 August 2017}}</ref> The country was ranked the 8th most innovative nation in the world in the 2025 [[Global Innovation Index]] down from 2nd in 2018.<ref>{{Cite web |title=GII Innovation Ecosystems & Data Explorer 2025 |url=https://www.wipo.int/gii-ranking/en/netherlands-kingdom-of-the- |access-date=2025-10-16 |website=WIPO}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Dutta |first1=Soumitra |url=https://www.wipo.int/web-publications/global-innovation-index-2025/en/index.html |title=Global Innovation Index 2025: Innovation at a Crossroads |last2=Lanvin |first2=Bruno |publisher=[[World Intellectual Property Organization]] |year=2025 |isbn=978-92-805-3797-0 |page=19 |language=en |doi=10.34667/tind.58864 |access-date=2025-10-17}}</ref><ref>Cornell University, INSEAD, and WIPO (2018): The Global Innovation Index 2018: Energizing the World with Innovation. Ithaca, Fontainebleau and Geneva</ref>

{{As of|2020}}, the key trading partners of the Netherlands were Germany, Belgium, the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Italy, China and Russia.<ref name="cia-worldfactbook-nl"/> 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]]).
[[File:Haven van Rotterdam 2023 (06).jpg|thumb|The [[Port of Rotterdam]] is Europe's largest port.]]

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.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bavel |first1=Bas Van |last2=Frankema |first2=Ewout |date=22 June 2017 |title=Wealth Inequality in the Netherlands, c. 1950–2015. The Paradox of a Northern European Welfare State |url=https://tseg.nl/article/view/8184 |journal=TSEG – the Low Countries Journal of Social and Economic History |language=en |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=29–62 |doi=10.18352/tseg.916 |issn=2468-9068|doi-access=free}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-dutch-kids-are-the-happiest-in-the-world-2017-04-05 |title=This is why Dutch kids are much happier than American children|first=Barbara |last=Chai|newspaper=Marketwatch|access-date=3 August 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unicef.org/media/files/ChildPovertyReport.pdf|title=Child Poverty in Perspective: An overview of child well-being in rich countries|date=2007|publisher=UNICEF |access-date=14 September 2007|archive-date=3 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190903184146/https://www.unicef.org/media/files/ChildPovertyReport.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/rc11_eng.pdf |title=Child well-being in rich countries — UNICEF |date=2013|website=Unicef-irc.org|access-date=3 August 2017}}</ref>

[[Amsterdam]] is the financial and business capital of the Netherlands.<ref name="ez">{{cite web|url=http://www.ez.amsterdam.nl/page.php?menu=24&page=6 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205161807/http://www.ez.amsterdam.nl/page.php?menu=24&page=6 |archive-date=5 December 2008 |title=Amsterdam – Economische Zaken |language=nl |access-date=22 May 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> 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 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 United States dollar is used instead.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Memorie van toelichting – Regels met betrekking tot het geldstelsel van de openbare lichamen Bonaire, Sint Eustatius en Saba (Wet geldstelsel BES) – Parlementaire monitor |url=https://www.parlementairemonitor.nl/9353000/1/j9vvij5epmj1ey0/viahe0d72fyt |access-date=28 January 2023 |website=parlementairemonitor.nl}}</ref> The Netherlands is a "conduit country" that helps to funnel profits from high-tax countries to tax havens.<ref>{{cite web |last=Schindler |first=Dirk |date=28 January 2022 |title=Is the Netherlands Still a Tax Haven? |url=https://www.eur.nl/en/news/netherlands-still-tax-haven |access-date=2 April 2023 |publisher=Erasmus University Rotterdam |quote=}}</ref> It has been ranked as the 4th largest tax haven in the world.<ref>{{cite web |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2021 |title=Corporate Tax Haven Index |url=https://cthi.taxjustice.net/en/cthi/cthi-2021-results |access-date=2 April 2023 |publisher=Tax Justice Network |quote= |archive-date=2 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230402191029/https://cthi.taxjustice.net/en/cthi/cthi-2021-results |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:BlueEurozone.svg|thumb|left|The Netherlands is part of a monetary union, the [[eurozone]] (dark blue), and the [[Internal Market (European Union)|EU single market]].]]
The Dutch location gives it prime access to markets in the United Kingdom and Germany, with the [[Port of Rotterdam]] 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&nbsp;million international visitors.<ref name="42milvisitors">{{cite web|url=http://www.ez.amsterdam.nl/page.php?page=9&menu=27 |title=Amsterdam en de wereld: Toerisme en congreswezen |access-date=15 February 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215160103/http://www.ez.amsterdam.nl/page.php?page=9&menu=27 |archive-date=15 February 2009}}. ez.amsterdam.nl</ref> Since the enlargement of the EU, large numbers of [[migrant worker]]s have arrived in the Netherlands from [[Central Europe|Central]] and Eastern Europe.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-dutch-immigrants-idUKTRE8191ML20120210 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101082733/http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-dutch-immigrants-idUKTRE8191ML20120210 |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 January 2016 |title=Dutch allow Wilders' anti-Pole website, EU critical |publisher=Reuters |date=10 February 2012 |first=Gilbert |last=Kreijger}}</ref>

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]].<ref name="wefcomp">{{cite web|url=http://www.weforum.org/issues/global-competitiveness |title=Global Competitiveness Report 2012–2013 |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=5 September 2012 |access-date=11 June 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141210040419/http://www.weforum.org/issues/global-competitiveness |archive-date=10 December 2014}}</ref>

===Energy===
[[File:Natural gas NL.png|thumb|Natural gas concessions in the Netherlands. The Netherlands accounts for more than 25% of all natural gas reserves in the EU.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oecd.org/fossil-fuels/publication/2020-OECD-IEA-review-of-fossil-fuel-subsidies-in-the-Netherlands.pdf|title=The Netherlands's Effort to Phase Out and Rationalise its Fossil-Fuel Subsidies}}</ref>]]
[[File:Wildervank natural gas field.jpg|thumb|The [[Groningen gas field]], whose discovery in 1959 transformed the Dutch economy, is one of the largest [[natural-gas field]]s in the world.]]

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,<ref name="vorige.nrc.nl">{{cite news|url=http://vorige.nrc.nl//international/article2274261.ece/The_Dutch_curse_how_billions_from_natural_gas_went_up_in_smoke|title=The Dutch curse: how billions from natural gas went up in smoke|date=17 June 2009|newspaper=[[NRC Handelsblad]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221000129/http://vorige.nrc.nl//international/article2274261.ece/The_Dutch_curse_how_billions_from_natural_gas_went_up_in_smoke |archive-date=21 December 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> about 1.5% of GNP. However, the unforeseen consequences of the country's huge energy wealth affected the competitiveness of other sectors of the economy, leading to the theory of [[Dutch disease]].<ref name="vorige.nrc.nl"/> 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.<ref name=":4">{{cite report|title=The Netherlands 2020: Energy Policy Review|publisher=[[International Energy Agency]]|date=September 2020|url=https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/93f03b36-64a9-4366-9d5f-0261d73d68b3/The_Netherlands_2020_Energy_Policy_Review.pdf|page=11}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite report |url=https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/93f03b36-64a9-4366-9d5f-0261d73d68b3/The_Netherlands_2020_Energy_Policy_Review.pdf |title=The Netherlands 2020: Energy Policy Review |date=September 2020 |publisher=[[International Energy Agency]] |page=3}} [[File:CC_BY_icon.svg|50x50px|class=noviewer]] Text was copied from this source, which is available under a [[creativecommons:by/4.0/|Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License]]</ref> As of 2018, the Netherlands had one of the highest rates of [[carbon dioxide]] emissions per person in the European Union.<ref>{{cite web |date=2018 |title=Fossil CO2 emissions of all world countries – 2018 Report |url=https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/publication/fossil-co2-emissions-all-world-countries-2018-report |access-date=21 October 2019 |publisher=EU Science Hub}}</ref>

===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.<ref name=footprintdata>{{cite web |url=http://data.footprintnetwork.org/#/countryTrends?cn=150&type=BCpc,EFCpc |title=Country Trends |publisher=Global Footprint Network |access-date=15 November 2019}}</ref> The Dutch biocapacity per person is just about half of the 1.6 global hectares of biocapacity per person available worldwide.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Lin|first1=David|last2=Hanscom|first2=Laurel|last3=Murthy|first3=Adeline|last4=Galli|first4=Alessandro|last5=Evans|first5=Mikel|last6=Neill|first6=Evan|last7=Mancini|first7=Maria Serena|last8=Martindill|first8=Jon|last9=Medouar|first9=Fatime-Zahra|last10=Huang|first10=Shiyu|last11=Wackernagel|first11=Mathis|date=2018|title=Ecological Footprint Accounting for Countries: Updates and Results of the National Footprint Accounts, 2012–2018|journal=Resources|language=en|volume=7|issue=3|pages=58|doi=10.3390/resources7030058|doi-access=free|bibcode=2018Resou...7...58L }}</ref> 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.<ref name=footprintdata/> The Dutch waste more food than any other EU citizen, at over three times the EU average.<ref>{{cite web |date=2017 |title=Food waste: the problem in the EU in numbers |url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/society/20170505STO73528/food-waste-the-problem-in-the-eu-in-numbers-infographic |access-date=18 January 2021 |publisher=EU parliament}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollandalumni.nl/files/documents/career/factsheets-key-sectors/factsheet-agri-food|title=Factsheet Agri-food: Holland is a world-leading supplier of sustainable, healthy, agri-food products|website=Hollandalumni.nl|access-date=3 August 2017|archive-date=10 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010141804/https://www.hollandalumni.nl/files/documents/career/factsheets-key-sectors/factsheet-agri-food|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Dutch rank first in the European Union and second worldwide in value of agricultural exports, behind only the United States,<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Farming in the Netherlands: Polder and wiser |url=https://www.economist.com/business/2014/08/23/polder-and-wiser |newspaper=The Economist |location=Sevenum |date=23 August 2014 |access-date=29 August 2014 |url-access=registration |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220820140512/https://www.economist.com/business/2014/08/23/polder-and-wiser |archive-date=2022-08-20 |url-status=live}}</ref> with agricultural exports earning €80.7&nbsp;billion in 2014,<ref name="government.nl">{{cite web|url=http://www.government.nl/news/2015/01/16/dutch-agricultural-exports-top-80-billion-euros.html |title=Dutch agricultural exports top 80 billion Euros |date=16 January 2015}}</ref> up from €75.4&nbsp;billion in 2012.<ref name="hollandtrade.com"/> In 2019 agricultural exports were worth €94.5&nbsp;billion.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.government.nl/latest/news/2020/01/17/dutch-agricultural-exports-worth-%E2%82%AC94.5-billion-in-2019|title=Dutch agricultural exports worth €94.5 billion in 2019 |first=Natuur en Voedselkwaliteit|last=Ministerie van Landbouw|date=17 January 2020|website=government.nl}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://www.nujournal.com/news/agribusiness/2022/07/08/explainer-why-are-dutch-farmers-protesting-over-emissions/
|title=Why are Dutch farmers protesting over emissions?
|last=Corder
|first=Mike
|date=8 July 2022
|website=The Journal
|access-date=8 July 2022}}</ref>

One-third of the world's exports of [[Capsicum|chilis]], tomatoes, and [[cucumber]]s go through the country. The Netherlands exports one-fifteenth of the world's apples.<ref name="USDA Foreign Agriculture Service"/> 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.<ref name="USDA Foreign Agriculture Service">{{cite web|url=http://www.fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200501/146118432.pdf#search=%22netherlands%20main%20agriculture%20export%20flowers%22|title=Netherlands: Agricultural situation|access-date=20 June 2007|publisher=USDA Foreign Agriculture Service|archive-date=19 June 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070619213352/http://www.fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200501/146118432.pdf#search=%22netherlands%20main%20agriculture%20export%20flowers%22|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{Main|Demographics of the Netherlands|Ageing of the Netherlands|Dutch people}}
[[File:Nederlandse supporters tijdens Wereld Kampioenschappen voetbal 1974, Bestanddeelnr 254-9518.jpg|thumb|Dutch people in 1974]]
The Netherlands had an estimated population of 18,080,943 as of June 2025.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://opendata.cbs.nl/statline/#/CBS/en/dataset/83474ENG/table?ts=1712804860730 |title=Population dynamics – month and year |website=www.opendata.cbs.nl |publisher=Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek |access-date=1 August 2025}}</ref> 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 {{convert|424|/km2}}. 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&nbsp;million.<ref>[http://statline.cbs.nl/StatWeb/publication/?DM=SLEN&PA=37556ENG&D1=0-44,53-60&D2=1,11,21,31,41,51,61,71,81,91,101&LA=EN&VW=T CBS Statline – Population; history]. [[Statistics Netherlands]]. Retrieved on 8 March 2009.</ref>

The [[fertility rate]] in the Netherlands is 1.78 children per woman (2018 estimate),<ref name="cia-worldfactbook-nl">{{cite web |title=The World Factbook – Netherlands |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/netherlands/ |access-date=2 February 2021 |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]]}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/children-born-per-woman?year=1800&country=ITA|title=Total Fertility Rate around the world over the last centuries|author=Max Roser|date=2014|work=[[Our World In Data]], [[Gapminder Foundation]]|access-date=7 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180807185906/https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/children-born-per-woman?year=1800&country=ITA|archive-date=7 August 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Netherlands has one of the [[Ageing of the Netherlands|oldest populations]] in the world, with the average age of 42.7 years.<ref name="cia-worldfactbook-nl"/> [[Life expectancy]] is high in the Netherlands: 84.3 years for newborn girls and 79.7 for boys (2020 estimate).<ref name="cia-worldfactbook-nl"/> The Dutch are the [[Average human height by country|tallest people in the world]], by nationality,<ref name="Science 2015-04-07">{{cite news |last=Enserink |first=Martin |date=7 April 2015 |title=Did natural selection make the Dutch the tallest people on the planet? |newspaper=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |location=Amsterdam |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/did-natural-selection-make-dutch-tallest-people-planet |access-date=9 April 2015}}</ref> with an average [[Human height|height]] of {{convert|1.81|m|ftin|1|abbr=out}} for men and {{convert|1.67|m|ftin|1|abbr=out}} for women in 2009.<ref>{{cite web |title=Reported health and lifestyle |url=http://statline.cbs.nl/StatWeb/publication/?VW=T&DM=SLNL&PA=03799&D1=242,254,267-270&D2=0-17&HD=081103-1603&HDR=T.&STB=G1 |access-date=12 August 2012 |publisher=Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fogel |first=Robert |title=The Escape from Hunger and Premature Death, 1700—2100 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2004 |pages=41 |language=English}}</ref>

The country has a [[Human migration|migration]] rate of 1.9 migrants per 1,000 inhabitants per year.<ref name="cia-worldfactbook-nl" /> The majority of the population of the Netherlands is ethnically [[Dutch people|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.<ref name="auto"/> Some 150,000 to 200,000 people living in the Netherlands are [[expatriate]]s, mostly concentrated in and around [[Amsterdam]] and [[The Hague]], now constituting almost 10% of the population of these cities.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.verhurenaanexpats.nl/verhuren-aan-expats/expats-de-feiten/|title=Expats in Nederland|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019004614/http://www.verhurenaanexpats.nl/verhuren-aan-expats/expats-de-feiten/|archive-date=19 October 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.onsamsterdam.nl/tijdschrift/jaargang-2011/1158-nummer-11-12-november-december-2011.html?start=4|title=Feiten en cijfers over immigratie – Pagina 5|work=Ons Amsterdam|access-date=30 June 2014|archive-date=18 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618025728/http://www.onsamsterdam.nl/tijdschrift/jaargang-2011/1158-nummer-11-12-november-december-2011.html?start=4|url-status=dead}}</ref> Significant minorities in the country include [[Frisians]] 700,000, [[Jews]] 41,000-45,000 and the [[Roma people|Roma]] and the [[Sinti]] 40,000.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://minorityrights.org/country/netherlands/|title= Netherlands - World Directory of Minorities & Indigenous Peoples|date= 19 June 2015}}</ref>

[[File:Grote drukte zomercarnaval Rotterdam.jpg|thumb|In [[Rotterdam]] almost half the population has an immigrant background.]]
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.<ref>Vasileva, Katya (2011) [http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-SF-11-034/EN/KS-SF-11-034-EN.PDF 6.5% of the EU population are foreigners and 9.4% are born abroad] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128101046/http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-SF-11-034/EN/KS-SF-11-034-EN.PDF |date=28 January 2012}}, Eurostat, Statistics in focus vol. 34.</ref> In 2022, there were 4.4 million residents in the Netherlands with at least one foreign-born parent.<ref>{{cite web |title=Immigration, emigration, and migration balance in the Netherlands from 1995 to 2022 |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/525434/netherlands-total-immigration-total-emigration-and-migration-balance/ |publisher=Statista Research Department}}</ref> Over half the young people in Amsterdam and Rotterdam have a non-western background, as of 2006.<ref>{{cite web |title=Half of young big-city dwellers have non-western background |date=August 2006 |url=https://www.cbs.nl/en-gb/news/2006/31/half-of-young-big-city-dwellers-have-non-western-background |publisher=Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS) |access-date=15 March 2017 |archive-date=30 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190930090706/https://www.cbs.nl/en-gb/news/2006/31/half-of-young-big-city-dwellers-have-non-western-background |url-status=dead }}</ref> Dutch people, or [[Dutch diaspora|descendants of Dutch people]], are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in South Africa and the United States.<ref>{{cite web |author=American FactFinder, United States Census Bureau |url=http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ADPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-ds_name=ACS_2006_EST_G00_%2526amp%253B-_lang%253Den%2526amp%253B-_caller%253Dgeoselect%2526amp%253B-format%253D |title=Census 2006 ACS Ancestry estimates |publisher=Factfinder.census.gov |access-date=29 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110428095854/http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ADPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-ds_name=ACS_2006_EST_G00_&amp%3B-_lang=en&amp%3B-_caller=geoselect&amp%3B-format= |archive-date=28 April 2011}}</ref><ref>[http://countrystudies.us/south-africa/49.htm South Africa – Afrikaans Speakers]. ''Library of Congress.''</ref>

The [[Randstad]] is the country's largest [[conurbation]] located in the west of the country and contains the four largest cities: [[Amsterdam]] in the province [[North Holland]], [[Rotterdam]] and [[The Hague]] in the province [[South Holland]], and [[Utrecht (city)|Utrecht]] in the province [[Utrecht (province)|Utrecht]]. The Randstad has a population of about 8.2&nbsp;million inhabitants<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://opendata.cbs.nl/statline/#/CBS/nl/dataset/03759ned/table?dl=DA8F|title=CBS Statline|website=opendata.cbs.nl}}</ref> 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).<ref>{{cite web|title=CBS – Income distribution – Extra|url=http://www.cbs.nl/en-GB/menu/themas/inkomen-bestedingen/cijfers/extra/inkomensverdeling.htm|website=www.cbs.nl|access-date=15 September 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930184435/http://www.cbs.nl/en-GB/menu/themas/inkomen-bestedingen/cijfers/extra/inkomensverdeling.htm|archive-date=30 September 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

{{Largest cities of the Netherlands}}

===Language===
{{Main|Languages of the Netherlands}}
[[File:Foreign languages Netherlands, 2005.png|thumb|upright=1.6|Knowledge of foreign languages in the Netherlands, among population 15 and older, in 2006<ref>Data taken from an EU survey. [http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_243_en.pdf ebs_243_en.pdf] (europa.eu)</ref>]]<!-- the percentage for English in the report is 87% - NOT 89% -->
The official language of the Netherlands is [[Dutch language|Dutch]], which is spoken by the vast majority of inhabitants. The dialects most spoken in the Netherlands are the [[Brabantian dialect|Brabantian]]-[[Hollandic]] dialects.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.taalcanon.nl/vragen/hoeveel-dialecten-heeft-het-nederlands/ |title=Hoeveel dialecten heeft het Nederlands? &#124; Taalcanon |publisher=Taalcanon.nl |access-date=23 April 2014}}</ref>

Besides Dutch, [[West Frisian language|West Frisian]] is recognised as a second official language in the northern province of [[Friesland]] (''Fryslân'' in West Frisian).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/erkende-talen/talen-in-nederland |title=Talen in Nederland – Erkende talen |publisher=rijksoverheid.nl |access-date=12 August 2014}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Languages |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/about/archives/2021/field/languages/ |access-date=8 January 2023 |website=CIA – The World Factbook}}</ref> 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]].

[[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]].<ref name="international2000" /> [[Yiddish]] and the [[Romani language]] were recognised in 1996 as non-territorial languages.<ref name=":3">"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." [http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/Commun/ListeDeclarations.asp?NT=148&CM=8&DF=23/01/05&CL=ENG&VL=1 Netherlands: Declaration contained in the instrument of acceptance, deposited on 2 May 1996 – Or. Engl.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120522083136/http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/Commun/ListeDeclarations.asp?NT=148&CM=8&DF=23%2F01%2F05&CL=ENG&VL=1 |date=22 May 2012 }}, List of declarations made with respect to treaty No. 148 – [[European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages]]</ref>

[[English in the Netherlands|English]] has a formal status in the special municipalities of [[Saba (island)|Saba]] and [[Sint Eustatius]]. It is widely spoken on these islands. [[Papiamento]] has a formal status in the special municipality of [[Bonaire]].<ref name=":3" />

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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_237.en.pdf|title=European Union survey|website=Ec.europa.eu|access-date=3 August 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070128095746/http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_237.en.pdf|archive-date=28 January 2007}}</ref> English is a mandatory course in all secondary schools.<ref name="rijksoverheid">{{cite web|title=Foreign languages in secondary education |work=Wat is het aanbod aan vreemde talen in de onderbouw van het voortgezet onderwijs (vo)? |publisher=Rijksoverheid |url=http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten-en-publicaties/vragen-en-antwoorden/wat-is-het-aanbod-aan-vreemde-talen-in-de-onderbouw-van-het-voortgezet-onderwijs-vo.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429185145/http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten-en-publicaties/vragen-en-antwoorden/wat-is-het-aanbod-aan-vreemde-talen-in-de-onderbouw-van-het-voortgezet-onderwijs-vo.html |archive-date=29 April 2011 |access-date=3 May 2010 |url-status=dead |language=nl}}</ref> In most lower level secondary school educations ([[voorbereidend middelbaar beroepsonderwijs|vmbo]]), one additional modern foreign language is mandatory during the first two years.<ref name="Schedule of the Central Exams of 2009">[http://www.examenblad.nl/9336000/1/j9vvhinitagymgn_m7mvh57glpdohx6_n11vg41h1h4i9qe/vhl5jftd1sx8 Schedule of the Central Exams of 2009] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820060030/http://www.examenblad.nl/9336000/1/j9vvhinitagymgn_m7mvh57glpdohx6_n11vg41h1h4i9qe/vhl5jftd1sx8 |date=20 August 2016 }}, Examenblad</ref> 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]].<ref name="Examenblad talen vwo 2019">[https://www.examenblad.nl/item/talen/2019?sectorid=vg41h1h4i9qe Examenblad talen, vwo in 2019] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230403211152/https://www.examenblad.nl/item/talen/2019?sectorid=vg41h1h4i9qe |date=3 April 2023 }}, Examenblad</ref> Additionally, schools in Friesland teach and have exams in [[West Frisian language|West Frisian]].<ref>{{Cite web |author=Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties |date=14 July 2020 |title=De Friese taal – Erkende talen – Rijksoverheid.nl |url=https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/erkende-talen/de-friese-taal |access-date=8 January 2023 |website=rijksoverheid.nl |language=nl-NL}}</ref>

===Religion===
{{Main|Religion in the Netherlands}}
{{Pie chart
|thumb = right
|caption = Religious identification in the Netherlands (2020)<ref name="cbs2021">{{Cite web|url=https://longreads.cbs.nl/the-netherlands-in-numbers-2021/what-are-the-major-religions/|title=What are the major religions? – The Netherlands in numbers 2021|website=CBS|language=en,nl|access-date=15 September 2022}}</ref>
|label1 = [[Irreligious]]
|value1 = 55.4
|color1 = Gray
|label2 = [[Catholic]]
|value2 = 19.8
|color2 = Purple
|label3 = [[Protestant]]
|value3 = 14.4
|color3 = DarkBlue
|label4 = [[Islam in the Netherlands|Muslim]]
|value4 = 5.2
|color4 = Darkgreen
|label5 = Other
|value5 = 5.1
|color5 = Gold
}}
Forms of Christianity have dominated religious life in what is now the Netherlands for more than 1,200 years,<ref>Milis, L.J.R., "A Long Beginning: The Low Countries Through the Tenth Century" in J.C.H. Blom & E. Lamberts ''History of the Low Countries'', pp. 6–18, Berghahn Books, 1999. {{ISBN|978-1-84545-272-8}}</ref> and by the middle of the sixteenth century the country was strongly Protestant ([[Calvinist]]).{{sfn|Israel|1995|pp=361–395}} The population was predominantly Christian until the late 20th century.<ref name=Creationism>{{cite book|last=Numbers|first=Ronald L.|year=2014|isbn=9781421415628|title=Creationism in Europe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uSuhBQAAQBAJ&q=netherlands+protestant+country&pg=PA65|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press}}</ref> Although significant religious diversity remains, there has been a decline of religious adherence.<ref name="cbs2021"/>

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]]. [[Catholic]]s comprised 19.8% of the total population, [[Protestants]] 14.4%. [[Muslim]]s 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%.<ref name="cbs2021"/> A 2015 survey from another source found that Protestants outnumbered Catholics.<ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1177/0021140019872340|title=The Challenge of a Church Going into Liquidation|year=2019|last1=De Groot|first1=Kees|journal=Irish Theological Quarterly|volume=84|issue=4|pages=409–423|s2cid=220161067|doi-access=free}}</ref>

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]]. This can be seen in for example the regional celebration of [[Carnival in the Netherlands|Carnival]]. 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.<ref name="CBS 2009">{{cite news |url=http://statline.cbs.nl/StatWeb/publication/?DM=SLNL&PA=37944&D1=0-5,10&D2=29-40&VW=T |title=Kerkelijke gezindte en kerkbezoek; vanaf 1849; 18 jaar of ouder |date=15 October 2010}}</ref> 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, there is a [[Bible Belt (Netherlands)|Bible Belt]] from [[Zeeland]] to the northern parts of the province [[Overijssel]], in which orthodox Protestant beliefs remain strong. Statistically, areas of the Bible Belt also have the highest [[fertility rates]] and the youngest populations in the Netherlands.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Waar wonen de meeste jongeren en ouderen? |url=https://www.allianzdirect.nl/blog/jongste-oudste-Nederlanders/ |access-date=2025-08-25 |website=Allianz Direct |language=nl-NL}}</ref> Several Christian religious holidays are national holidays (Christmas, Easter, [[Pentecost]], and the [[Ascension of Jesus]]).<ref name="auto3">{{cite web|url=http://www.beleven.org/feesten/lijsten/landen.php?land=Nederland |title=Feestdagen Nederland |publisher=Beleven.org |access-date=27 January 2010}}</ref>

[[Islam]] is the second largest religion in the state.<ref name=CBS2>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbs.nl/nl-NL/menu/themas/vrije-tijd-cultuur/publicaties/artikelen/archief/2012/2012-3759-wm.htm|title=Een op de zes bezoekt regelmatig kerk of moskee|publisher=Central Bureau of Statistics, Netherlands|year=2012|access-date=30 March 2014}}</ref> 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 [[Suriname]] and [[Indonesia]]. During the 1990s, [[Muslim refugees]] arrived from countries like [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], [[Iran]], [[Iraq]], [[Somalia]], and [[Afghanistan]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scp.nl/publicaties/boeken/9037702597/Godsdienstige_veranderingen.pdf |title=Godsdienstige veranderingen in Nederland |access-date=17 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070125142251/http://www.scp.nl/publicaties/boeken/9037702597/Godsdienstige_veranderingen.pdf |archive-date=25 January 2007}}</ref> Since 2000 there has been raised awareness of religion, mainly due to [[Islamic extremism]].<ref>Knippenberg, Hans "The Changing Religious Landscape of Europe" edited by Knippenberg published by Het Spinhuis, Amsterdam 2005 {{ISBN|978-90-5589-248-8}}, pages 102–104</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How many Jews live in The Netherlands? {{!}} JPR |url=https://www.jpr.org.uk/countries/how-many-jews-in-the-netherlands |access-date=2023-11-20 |website=jpr.org.uk |date=7 April 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

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]]).<ref name="auto3"/>

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%).<ref name="trouw.nl">{{cite news|last1=van Beek|first1=Marije|title=Ongelovigen halen de gelovigen in|url=http://www.trouw.nl/tr/nl/5091/Religie/article/detail/3830831/2015/01/16/Ongelovigen-halen-de-gelovigen-in.dhtml|access-date=21 April 2015|work=Dossier Relige|publisher=der Verdieping Trouw|date=16 January 2015}}</ref> 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.<ref name="BerntsA">{{cite book|last1=Bernts|first1=Tom|last2=Berghuijs|first2=Joantine|title=God in Nederland 1966–2015|date=2016|publisher=Ten Have|isbn=978-90-259-0524-8}}</ref> 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.<ref name="nos.nl">{{cite news|title=Hoe God (bijna) verdween uit Nederland|url=http://nos.nl/artikel/2092498-hoe-god-bijna-verdween-uit-nederland.html|access-date=3 April 2016|publisher=NOS|date=13 March 2016}}</ref>

===Education===
{{Main|Education in the Netherlands}}
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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/leerplicht/leerplicht-en-kwalificatieplicht|title=Leerplicht en kwalificatieplicht|website=Rijksoverheid.nl|access-date=9 June 2021|date=10 July 2020}}</ref>

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.

[[File:Utrecht-Uithof, from CambridgeLaan 01.jpg|thumb|View on the Utrecht Science Park of [[Utrecht University]]. The building in the centre is the library.]]
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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/student/advice/cost-studying-university-netherlands|title=The cost of studying at a university in the Netherlands|date=26 January 2022|website=Student}}</ref>

===Healthcare===
{{Main|Healthcare in the Netherlands}}
[[File:Anthonie van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723). Natuurkundige te Delft Rijksmuseum SK-A-957.jpeg|thumb|upright=.8|Portrait of [[Antonie van Leeuwenhoek]] (1632–1723), known as "the father of microbiology"]] 
[[File:Meander MC noordzijde 1.JPG|thumb|A public hospital in [[Amersfoort]]]]
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.<ref name="healthpowerhouse.com">{{cite web|url=https://healthpowerhouse.com/|title=Health Care System's Indexes and reports|website=Health Consumer Powerhouse|access-date=26 August 2016|archive-date=4 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220304194538/https://healthpowerhouse.com/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
The Netherlands was ranked first in a study in 2009 comparing the [[health care system]]s of the United States, Australia, Canada, Germany and New Zealand.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65M0SU20100623 |publisher=Reuters |title=U.S. scores dead last again in healthcare study |date=23 June 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/26/6/w717.full.pdf+html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120110040524/http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/26/6/w717.full.pdf+html|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 January 2012|title=Toward Higher-Performance Health Systems: Adults' Health Care Experiences In Seven Countries, 2007}}</ref>

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.<ref name="healthpowerhouse.com"/> 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 practitioner]]s) 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.<ref name="Boot">J.M. Boot, 'De Nederlandse Gezondheidszorg', Bohn Stafleu van Loghum 2011</ref> The health care system is, in comparison to other Western countries, effective<ref>{{cite web |title=THE NETHERLANDS - Sustainability and Resilience in the Dutch Health System |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_PHSSR_Netherlands_Report_2023.pdf |publisher=World Economic Forum |year=2023 |format=PDF |access-date=30 October 2025}}</ref> but not the most cost-effective.<ref name=BCG>Boston Consulting Group, 'Zorg voor Waarde', 2011.</ref>
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.<ref name="statline.cbs.nl">{{cite web|url=http://statline.cbs.nl/StatWeb/publication/?DM=SLNL&PA=71914ned&D1=37-43&D2=a&HDR=G1&STB=T&VW=T|title=Zorgrekeningen; uitgaven (in lopende en constante prijzen) en financiering|date=20 May 2010|publisher=Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek: StatLine|language=nl|access-date=16 May 2011}}</ref> 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%).<ref name="statline.cbs.nl"/>
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.<ref name="minvws.nl">{{cite web|url=http://www.minvws.nl/en/themes/health-insurance-system/|title=Together healthy, fit and resilient|publisher=Ministerie van Volksgezondheid|work=minvws.nl|access-date=26 August 2016|date=18 February 2010}}</ref> This insurance covers 41% of all health care expenses.<ref name="statline.cbs.nl"/> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.zorgwijzer.nl/faq/expats|title=Expat health insurance|website=Zorgwijzer}}</ref>

==Transport==
{{Main|Transport in the Netherlands}}
Mobility on Dutch roads has grown continuously since the 1950s and now exceeds 200 billion km travelled per year,<ref>{{cite press release |title=SWOV Fact sheet &#124; Mobility on Dutch roads |url=http://www.swov.nl/rapport/Factsheets/UK/FS_Mobility.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100415044922/http://www.swov.nl/rapport/Factsheets/UK/FS_Mobility.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 April 2010 |location=Leidschendam, the Netherlands |publisher=SWOV – Dutch Institute for Road Safety Research |date=July 2013 |access-date=7 July 2014}}</ref> three quarters of which are done by car.<ref name="OECD-ITF">{{cite report |last1=Waard |first1=Jan van der |last2=Jorritsma |first2=Peter |last3=Immers |first3=Ben |date=October 2012 |title=New Drivers in Mobility: What Moves the Dutch in 2012 and Beyond? |url=http://www.internationaltransportforum.org/jtrc/DiscussionPapers/DP201215.pdf |location=Delft, the Netherlands |publisher=[[Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development|OECD]] International Transport Forum |access-date=7 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117223717/http://internationaltransportforum.org/jtrc/DiscussionPapers/DP201215.pdf |archive-date=17 January 2013}}</ref> Around half of all trips in the Netherlands are made by car, 25% by bicycle, 20% walking, and 5% by public transport.<ref name="OECD-ITF"/>

=== Road transport ===
[[File:A1-Hoog Buurlo.jpg|thumb|right|[[A1 motorway (Netherlands)|A1 motorway]], in [[Gelderland]]]]

The Netherlands has one of the densest road networks in the world.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IS.ROD.DNST.K2?order=wbapi_data_value_2011%20wbapi_data_value%20wbapi_data_value-last&sort=desc |title=Road density (km of road per 100 sq. km of land area) &#124; Data &#124; Table |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=2014 |publisher=The World Bank |access-date=7 July 2014}}</ref> The Netherlands has a relatively high uptake of [[electric vehicle]]s, as the government implemented ambitious policy on both charging infrastructure and tax benefits.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Rietmann |first1=Nele |chapter=A Comparison of Policy Measures Promoting Electric Vehicles in 20 Countries |date=2019 |chapter-url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96526-0_7 |title=The Governance of Smart Transportation Systems: Towards New Organizational Structures for the Development of Shared, Automated, Electric and Integrated Mobility |pages=125–145 |editor-last=Finger |editor-first=Matthias |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-96526-0_7 |isbn=978-3-319-96526-0 |access-date=26 January 2023 |last2=Lieven |first2=Theo |series=The Urban Book Series |s2cid=158767268 |editor2-last=Audouin |editor2-first=Maxime}}</ref> As of 2019, the Netherlands hosts approximately 30% of all recharging stations in the European Union.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://fd.nl/economie-politiek/1323217/kwart-laadpalen-in-eu-staat-in-nederland-fce1caCY0804|title=Een kwart van de laadpalen in de EU staat in Nederland|trans-title=A quarter of the recharging stations in the EU is in the Netherlands|language=Dutch|newspaper=Fd.nl|date=4 November 2019|access-date=3 May 2021}}</ref> Moreover, newly sold cars in the Netherlands have on average the lowest {{CO2}} emissions in the EU.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.acea.be/uploads/publications/ACEA_progress_report_2019.pdf|title=Making the transition to zero-emission mobility: 2019 progress report|website=ACEA|date=September 2019|access-date=3 May 2021}}</ref>

=== Public transport ===
[[File:NSR - Sprinter Lighttrain (SLT) - Wieldrechtse Zeedijk - Dordrecht (22087244596).jpg|thumb|A regional train operated by {{lang|nl|[[Nederlandse Spoorwegen]]|italic=no}}]]

About 13% of all distance is travelled by public transport, the majority of which is by train.<ref name="OECD-ITF"/> The Dutch rail network of {{convert|3,013|km|abbr=on}} route is also rather dense.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2121.html#nl |title=CIA World Factbook &#124; Field listing: Railways |date=2012 |publisher=U.S. Central Intelligence Agency |access-date=7 July 2014 |archive-date=13 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090513124715/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2121.html#nl |url-status=dead}}</ref> 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,{{efn|Only 11 stations are served less than twice an hour during weekdays.}} two to four trains per hour on average, and up to eight trains an hour on the busiest lines.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2017/06/ns-to-up-frequency-of-amsterdam-to-eindhoven-trains/|title=NS to up frequency of Amsterdam to Eindhoven trains to six an hour – DutchNews.nl|date=21 June 2017|work=DutchNews.nl|access-date=8 December 2017|language=en-GB}}</ref> 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 ===
{{Main|Cycling in the Netherlands}}
[[File:Bike entrance Rotterdam Central Station.jpg|thumb|right|Bike passage at [[Rotterdam Centraal station]]]]

[[Cycling in the Netherlands|Cycling]] is a ubiquitous mode of transport. Almost as many kilometres are covered by bicycle as by train.<ref name="OECD-ITF"/> The Dutch are estimated to have at least 18 million bicycles,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hollandtrade.com/media/features/feature-stories/?bstnum=4960|title=Holland Publications|first=Netherlands Enterprise Agency|last=(RVO)|work=hollandtrade.com|access-date=26 August 2016|date=17 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924031010/http://www.hollandtrade.com/media/features/feature-stories/?bstnum=4960|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.iamexpat.nl/lifestyle/cycling-netherlands|title=Cycling in the Netherlands|newspaper=Iamexpat |author1=Wedia}}</ref> which makes more than one per capita, and twice as many as the circa 9 million motor vehicles on the road.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://opendata.cbs.nl/statline/|title=CBS Statline|website=opendata.cbs.nl}}</ref> In 2013, the [[European Cyclists' Federation]] ranked the Netherlands and [[Denmark]] as the most bike-friendly countries in Europe.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ecf.com/news/the-first-eu-wide-ecf-cycling-barometer-launched/ |title=European Cyclists' Federation – The first EU wide ECF Cycling Barometer launched |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714151023/http://www.ecf.com/news/the-first-eu-wide-ecf-cycling-barometer-launched/ |archive-date=14 July 2014}}</ref> [[Cycling infrastructure]] is extensive. Busy roads have received some 35,000&nbsp;km of [[Segregated cycle facilities|dedicated cycle tracks]], physically segregated from motorised traffic.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fietsberaad.nl/index.cfm?lang=nl&section=nieuws&mode=newsArticle&repository=The+Netherlands+boast+almost+35.000+km+of+cycling+paths|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140717230921/http://www.fietsberaad.nl/index.cfm?lang=nl&section=nieuws&mode=newsArticle&repository=The+Netherlands+boast+almost+35.000+km+of+cycling+paths|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 July 2014|title=CROW Fietsberaad|website=Fietsberaad.nl|access-date=3 August 2017}}</ref> Busy junctions are often equipped with bicycle-specific traffic lights. There are large bicycle parking facilities, particularly in city centres and train stations.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-20/how-the-dutch-investment-in-bike-parking-paid-off|title=How the Dutch Mastered Bike Parking at Train Stations|date=20 April 2023|website=Bloomberg}}</ref>

=== Water transport ===
The [[Port of Rotterdam]] 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. {{As of|2022}}, Rotterdam was the world's tenth largest [[container port]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022 |title=Lloyd's List One Hundred Ports 2022 |url=https://lloydslist.maritimeintelligence.informa.com/-/media/lloyds-list/images/top-100-ports-2022/top100ports2022_ebook.pdf?rev=bc3fa2a77e134864bcc7dde4518e07d9&hash=D54445A74F150E76C09174D21AB1ABA5 |access-date=23 January 2023 |website=Lloyd's List}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://seaport-magazine.nl/nederland-heeft-grootste-binnenvaartvloot-van-europa/|title=Nederland heeft grootste binnenvaartvloot van Europa|trans-title=The Netherlands has largest inland shipping fleet of Europe|language=Dutch|website=Seaport Magazine|access-date=3 May 2021}}</ref> Passenger boats in the Netherlands includes a ferry network in Amsterdam, and waterbusses and taxis in Rotterdam.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Public transport in Amsterdam |url=https://www.iamsterdam.com/en/travel-stay/getting-around/public-transport-in-amsterdam |access-date=3 August 2023 |website=I amsterdam |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=About the Waterbus – Waterbus |url=https://www.waterbus.nl/en/about-the-waterbus |access-date=3 August 2023 |website=waterbus.nl}}</ref>

=== 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.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kirkliauskaite|first=Kristina|date=19 July 2020|title=What is the oldest airline in the world?|url=https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/worlds-oldest-airlines/index.html|access-date=22 December 2020|website=AeroTime}}</ref> In 2016, the [[Schiphol Group|Royal Schiphol Group]] airports handled 70 million passengers.<ref name="NOS Schiphol64">{{cite web |url=http://nos.nl/artikel/2152140-bijna-64-miljoen-zo-veel-passagiers-zag-schiphol-nog-nooit.html |title=Bijna 64 miljoen—zo veel passagiers zag Schiphol nog nooit |language=nl |trans-title=Almost 64 million—Schiphol never saw so many passengers |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170109153121/http://nos.nl/artikel/2152140-bijna-64-miljoen-zo-veel-passagiers-zag-schiphol-nog-nooit.html |date=9 January 2017 |website=NOS |publisher=[[Nederlandse Omroep Stichting]] |access-date=9 January 2017 |archive-date=9 January 2017}}</ref> All air traffic is international and Schiphol Airport is connected to over 300 destinations worldwide, more than any other European airport.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.schiphol.nl/nl/route-development/pagina/amsterdam-airport-schiphol-airport-facts/|title=What you would like to know|website=Schiphol|access-date=3 May 2021}}</ref> The airport is a major freight hub as well, processing 1.44 million tonnes of cargo in 2020.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.annualreportschiphol.com/trafficreview2020/cargo#figures-by-airport |title=71% of cargo tonnage transported by full freighters |website=Schiphol |access-date=3 May 2021 |archive-date=6 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906153751/https://www.annualreportschiphol.com/trafficreview2020/cargo#figures-by-airport |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sabaisland.net/airport/|title=Saba Island Airport|date=25 February 2018|access-date=3 May 2021}}</ref>

==Culture==
{{Main|Culture of the Netherlands}}

===Art, architecture and philosophy===
{{Main|Dutch art|Architecture of the Netherlands|Dutch-language literature}}
{{multiple image
| perrow            = 2/1/1
| total_width       = 300
| caption_align     = center
| image1            = Pieter Brueghel the Elder - The Dutch Proverbs - Google Art Project.jpg
| caption1          = ''[[Netherlandish Proverbs]]'' by Brabantine artist [[Pieter Bruegel the Elder]]
| image2            = Bulb Fields.jpg
| caption2          = ''[[Bulb Fields|Flower Beds in Holland]]'' by Brabantine artist [[Vincent van Gogh]]
| image3            = Rijksmuseum 2022.jpg
| caption3          = The [[Rijksmuseum]] in Amsterdam
}}

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 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 [[Max Havelaar]], a book about the poor treatment of the natives in the Dutch East Indies. [[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]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://architecture-history.org/schools/NETHERLANDS.html|title=NETHERLANDS|website=architecture-history.org}}</ref>

[[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]].

[[Windmill]]s, [[tulip]]s, [[clog]]s, cheese, and [[cannabis (drug)|cannabis]] have grown to symbolize the Netherlands, especially among tourists.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Holland as other place and other time: alterity in projected tourist images of the Netherlands|first1=Bouke|last1=van Gorp|first2=Tine|last2=Béneker|date=1 April 2007|journal=GeoJournal|volume=68|issue=4|pages=293–305|doi=10.1007/s10708-007-9085-9|s2cid=129230373 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2007GeoJo..68..293V }}</ref>

===Dutch value system===
{{Main|Dutch customs and etiquette}}
The Dutch are proud of their [[cultural heritage]], [[Dutch art|rich history in art]], and involvement in [[International relations|international affairs]].<ref name="Colin White 1995">Colin White & Laurie Boucke (1995). The UnDutchables: An observation of the Netherlands, its culture and its inhabitants (3rd Ed.). White-Boucke Publishing.</ref> A predominant attitude in the Netherlands is to think of the nation as being "both tolerant and cosmopolitan."<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Rietbergen |first=P. J. A. N. |title=A Short History of the Netherlands: From Prehistory to the Present Day |publisher=Bekking |year=2000 |isbn=90-6109-440-2 |edition=4th |location=Amersfoort |pages=155–156 |oclc=52849131}}</ref>

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."<ref>quoted in Fred Feddes, ''A Millennium of Amsterdam: Spatial History of a Marvelous City''. Bussum: Thoth Publishers 2012, p.9 {{ISBN|978-9068685954}}</ref>

[[File:Koningsdag 2017 Amstel.jpg|thumb|Dutch people in orange celebrating [[Koningsdag|King's Day]] in Amsterdam, 2017]]
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."<ref>J. Vossenstein, Dealing with the Dutch, 9789460220791.</ref>

The Netherlands is one of the most secular countries in Europe.<ref name=":02" /> Religion in the Netherlands is generally considered a personal matter which is not supposed to be propagated in public, although it often remains a discussion subject.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Becker|last2=De Hart|first1=Jos|first2=Joep|title=Godsdienstige veranderingen in Nederland, Verschuivingen in de binding met de kerken en de christelijke traditie|url=http://www.scp.nl/dsresource?objectid=6e36ffc5-45eb-4b33-bc88-eb7b99083527|website=SCP|publisher=Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau Den Haag|access-date=7 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010141120/https://www.scp.nl/dsresource?objectid=6e36ffc5-45eb-4b33-bc88-eb7b99083527|archive-date=10 October 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Music===
{{Main|Music of the Netherlands||Music of the former Netherlands Antilles}}
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]].

[[File:Coldplay perform "Up&Up", Amsterdam Arena, June 2016 (5).jpg|thumb|[[Johan Cruyff Arena]], the largest Dutch concert venue]]
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 festival]]s 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,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/2-unlimited-mn0000431439/biography |title=2 Unlimited &#124; Biography &#124; AllMusic |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=30 June 2014}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.local-life.com/amsterdam/articles/amsterdam-dance-event|title=Amsterdam Dance Event|work=local-life.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dutchdailynews.com/the-international-dance-industry-assembles-in-amsterdam-next-week/|title=The international Dance industry assembles in Amsterdam next week|work=Dutch Daily News|date=12 October 2012}}</ref> 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===
{{Main|Cinema of the Netherlands|Television in the Netherlands}}

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).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/the-weird-and-challenging-career-of-paul-verhoeven/|title=God of shock: the weird and challenging career of Paul Verhoeven|first=Richard|last=Luck|date=6 April 2022|website=The New European}}</ref>

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]]''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3974179.stm|title=Gunman kills Dutch film director|date=2 November 2004|via=news.bbc.co.uk}}</ref>

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]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/euro-star-carice-van-houten-6757545.html|title=Euro star: Carice van Houten|first=Lydia|last= Slater|date=10 April 2012|website=Evening Standard}}</ref> [[Rutger Hauer]],<ref name="elsevier">{{cite web|url =https://www.elsevierweekblad.nl/cultuur/article/2015/10/1973-monique-van-de-ven-voor-altijd-olga-2698674W/|title =1973 – Monique van de Ven: Voor altijd Olga|first =Bram|last =Hahn|website =Elsevier Weekblad|date =7 October 2015|language =nl|access-date =26 July 2019|archive-date =26 July 2019|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20190726013056/https://www.elsevierweekblad.nl/cultuur/article/2015/10/1973-monique-van-de-ven-voor-altijd-olga-2698674W/|url-status =dead}}</ref> and [[Jeroen Krabbé]].<ref name= "NYTimesArticle1">{{cite news | first = Justine | last = Elias | title = Famke Janssen; Transformations As a Way of Life, Not Just on Screen | newspaper = The New York Times | date = 15 November 1998 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/15/movies/holiday-films-up-coming-famke-janssen-transformations-way-life-not-just-screen.html | access-date = 16 October 2011}}</ref>

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.<ref name="HaGanahl2013">''[https://books.google.com/books?id=chXSFH-gzVMC&pg=PA101 Webcasting Worldwide: Business Models of an Emerging Global Medium]''. Routledge; 2013. {{ISBN|978-1-135-24977-9}}. p. 101–103.</ref>

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]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/john-de-mol/|title=John de Mol|website=Forbes}}</ref> Endemol merged with [[Shine Group]] in 2015, and again with [[Banijay]] in 2020.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kanter |first1=Jake |date=July 1, 2020 |title=Banijay Group's $2.2BN Endemol Shine Group Takeover Approved By European Commission |url=https://deadline.com/2020/07/banijay-group-endemol-shine-group-takeover-approved-by-european-commission-1202974883/}}</ref>

=== Sports ===
{{Main|Sport in the Netherlands}}

[[File:NED-DEN Euro 2012 (10).jpg|thumb|Dutch star football players [[Arjen Robben]] and [[Robin van Persie]] during a game with the [[Netherlands national football team|Netherlands]] against [[Denmark national football team|Denmark]] at [[Euro 2012]]]]

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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://s2.ned.univie.ac.at/NoN/landeskunde/nl/h11/index.htm |title=Sport in Nederland |access-date=21 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080925042514/http://s2.ned.univie.ac.at/NoN/landeskunde/nl/h11/index.htm |archive-date=25 September 2008 |language=nl}}</ref> [[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.<ref name="sport">{{cite web |url=http://www.sport.nl/content/nieuwsartikelen/nocnsf/223198?channel=nocnsf |title=Ledental sportbonden opnieuw gestegen |date=24 July 2006 |website=sport.nl |archive-url=https://archive.today/20070812034648/http://www.sport.nl/content/nieuwsartikelen/nocnsf/223198?channel=nocnsf |archive-date=12 August 2007 |access-date=1 June 2016 |url-status=dead |language=nl}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=The 50 Greatest Footballers of All Time|date=21 May 2019|url=https://www.si.com/soccer/2019/05/21/50-greatest-footballers-all-time|magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]]}}</ref> 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 Cup]]s. The [[Netherlands national baseball team|Netherlands baseball team]] have won the [[European Baseball Championship|European championship]] 24 times out of 33 events.<!--updated to 2021--> 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===
{{Main|Dutch cuisine}}
[[File:Hutspot met stooflap op bord.JPG|thumb|[[Hutspot]] with beef stew on plate]]
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 cuisine]]s being represented in the major cities. In early 2014, [[Oxfam]] ranked the Netherlands as the country with the most nutritious, plentiful and healthy food.<ref>{{cite news |last=Reaney |first=Patricia |date=14 January 2014 |title=Netherlands is country with most plentiful, healthy food: Oxfam |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-food-countries-idUSBREA0E01S20140115 |location=New York |publisher=Reuters U.S. |access-date=1 September 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |author=|title=Good Enough to Eat – Media Briefing |url=http://www.oxfamamerica.org/static/media/files/Good_Enough_To_Eat_Media_brief_FINAL.pdf |location=Boston, MA |publisher=[[Oxfam]] America |date=14 January 2013 |access-date=1 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808001149/http://www.oxfamamerica.org/static/media/files/Good_Enough_To_Eat_Media_brief_FINAL.pdf |archive-date=8 August 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book |first=Laura Halpin |last=Rinsky |author2=Glenn Rinsky  |title=The Pastry Chef's Companion: A Comprehensive Resource Guide for the Baking and Pastry Professional |url=https://archive.org/details/pastrychefscompa00rins |url-access=limited |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |location=Hoboken, N.J. |year=2009 |page=[https://archive.org/details/pastrychefscompa00rins/page/n12 3] |isbn=978-0-470-00955-0 |oclc=173182689}}</ref>

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]], [[oyster]]s and [[shrimp]]s 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 {{lang|nl|worstenbroodje}} (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]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.trappist.be/en/products/beers/westvleteren/|title=Internationale Vereniging Trappist – Westvleteren|website=trappist.be}}</ref>
=== Cheeses ===
{{See also-text|[[List of Dutch cheeses]]}}
The Netherlands is well known for its cheese production, with internationally recognised varieties such as [[Gouda cheese|Gouda]], [[Edam cheese|Edam]], and [[Leyden cheese|Leyden]]. Traditional cheese markets are still held in towns like [[Alkmaar]], [[Gouda, South Holland|Gouda]], and [[Edam, Netherlands|Edam]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-03-13 |title=Dutch cheese varieties: the comprehensive (and cheesy) guide |url=https://dutchreview.com/culture/dutch-cheese-varieties/ |access-date=2025-09-24 |website=dutchreview.com/ |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Shirshendu Sengupta Photography and Travel {{!}} Photographer and Travel Blogger based in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area, the Netherlands |url=https://shirshendusengupta.com/ |access-date=2025-09-24 |website=Shirshendu Sengupta Photography and Travel {{!}} Photographer and Travel Blogger based in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area, the Netherlands |language=en-US}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal |Netherlands|European Union}}
* [[Outline of the Netherlands]]

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Elliott |first=John |title=The Road to Utrecht in Britain, Spain and the Treaty of Utrecht 1713–2013 |year=2014 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-909662-22-3 |editor-last=Dadson |editor-first=Trevor}}
* {{cite book|first=Jonathan |last=Israel |author-link=Jonathan Israel |title=The Dutch Republic: Its Rise, Greatness and Fall, 1477–1806|series=[[Oxford History of Early Modern Europe]]|year=1995|isbn=0-19-873072-1}}
* {{cite book |last=Van Nimwegen |first=Olaf |title=De Veertigjarige Oorlog 1672–1712: de strijd van de Nederlanders tegen de Zonnekoning |trans-title=The 40 Years' War 1672–1712: the Dutch struggle against the Sun King|publisher=Prometheus |year=2020 |isbn=978-90-446-3871-4|language=nl}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links|Netherlands|voy=Netherlands}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081026124437/http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/for/netherlands.htm Netherlands] from UCB Libraries GovPubs
* [http://www.iamexpat.nl/expat-page/the-netherlands/general-information I am Expat – General information about the Netherlands]
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17740800 Netherlands profile] from the [[BBC News]]
* {{Wikiatlas|Netherlands}}
* {{osmrelation-inline|47796}}
* [http://www.ifs.du.edu/ifs/frm_CountryProfile.aspx?Country=NL Key Development Forecasts for the Netherlands] from [[International Futures]]

'''Government'''
* [http://www.government.nl/ Government.nl] – official Dutch government web site
* [http://www.cbs.nl/en-GB/menu/home/default.htm Statistics Netherlands] (CBS) – Key figures from the Dutch bureau of statistics
* {{Statoids|id=unl|title=Provinces of Netherlands}}

'''Travel'''
* [http://www.holland.com/ Holland.com] – English website of the Netherlands tourist office
* [https://www.nbtc.nl/en/site.htm Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions] – Organisation responsible for promoting the Netherlands nationally and internationally

{{Netherlands topics}}
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