Knowledge CenterOur Knowledge Center supplies you with the facts, figures and web links on business in the Netherlands. You can also subscribe to our newsletter and request more information here. Reasons to Invest in Holland
- Easy access to major European markets
- International business environment
- ‘Orange Carpet' visa facilities
- Superior logistics
- State-of-the-art technology infrastructure
- Favourable fiscal climate
- Multilingual workforce
- Quality of life
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General Statistics on the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Government, geography and demography
| Form of government |
Constitutional monarchy, parliamentary democracy |
| Head of state |
Queen Beatrix |
| Administrative regions |
12 provinces: Drenthe, Flevoland, Friesland, Gelderland, Groningen, Limburg, Noord-Brabant, Noord-Holland, Overijssel, Utrecht, Zeeland, Zuid-Holland |
| Dependencies |
Aruba, Netherlands Antilles |
| Currency |
Euro |
| Location |
Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between Belgium and Germany |
| Capital |
Amsterdam |
| Largest cities |
Amsterdam: 743,393 inhabitants |
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Rotterdam: 599,859 inhabitants |
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The Hague: 472,087 inhabitants |
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Utrecht: 281 011 inhabitants |
| Area |
Total: 41,526 square kilometres |
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Land: 33,883 square kilometres |
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Water: 7,643 square kilometres |
| Land boundaries |
Total: 1,027 kilometres |
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Belgium: 450 kilometres, Germany: 577 kilometres |
| Coastline |
451 kilometres |
| Climate |
Temperate; maritime; cool summers and mild winters |
| Terrain |
Mostly coastal lowland and reclaimed land (polders) |
| Elevation extremes |
Lowest point: Zuidvlaspolder - 7 m below sea level |
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Highest point: Vaalserberg - 322 m above sea level |
| Natural resources |
Natural gas; petroleum; peat; limestone; salt; sand and gravel; arable land |
| Population |
16,410,046 (March 2008) |
| Age structure |
0 - 20 years: 24.2% |
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20 - 45 years: 34.4% |
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45 - 65 years: 26.9% |
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65 - 80 years: 10.8% |
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80-years and older: 3.7% |
| Population growth rate |
0.28% (46,000 people) (2007) |
| Migration balance (immigration minus emigration) |
Minus 32,000 (2006) |
| Ethnic groups |
Dutch: 81%, other: 19% (of which 10% are non-Western origin; mainly Turks, Moroccans, Antilleans, Surinamese and Indonesians (2007) |
| Religions |
Roman Catholic: 31%, Dutch Reformed: 13%, Calvinist: 7%, Muslim: 5.5%, other: 2.5%, none: 41% (2002) |
| Languages |
Dutch (official), Frisian (official) |
Economic performance
| GDP |
560 billion euro (2007) |
| GDP per capita |
Purchasing power parity: |
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$37,300 (2006) |
| Economic growth |
3.5% (2007) |
| Working population |
7,606 million (2007) |
| Unemployed |
344.000 (4.5%) (2007) |
| European economic growth |
2.6% (2007) |
| Inflation rate |
1.6 (2007) |
| Inflation rate Euro zone |
2.1% (2007) |
| International trade |
Exports: 420 billion euro (2007) (goods and services) |
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Imports: 377 billion euro (2007) (goods and services) |
| Export commodities |
Machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs |
| Import commodities |
Machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs, clothing |
| Export partners |
Germany 24.8%; Belgium 12.5%; UK 8.9%; France 8.2%; Italy 5.0%; US 5.0% (2006) |
| Import partners |
Germany: 19.4%; Belgium: 10.9%; US: 8.3%; China: 8.1%; UK: 6.2%; France: 5.0% (2006) |
Source: Statistics Netherlands 2008 |
