Netherlands
Capital: Amsterdam · Western Europe
The Netherlands, also informally known as Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with overseas territories in the Caribbean.
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Amsterdam Rijksmuseum:Das Rijksmuseum Amsterdam ist ein niederländisches Nationalmuseum am Museumplein im Amsterdamer Stadtteil Oud-Zuid im Stadtbezirk Amsterdam-Zuid.…
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Netherlands literally means "lower countries", in reference to its low elevation and flat topography, 26% of which is below sea level. Most of the areas below sea level, known as polders, are the result of land reclamation that began in the 14th century. In the Republican period, the Dutch Republic experienced major political, economic, and cultural development; this period is commonly known as the Dutch Golden Age. During this time, its trading companies, the Dutch East India Company and the Dutch West India Company, established multiple colonies and trading posts.
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Poffertjes as served at Groot Melkhuis in Vondelpark, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
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blauwe muisjes op beschuit
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Etymology
The countries that constitute the region called the Low Countries (Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg) all have comparatively the same toponymy. Place names with Neder, Nieder, Nedre, Nether, Lage(r) or Low(er) (in Germanic languages) and Bas or Inferior (in Romance languages) are in use in low-lying places all over Europe. The Romans made a distinction between the Roman provinces of downstream Germania Inferior (nowadays part of Belgium and the Netherlands) and upstream Germania Superior.
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Binnenhof, The Hague, Province of South Holland, Netherlands
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History
The oldest human (Neanderthal) traces in the Netherlands, believed to be about 250,000 years old, were found near Maastricht. At the end of the Ice Age, the nomadic late 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 Maglemosian-like tribes (c. 8000 BC), the world's oldest canoe was found in Drenthe.
Indigenous late Mesolithic hunter-gatherers from the Swifterbant culture (c.
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A1 motorway near Hoog Buurlo
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Dünen in Schoorl an Zee / Nordholland
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Raadhuis Hilversum This is an image of rijksmonument number 46773 Information from structured data : location of creation : Hilversum → North Holland → Netherlands…
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Geography
The European Netherlands has a total area of 41,543 km2 (16,040 sq mi), including water bodies, and a land area of 33,481 km2 (12,927 sq mi). The Caribbean Netherlands has a total area of 322 km2 (124 sq mi) It lies between latitudes 50° and 54° N, and longitudes 3° and 8° E.
The Netherlands is geographically very low relative to sea level and is considered a flat country, with about 26% of its area and 21% of its population below sea level.
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Government and politics
The Netherlands has been a constitutional monarchy since 1815 and a 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 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.
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Economy
Since the 16th century, shipping, fishing, agriculture, trade, and banking have been leading sectors of the Dutch economy. The Netherlands has a high level of economic freedom. The Netherlands is one of the top countries in the Global Enabling Trade Report (2nd in 2016), and was ranked the fifth most competitive economy in the world by the Swiss International Institute for Management Development in 2017. The country was ranked the 8th most innovative nation in the world in the 2025 Global Innovation Index down from 2nd in 2018.
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Demographics
The Netherlands had an estimated population of 18,080,943 as of June 2025. It is the 6th most densely populated country in Europe and the 33rd most densely populated country in the world with a density of 424 per square kilometre (1,100/sq mi). Between 1900 and 1950, the country's population almost doubled from 5.1 to 10 million. From 1950 to 2000, the population further increased, to 15.9 million.
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Culture
The Dutch are proud of their cultural heritage, rich history in art, and involvement in international affairs. A predominant attitude in the Netherlands is to think of the nation as being "both tolerant and cosmopolitan."
A Dutch saying indicating their sense of national pride in their reclamation of land from the sea and marshes is "God created the world, but the Dutch created the Netherlands."
Dutch manners are open and direct with a no-nonsense attitude—informality combined with adherence to basic behaviour.
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