Netherlands - Tourism and Travel

The Kingdom of the Netherlands is a country in western Europe, along the North Sea.

It has an area of 16,033 miles (41,526 kilometers).

The Netherlands is a very low country. A large portion is below sea level.

There are some low hills in the far southeast.

In the north, there are glacial heathlands.

In the coastal region, there are a river delta and polders - tracts of reclaimed land, which are protected by dykes, canals and sand dunes.

People have been using drainage dykes and ditches to reclaim land in the Netherlands for agriculture since the Middle Ages.

Windmills, common in the countryside of the Netherlands, were originally used to move water from drainage ditches to bigger canals.

The Rhine and the Maas, or Meuse, are important rivers.

In the fifth century, the sea broached a large portion of the coast, creating inlets and islands.

Flooding is a constant threat in the Netherlands. There are barrages across the mouths of many rivers to keep floodwaters back.

The Netherlands has a temperate climate. Winters are mild and summers are cool.

Amsterdam is the capital, according to the constitution. However, the official seat of government is The Hague.

The International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court and the headquarters of Europol, the European Union's criminal intelligence agency, are located in The Hague.

16,592,000 people live in the Netherlands. The majority live in urban areas, mostly in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague.

82% of the population is Dutch, 2% are Surinamese, 2% are Turkish and 2% are Moroccan.

Dutch is the official language. Frisian is also spoken.

36% of the people are Roman Catholic, 27% are Protestant and 3% are Muslim.

International trade and manufacturing form the basis of the economy.

Important industries are food products, electronic goods, transport equipment, machinery and chemicals.

The Netherlands is the third largest agricultural exporter in the world, after the United States and France.

Dairy farming and horticulture are important.

Natural gas reserves in the North Sea have enabled the Netherlands to become a leading natural gas producer and exporter.

The Netherlands has a parliamentary system of government.