| Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of the Netherlands conventional short form: Netherlands local long form: Koninkrijk der Nederlanden local short form: Nederland abbreviation: NL etymology: the country name literally means "the lowlands" and refers to the geographic features of the land being both flat and down river from higher areas (i.e., at the estuaries of the Scheldt, Meuse, and Rhine Rivers; only about half of the Netherlands is more than 1 meter above sea level) |
| Government type | parliamentary constitutional monarchy; part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands |
| Capital | name: Amsterdam; note - The Hague is the seat of government geographic coordinates: 52 21 N, 4 55 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October note: time descriptions apply to the continental Netherlands only, for the constituent countries in the Caribbean, the time difference is UTC-4 etymology: the original Dutch name, Amstellerdam, meaning "a dam on the Amstel River," dates to the 13th century; over time the name simplified to Amsterdam |
| Administrative divisions | 12 provinces (provincies, singular - provincie), 3 public entities* (openbare lichamen, singular - openbaar lichaam (Dutch); entidatnan publiko, singular - entidat publiko (Papiamento)); Bonaire*, Drenthe, Flevoland, Fryslan (Friesland), Gelderland, Groningen, Limburg, Noord-Brabant (North Brabant), Noord-Holland (North Holland), Overijssel, Saba*, Sint Eustatius*, Utrecht, Zeeland (Zealand), Zuid-Holland (South Holland) note 1: the Netherlands is one of four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; the other three, Aruba, Curacao, and Sint Maarten, are all islands in the Caribbean; while all four parts are considered equal partners, in practice, most of the Kingdom's affairs are administered by the Netherlands, which makes up about 98% of the Kingdom's total land area and population note 2: although Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius are officially incorporated into the country of the Netherlands under the broad designation of "public entities," Dutch Government sources regularly apply to them the more descriptive term of "special municipalities"; Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius are collectively referred to as the Caribbean Netherlands |
| Dependent areas | Aruba, Curacao, Sint Maarten |
| Independence | 23 January 1579 (the northern provinces of the Low Countries conclude the Union of Utrecht breaking with Spain; on 26 July 1581, they formally declared their independence with an Act of Abjuration; however, it was not until 30 January 1648 and the Peace of Westphalia that Spain recognized this independence) |
| National holiday | King's Day (birthday of King WILLEM-ALEXANDER), 27 April (1967); note - King's or Queen's Day are observed on the ruling monarch's birthday; currently celebrated on 26 April if 27 April is a Sunday |
| Constitution | history: many previous to adoption of the "Basic Law of the Kingdom of the Netherlands" on 24 August 1815; revised 8 times, the latest in 1983 amendments: proposed as an Act of Parliament by or on behalf of the king or by the Second Chamber of the States General; the Second Chamber is dissolved after its first reading of the Act; passage requires a second reading by both the First Chamber and the newly elected Second Chamber, followed by at least two-thirds majority vote of both chambers, and ratification by the king; amended many times, last in 2018 |
| Legal system | civil law system based on the French system; constitution does not permit judicial review of acts of the States General |
| International law organization participation | accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction |
| Citizenship | citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of the Netherlands dual citizenship recognized: no residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch | chief of state: King WILLEM-ALEXANDER (since 30 April 2013); Heir Apparent Princess Catharina-Amalia (daughter of King WILLEM-ALEXANDER, born 7 December 2003) head of government: Prime Minister (vacant); note - Prime Minister Mark RUTTE resigned on 15 January 2021; Deputy Prime Ministers (since 26 October 2017) Hugo DE JONGE, Karin Kajsa OLLONGREN, and Carola SCHOUTEN (since 26 October 2017); note - Mark RUTTE heads his third cabinet put in place since 26 October 2017 cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the monarch elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; following Second Chamber elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch; deputy prime ministers are appointed by the monarch |
| Legislative branch | description: bicameral States General or Staten Generaal consists of: First Chamber or Eerste Kamer (75 seats; members indirectly elected by the country's 12 provincial council members by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms) Second Chamber or Tweede Kamer (150 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote to serve up to 4-year terms) elections: First Chamber - last held on 27 May 2019 (next to be held on NA May 2023) Second Chamber - last held on 15 March 2017 (next to be held on 17 March 2021) election results: First Chamber - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FvD 12, VVD 12, CDA 9, GL 8, D66 7, MvdA 6, PVV 5, SP 4, CU 4, other 8; composition - men 49, women 26, percent of women 34.7% Second Chamber - percent of vote by party - VVD 21.3%, PVV 13.1%, CDA 12.4%, D66 12.2%, GL 9.1%, SP 9.1%, PvdA 5.7%, CU 3.4%, PvdD 3.2%, 50 Plus 3.1%, other 7.4%; seats by party - VVD 33, PVV 20, CDA 19, D66 19, GL 14, SP 14, PvdA 9, CU 5, PvdD 5, 50 Plus 4, other 8; composition - men 96, women 54, percent of women 36%; note - total States General percent of women 35.6% |
| Judicial branch | highest courts: Supreme Court or Hoge Raad (consists of 41 judges: the president, 6 vice presidents, 31 justices or raadsheren, and 3 justices in exceptional service, referred to as buitengewone dienst); the court is divided into criminal, civil, tax, and ombuds chambers judge selection and term of office: justices appointed by the monarch from a list provided by the Second Chamber of the States General; justices appointed for life or until mandatory retirement at age 70 subordinate courts: courts of appeal; district courts, each with up to 5 subdistrict courts; Netherlands Commercial Court |
| Political parties and leaders | Christian Democratic Appeal or CDA [Sybrand VAN HAERSMA BUMA] Christian Union or CU [Gert-Jan SEGERS] Democrats 66 or D66 [Rob JETTEN] Denk [Tunahan KUZU] 50 Plus [Henk KROL] Forum for Democracy or FvD (vacant) Green Left or GL [Jesse KLAVER] Labor Party or PvdA [Lodewijk ASSCHER] Party for Freedom or PVV [Geert WILDERS] Party for the Animals or PvdD [Marianne THIEME] People's Party for Freedom and Democracy or VVD [Mark RUTTE] Reformed Political Party or SGP [Kees VAN DER STAAIJ] Socialist Party or SP [Emile ROEMER] plus a few minor parties |
| International organization participation | ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Arctic Council (observer), Australia Group, Benelux, BIS, CBSS (observer), CD, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EITI (implementing country), EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINUSMA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club, PCA, Schengen Convention, SELEC (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMISS, UNRWA, UN Security Council (temporary), UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Andre HASPELS (since 16 September 2019) chancery: 4200 Linnean Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 244-5300 FAX: [1] (202) 362-3430 email address and website: https://www.netherlandsworldwide.nl/countries/united-states/about-us/embassy-in-washington-dc consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Miami, New York, San Francisco |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Marja VERLOOP (since 17 January 2021) embassy: John Adams Park 1, 2244 BZ Wassenaar mailing address: 5780 Amsterdam Place, Washington DC 20521-5780 telephone: [31] (70) 310-2209 FAX: [31] (70) 310-2207 email address and website: AmsterdamUSC@state.gov https://nl.usembassy.gov/ consulate(s) general: Amsterdam |
| Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (bright vermilion; top), white, and blue (cobalt); similar to the flag of Luxembourg, which uses a lighter blue and is longer; the colors were derived from those of WILLIAM I, Prince of Orange, who led the Dutch Revolt against Spanish sovereignty in the latter half of the 16th century; originally the upper band was orange, but because its dye tended to turn red over time, the red shade was eventually made the permanent color; the banner is perhaps the oldest tricolor in continuous use |
| National symbol(s) | lion, tulip; national color: orange |
| National anthem | name: "Het Wilhelmus" (The William) lyrics/music: Philips VAN MARNIX van Sint Aldegonde (presumed)/unknown note: adopted 1932, in use since the 17th century, making it the oldest national anthem in the world; also known as "Wilhelmus van Nassouwe" (William of Nassau), it is in the form of an acrostic, where the first letter of each stanza spells the name of the leader of the Dutch Revolt |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
