##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Netherlands (2001) - European Union (2004)
Compare Netherlands (2001) z European Union (2004)
| Netherlands (2001) | European Union (2004) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 12 provinces (provincien, singular - provincie); Drenthe, Flevoland, Friesland, Gelderland, Groningen, Limburg, Noord-Brabant, Noord-Holland, Overijssel, Utrecht, Zeeland, Zuid-Holland | - |
| Age structure | 0-14 years:
18.38% (male 1,501,925; female 1,436,017) 15-64 years: 67.9% (male 5,518,575; female 5,333,442) 65 years and over: 13.72% (male 899,052; female 1,292,461) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 16.3%
15-64 years: 67.2% 65 years and over: 16.6% (July 2004 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | grains, potatoes, sugar beets, fruits, vegetables; livestock | wheat, barley, oilseeds, sugar beets, wine, grapes, dairy products, cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry, fish |
| Airports | 28 (2000 est.) | total: 3,130
with paved runways: 1,834 with unpaved runways: 1,296 (2003) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total:
19 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
- |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
9 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 6 (2000 est.) |
- |
| Area | total:
41,526 sq km land: 33,883 sq km water: 7,643 sq km |
total: 3,976,372 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of New Jersey | less than one-half the size of the US |
| Background | The Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed in 1815. In 1830 Belgium seceded and formed a separate kingdom. The Netherlands remained neutral in World War I but suffered a brutal invasion and occupation by Germany in World War II. A modern, industrialized nation, the Netherlands is also a large exporter of agricultural products. The country was a founding member of NATO and the EC, and participated in the introduction of the euro in 1999. | Following the two devastating World Wars of the first half of the 20th century, a number of European leaders in the late 1940s became convinced that the only way to establish a lasting peace was to unite the two chief belligerent nations - France and Germany - both economically and politically. In 1950, the French Foreign Minister Robert SCHUMAN proposed an eventual union of all of Europe, the first step of which would be the integration of the coal and steel industries of Western Europe. The following year the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was set up when six members, Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, signed the Treaty of Paris.
The ECSC was so successful that within a few years the decision was made to integrate other parts of the countries' economies. In 1957, the Treaties of Rome created the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM), and the six member states undertook to eliminate trade barriers among themselves by forming a common market. In 1967, the institutions of all three communities were formally merged into the European Community (EC), creating a single Commission, a single Council of Ministers, and the European Parliament. Members of the European Parliament were initially selected by national parliaments, but in 1979 the first direct elections were undertaken and they have been held every five years since. In 1973, the first enlargement of the EC took place with the addition of Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The 1980s saw further membership expansion with Greece joining in 1981 and Spain and Portugal in 1986. The 1992 Treaty of Maastricht laid the basis for further forms of cooperation in foreign and defense policy, in judicial and internal affairs, and in the creation of an economic and monetary union - including a common currency. This further integration created the European Union (EU). In 1995, Austria, Finland, and Sweden joined to the EU, raising the membership total to 15. A new currency, the euro, was launched in world money markets on 1 January 1999; it became the unit of exchange for all of the EU states except Great Britain, Sweden, and Denmark. In 2002, citizens of the 12 euro-area countries began using euro banknotes and coins. Ten new countries joined the EU in 2004 - Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia - bringing the current membership to 25. In order to ensure that the EU can continue to function efficiently with an expanded membership, the 2003 Treaty of Nice set forth rules streamlining the size and procedures of EU institutions. An EU Constitutional Treaty, signed in Rome on 29 October 2004, gives member states two years to ratify the document before it is scheduled to take effect on 1 November 2006. Despite the expansion of membership and functions, "Eurosceptics" in various countries have raised questions about the erosion of national cultures and the imposition of a flood of regulations from the EU capital in Brussels. Failure by member states to ratify the constitution or the inability of newcomer countries to meet euro currency standards might force a loosening of some EU agreements and perhaps lead to several levels of EU participation. These "tiers" might eventually range from an "inner" core of politically integrated countries to a looser "outer" economic association of members. |
| Birth rate | 11.85 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 10.2 births/1,000 population (July 2004 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$134 billion expenditures: $134 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
- |
| Capital | Amsterdam; The Hague is the seat of government | Brussels, Belgium |
| Climate | temperate; marine; cool summers and mild winters | cold temperate; potentially subarctic in the north to temperate; mild wet winters; hot dry summers in the south |
| Coastline | 451 km | 65,413.9 km |
| Constitution | adopted 1814; amended many times, last time 17 February 1983 | based on a series of treaties: the Treaty of Paris, which set up the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1951; the Treaties of Rome, which set up the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) in 1957; the Single European Act in 1986; the Treaty on European Union (Maastrict) in 1992; the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997; and the Treaty of Nice in 2001; note - a new draft Constitutional Treaty, signed on 29 October 2004 in Rome, gives member states two years for ratification either by parliamentary vote or national referendum before it is scheduled to take effect on 1 November 2006 |
| Country name | conventional long form:
Kingdom of the Netherlands conventional short form: Netherlands local long form: Koninkrijk der Nederlanden local short form: Nederland |
- |
| Currency | Netherlands guilder (NLG); euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the EU introduced the euro as a common currency that is now being used by financial institutions in the Netherlands at a fixed rate of 2.20371 Netherlands guilders per euro and will replace the local currency for all transactions in 2002 |
euro; pound (Cyprus), koruna (Czech Republic), krone (Denmark), kroon (Estonia), forint (Hungary), lat (Latvia), litas (Lithuania), lira (Malta), zloty (Poland), koruna (Slovakia), tolar (Slovenia), krona (Sweden), pound (UK) |
| Death rate | 8.69 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 10 deaths/1,000 population (July 2004 est.) |
| Debt - external | $0 | $NA |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Cynthia P. SCHNEIDER embassy: Lange Voorhout 102, 2514 EJ, The Hague mailing address: PSC 71, Box 1000, APO AE 09715 telephone: [31] (70) 310-9209 FAX: [31] (70) 361-4688 consulate(s) general: Amsterdam |
chief of mission: Ambassador Rockwell SCHNABEL
embassy: 13 Zinnerstraat (Rue Zinner), B-1000 Brussels mailing address: same as above telephone: [32] (2) 508-2222 FAX: [32] (2) 512-5720 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Joris M. VOS chancery: 4200 Linnean Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 244-5300 FAX: [1] (202) 362-3430 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York consulate(s): Boston |
chief of mission: Ambassador John BRUTON
chancery: 2300 M Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 862-9500 FAX: [1] (202) 429-1766 |
| Disputes - international | none | - |
| Economic aid - donor | ODA, $3.5 billion (2000 est.) | $NA |
| Economy - overview | The Netherlands is a prosperous and open economy depending heavily on foreign trade. The economy is noted for stable industrial relations, moderate inflation, a sizable current account surplus, and an important role as a European transportation hub. Industrial activity is predominantly in food processing, chemicals, petroleum refining, and electrical machinery. A highly mechanized agricultural sector employs no more than 4% of the labor force but provides large surpluses for the food-processing industry and for exports. The Dutch rank third worldwide in value of agricultural exports, behind the US and France. The Dutch economy has expanded by 3% or more in each of the last four years and real GDP growth is likely to be about 3.6% in 2001. The government in 2001 will implement its most comprehensive tax reform since World War II, designed to reduce high income tax levels and redirect the fiscal burden onto consumption. The Dutch were among the first 11 EU countries establishing the euro currency zone on 1 January 1999. | Domestically, the European Union attempts to lower trade barriers, adopt a common currency, and move toward convergence of living standards. Internationally, the EU aims to bolster Europe's trade position and its political and economic power. Because of the great differences in per capita income (from $10,000 to $28,000) and historic national animosities, the European Community faces difficulties in devising and enforcing common policies. For example, both Germany and France since 2003 have flouted the member states' treaty obligation to prevent their national budgets from running more than a 3% deficit. In 2004, the EU admitted 10 central and eastern European countries that are, in general, less advanced technologically and economically than the existing 15. The Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), an associated organization, introduced the euro as the common currency on 1 January 1999. The UK, Sweden, and Denmark do not now participate; the 10 new countries may choose to join the EMU when they meet its fiscal and monetary criteria and the member states so agree. |
| Electricity - consumption | 97.76 billion kWh (1999) | 2.635 trillion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - exports | 3.97 billion kWh (1999) | 234.8 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - imports | 22.407 billion kWh (1999) | 245.7 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production | 85.294 billion kWh (1999) | 2.822 trillion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
90.25% hydro: 0.11% nuclear: 4.27% other: 5.37% (1999) |
- |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Prins Alexanderpolder -7 m highest point: Vaalserberg 321 m |
lowest point: Lammefjord, Denmark -7 m; Zuidplaspolder, Netherlands -7 m
highest point: Mount Blanc, France/Italy 4,807 m |
| Environment - current issues | water pollution in the form of heavy metals, organic compounds, and nutrients such as nitrates and phosphates; air pollution from vehicles and refining activities; acid rain | NA |
| Environment - international agreements | party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Hazardous Wastes, Biodiversity, Air Pollution, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Tropical Timber 82, Tropical Timber 94, Ozone Layer Protection, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Law of the Sea, Desertification, Climate Change; has signed, but not yet ratified: Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants |
| Ethnic groups | Dutch 91%, Moroccans, Turks, and other 9% (1999 est.) | - |
| Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 1.0659 (January 2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); Netherlands guilders per US dollar - 1.9837 (1998), 1.9513 (1997), 1.6859 (1996) | euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001) |
| Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen BEATRIX (since 30 April 1980); Heir Apparent WILLEM-ALEXANDER (born 27 April 1967), son of the monarch head of government: Prime Minister Wim KOK (since 22 August 1994) and Vice Prime Ministers Annemarie JORRITSMA (since 3 August 1998) and Els BORST-EILERS (since 3 August 1998) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; following Second Chamber elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch; vice prime ministers appointed by the monarch note: government coalition - PvdA, VVD, and D'66; there is also a Council of State composed of the monarch, heir apparent, and councilors consulted by the executive on legislative and administrative policy |
chief of union: President of the European Commission Jose DURAO BARROSO (since 22 November 2004)
cabinet: European Commission (composed of 25 members, one from each member country; each commissioner responsible for one or more policy areas) elections: the president of the European Commission is designated by member governments; the president-designate then chooses the other Commission members; the European Parliament confirms the entire Commission for a five-year term; election last held 18 November 2004 (next to be held 2009) election results: European Parliament approved the European Commission by an approval vote of 449-149 with 82 abstentions note: the European Council brings together heads of state and government and the president of the European Commission and meets at least twice a year; its aim is to provide the impetus for the major political issues relating to European integration and to issue general policy guidelines |
| Exports | $210.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | 6.429 million bbl/day (2001) |
| Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels; foodstuffs | machinery, motor vehicles, aircraft, plastics, pharmaceuticals and other chemicals, fuels, iron and steel, nonferrous metals, wood pulp and paper products, textiles, meat, dairy products, fish, alcoholic beverages. |
| Exports - partners | EU 78% (Germany 26%, Belgium-Luxembourg 12%, France 12%, UK 11%, Italy 6%), Central and Eastern Europe, US (2000) | NA |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | NA |
| Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue; similar to the flag of Luxembourg, which uses a lighter blue and is longer | on a blue field, 12 five-pointed gold stars arranged in a circle, representing the union of the peoples of Europe; the number of stars is fixed |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $388.4 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $11.05 trillion (2004 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
3.3% industry: 26.3% services: 70.4% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 2.3%
industry: 28.3% services: 69.4% (2004 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $24,400 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $25,700 (2004 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2000 est.) | 1% (2004 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 52 30 N, 5 45 E | - |
| Geography - note | located at mouths of three major European rivers (Rhine, Maas or Meuse, and Schelde) | - |
| Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | 94 (2003) |
| Highways | total:
125,575 km paved: 113,018 km (including 2,235 km of expressways) unpaved: 12,557 km (1998) |
total: 4,634,810 km (including 56,704 km of expressways)
paved: 4,161,318 km unpaved: 473,492 km (1999-2000) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.8% highest 10%: 25.1% (1994) |
lowest 10%: 2.9%
highest 10%: 25.2% (1995 est.) |
| Illicit drugs | major European producer of illicit amphetamine and other synthetic drugs; important gateway for cocaine, heroin, and hashish entering Europe; major source of US-bound ecstasy | - |
| Imports | $201.2 billion (c.i.f., 2000 est.) | 16.97 million bbl/day (2001) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, fuels; foodstuffs, clothing | machinery, vehicles, aircraft, plastics, crude oil, chemicals, textiles, metals, foodstuffs, clothing |
| Imports - partners | EU 56% (Germany 18%, Belgium-Luxembourg 10%, UK 5%, France 6%), US 9%, Central and Eastern Europe (2000) | NA |
| Independence | 1579 (from Spain) | 7 February 1992 (Maastricht Treaty signed establishing the EU); 1 November 1993 (Maastricht Treaty entered into force) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 3.2% (2000) | 0.8% (2004 est.) |
| Industries | agroindustries, metal and engineering products, electrical machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum, construction, microelectronics, fishing | among the world's largest and most technologically advanced industries, including iron and steel, aluminum, petroleum, coal, cement, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, aircraft, railroad equipment, shipbuilding, electrical power equipment, machine tools, electronics, telecommunications equipment, fishing, food processing, furniture, paper, textiles and clothing, tourism |
| Infant mortality rate | 4.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 5.3 deaths/1,000 live births (July 2004 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.6% (2000 est.) | 2% (2004 est.) |
| International organization participation | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, Benelux, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, EMU, ESA, ESCAP, EU, FAO, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC | European Union: ASEAN (dialogue member), ARF (dialogue member), EBRD, IDA, OAS (observer), OECD, WTO
European Commission: Australian Group, CBSS, CERN, FAO, G-10, NSG (observer), UN (observer) European Central Bank: BIS European Investment Bank: WADB (nonregional member) |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 52 (2000) | - |
| Irrigated land | 6,000 sq km (1996 est.) | 115,807 sq km |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Hoge Raad (justices are nominated for life by the monarch) | European Court of Justice (ensures that the treaties are interpreted and applied correctly) - 25 Justices (one from each member state) appointed for a six-year term; note - for the sake of efficiency, the court can sit with 11 justices known as the "Grand Chamber"; Court of First Instance - 25 justices appointed for a six-year term |
| Labor force | 7.2 million (2000) | 211.1 million |
| Labor force - by occupation | services 73%, industry 23%, agriculture 4% (1998 est.) | agriculture 4.3%, industry 29%, services 66.8% (2000) |
| Land boundaries | total:
1,027 km border countries: Belgium 450 km, Germany 577 km |
total: 11,214.8 km
border countries: Albania 282 km, Andorra 120.3 km, Belarus 1,050 km, Bulgaria 494 km, Croatia 999 km, Holy See 3.2 km, Liechtenstein 34.9 km, Macedonia 246 km, Monaco 4.4 km, Norway 2,348 km, Romania 443 km, Russia 2,257 km, San Marino 39 km, Serbia and Montenegro 151 km, Switzerland 1,811 km, Turkey 206 km, Ukraine 726 km note: data for European Continent only |
| Land use | arable land:
25% permanent crops: 3% permanent pastures: 25% forests and woodland: 8% other: 39% (1996 est.) |
arable land: NA
permanent crops: NA |
| Languages | Dutch | Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish; note - only official languages are listed |
| Legal system | civil law system incorporating French penal theory; constitution does not permit judicial review of acts of the States General; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | - |
| Legislative branch | bicameral States General or Staten Generaal consists of the First Chamber or Eerste Kamer (75 seats; members indirectly elected by the country's 12 provincial councils for four-year terms) and the Second Chamber or Tweede Kamer (150 seats; members directly elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: First Chamber - last held 25 May 1999 (next to be held NA May 2003); Second Chamber - last held 6 May 1998 (next to be held May 2002) election results: First Chamber - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CDA 20, VVD 19, PvdA 15, D'66 4, other 17; Second Chamber - percent of vote by party - PvdA 30.0%, VVD 25.3%, CDA 19.3%, D'66 9.3%, other 16.1%; seats by party - PvdA 45, VVD 38, CDA 29, D'66 14, other 24 |
Council of the European Union (25 member-state ministers having 321 votes; the number of votes is roughly proportional to member-states' population); note - the Council is the main decision-making body of the EU; European Parliament (732 seats; seats allocated among member states by proportion to population); members elected by direct universal suffrage for a five-year term
elections: last held 10-13 June 2004 (next to be held June 2009) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats by party - EPP-ED 268, PES 202, ALDE 88, Greens/EFA 42, EUL/NGL 41, IND/DEM 36, UEN 27, independents 28 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population:
78.43 years male: 75.55 years female: 81.44 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 78.1 years
male: 74.9 years female: 81.4 years (July 2004 est.) |
| Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% (2000 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
- |
| Location | Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between Belgium and Germany | Europe between Eastern Europe and the North Atlantic Ocean |
| Map references | Europe | Europe |
| Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
NA |
| Merchant marine | total:
596 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,321,500 GRT/4,877,632 DWT ships by type: bulk 3, cargo 371, chemical tanker 43, container 59, liquefied gas 21, livestock carrier 1, multi-functional large-load carrier 9, passenger 8, petroleum tanker 26, refrigerated cargo 29, roll on/roll off 18, short-sea passenger 3, specialized tanker 5 (2000 est.) |
- |
| Military - note | - | In October 2004, the European Union heads of government signed a "constitutional treaty" that offers possibilities - with some limits - for increased defense and security cooperation. If ratified, in a process that may take some two years, this treaty will in effect make operational the European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) approved in the 2000 Nice Treaty. Despite limits of cooperation for some EU members, development of a European military planning unit is likely to continue. So is creation of a rapid-reaction military force and a humanitarian aid system, which the planning unit will support. France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Italy continue to press for wider coordination. The five-nation Eurocorps - created in 1992 by France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, and Luxembourg - has already deployed troops and police on peacekeeping missions to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo and assumed command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan in August 2004. Eurocorps directly commands the 5,000-man Franco-German Brigade and the Multinational Command Support Brigade and will command EUFOR, which will take over from SFOR in Bosnia in December 2004. Other troop contributions are under national command - committments to provide 67,100 troops were made at the Helsinki EU session in 2000. Some 56,000 EU troops were actually deployed in 2003. In August 2004, the new European Defense Agency, tasked with promoting cooperative European defense capabilities, began operations. As of November 2004, Germany, the United Kingdom, and France had proposed creation of three 1,500-man rapid-reaction "battle groups." |
| Military branches | Royal Netherlands Army, Royal Netherlands Navy (includes Naval Air Service and Marine Corps), Royal Netherlands Air Force, Royal Constabulary | - |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $6.5 billion (FY00/01 est.) | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.5% (FY00/01 est.) | - |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
4,083,349 (2001 est.) |
- |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
3,555,501 (2001 est.) |
- |
| Military manpower - military age | 20 years of age | - |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
96,082 (2001 est.) |
- |
| National holiday | Queen's Day (Birthday of Queen-Mother JULIANA in 1909 and accession to the throne of her oldest daughter BEATRIX in 1980), 30 April | Europe Day 9 May (1950); note - a Union-wide holiday, the day that Robert Schuman proposed the creation of an organized Europe |
| Nationality | noun:
Dutchman(men), Dutchwoman(women) adjective: Dutch |
- |
| Natural hazards | flooding | flooding along coasts; avalanches in mountainous area; earthquakes in the south; volcanic eruptions in Italy; periodic droughts in Spain; ice floes in the Baltic |
| Natural resources | natural gas, petroleum, arable land | iron ore, arable land, natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, lead, zinc, hydropower, uranium, potash, fish |
| Net migration rate | 2.34 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 1.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (July 2004 est.) |
| Pipelines | crude oil 418 km; petroleum products 965 km; natural gas 10,230 km | - |
| Political parties and leaders | Christian Democratic Appeal or CDA [Jaap de Hoop SCHEFFER]; Democrats '66 or D'66 [Tom DE GRAAF]; Labor Party or PvdA [Wim KOK]; People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (Liberal) or VVD [Hans F. DIJKSTAL]; a host of minor parties | Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe or ALDE [Graham R. WATSON]; Independence/Democracy Group or IND/DEM [Jens-Peter BONDE and Nigel FARAGE]; Group of Greens/European Free Alliance or Greens/EFA [Monica FRASSONI and Daniel Marc COHN-BENDIT]; Socialist Group in the European Parliament or PES [Martin SCHULZ]; Confederal Group of the European United Left-Nordic Green Left or EUL/NGL [Francis WURTZ]; European People's Party-European Democrats or EPP-ED [Hans-Gert POETTERING]; Union for Europe of the Nations Group or UEN [Brian CROWLEY and Cristiana MUSCARDINI] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | Federation of Netherlands Trade Union Movement (comprising Socialist and Catholic trade unions) and a Protestant trade union; Federation of Catholic and Protestant Employers Associations; Interchurch Peace Council or IKV; large multinational firms; the nondenominational Federation of Netherlands Enterprises | - |
| Population | 15,981,472 (July 2001 est.) | 456,285,839 (July 2004 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
| Population growth rate | 0.55% (2001 est.) | 0.17% (July 2004 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Amsterdam, Delfzijl, Dordrecht, Eemshaven, Groningen, Haarlem, Ijmuiden, Maastricht, Rotterdam, Terneuzen, Utrecht, Vlissingen | Antwerp (Belgium), Barcelona (Spain), Bremen (Germany), Copenhagen (Denmark), Gdansk (Poland), Hamburg (Germany), Helsinki (Finland), Las Palmas (Canary Islands, Spain), Le Havre (France), Lisbon (Portugal), London (UK), Marseille (France), Naples (Italy), Peiraiefs or Piraeus (Greece), Riga (Latvia), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Stockholm (Sweden), Talinn (Estonia) |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 4, FM 58, shortwave 3 (1998) | AM 866, FM 13,396, shortwave 73 (1998); note - sum of individual country radio broadcast stations; there is also a European-wide station (Euroradio) |
| Radios | 15.3 million (1996) | - |
| Railways | total:
2,739 km standard gauge: 2,739 km 1.435-m gauge; (1,991 km electrified) (1998) |
total: 222,293 km
broad gauge: 28,438 km standard gauge: 186,405 km narrow gauge: 7,427 km other: 23 km (2003) |
| Religions | Roman Catholic 31%, Protestant 21%, Muslim 4.4%, other 3.6%, unaffiliated 40% (1998) | Roman Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Muslim, Jewish |
| Sex ratio | at birth:
1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: NA
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and older: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (July 2004 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment:
highly developed and well maintained domestic: the existing system of multi-conductor cables is gradually being replaced by fiber-optic cables; the density of cellular telephone traffic is rapidly increasing and further modernization of the system is expected in the year 2001, with the introduction of the third generation of the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) international: 5 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Eutelsat, and 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions) (1996) |
note - see individual country entries of member states |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 9,132,400 (1999) | 238,763,162 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 4,081,891 (April 1999) | 314,644,700 (2002) |
| Television broadcast stations | 21 (plus 26 repeaters) (1995) | 2,791 (1995); note - does not include repeaters; sum of indiviual country television broadcast stations; there is also a European-wide station (Eurovision) |
| Terrain | mostly coastal lowland and reclaimed land (polders); some hills in southeast | fairly flat along the Baltic and Atlantic coast; mountainous in the central and southern areas |
| Total fertility rate | 1.65 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.48 children born/woman (July 2004 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 2.6% (2000 est.) | 9.1% (2004 est.) |
| Waterways | 5,046 km
note: 47% of total route length is usable by craft of 1,000 metric ton capacity or larger |
53,512 km |
Sitemap:
Compare countries listing (map site) |
Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.