Compare Netherlands (2007) - Holy See (Vatican City) (2003)

Compare Netherlands (2007) z Holy See (Vatican City) (2003)

	Netherlands (2007)	Holy See (Vatican City) (2003)

Administrative divisions	12 provinces (provincies, singular - provincie); Drenthe, Flevoland, Friesland (Fryslan), Gelderland, Groningen, Limburg, Noord-Brabant (North Brabant), Noord-Holland (North Holland), Overijssel, Utrecht, Zeeland, Zuid-Holland (South Holland)	none
Age structure	0-14 years: 17.8% (male 1,505,931/female 1,436,532) 15-64 years: 67.8% (male 5,683,877/female 5,557,745) 65 years and over: 14.4% (male 1,015,731/female 1,370,797) (2007 est.)	-
Agriculture - products	grains, potatoes, sugar beets, fruits, vegetables; livestock	-
Airports	27 (2007)	none (2002)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 20 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 2 (2007)	-
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 4 (2007)	-
Area	total: 41,526 sq km land: 33,883 sq km water: 7,643 sq km	total: 0.44 sq km land: 0.44 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly less than twice the size of New Jersey	about 0.7 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Background	The Dutch United Provinces declared their independence from Spain in 1579; during the 17th century, they became a leading seafaring and commercial power, with settlements and colonies around the world. After a 20-year French occupation, a 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 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 EEC (now the EU), and participated in the introduction of the euro in 1999.	Popes in their secular role ruled portions of the Italian peninsula for more than a thousand years until the mid 19th century, when many of the Papal States were seized by the newly united Kingdom of Italy. In 1870, the pope's holdings were further circumscribed when Rome itself was annexed. Disputes between a series of "prisoner" popes and Italy were resolved in 1929 by three Lateran Treaties, which established the independent state of Vatican City and granted Roman Catholicism special status in Italy. In 1984, a concordat between the Holy See and Italy modified certain of the earlier treaty provisions, including the primacy of Roman Catholicism as the Italian state religion. Present concerns of the Holy See include the failing health of Pope John Paul II, interreligious dialogue and reconciliation, and the application of church doctrine in an era of rapid change and globalization. About 1 billion people worldwide profess the Catholic faith.
Birth rate	10.7 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	-
Budget	revenues: $317.1 billion expenditures: $313.1 billion (2006 est.)	revenues: $173.5 million expenditures: $176.6 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001)
Capital	name: Amsterdam geographic coordinates: 52 23 N, 4 54 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: The Hague (seat of government)	Vatican City
Climate	temperate; marine; cool summers and mild winters	temperate; mild, rainy winters (September to mid-May) with hot, dry summers (May to September)
Coastline	451 km	0 km (landlocked)
Constitution	adopted 1815; amended many times, most recently in 2002	Apostolic Constitution of 1967 (effective 1 March 1968)
Country name	conventional long form: Kingdom of the Netherlands conventional short form: Netherlands local long form: Koninkrijk der Nederlanden local short form: Nederland	conventional long form: The Holy See (State of the Vatican City) conventional short form: Holy See (Vatican City) local long form: Santa Sede (Stato della Citta del Vaticano) local short form: Santa Sede (Citta del Vaticano)
Currency	-	euro (EUR)
Death rate	8.69 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	-
Debt - external	$1.899 trillion (30 June 2006)	-
Dependent areas	Aruba, Netherlands Antilles	-
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Roland E. ARNALL embassy: Lange Voorhout 102, 2514 EJ, The Hague mailing address: PSC 71, Box 1000, APO AE 09715 telephone: [31] (70) 310-2209 FAX: [31] (70) 361-4688 consulate(s) general: Amsterdam	chief of mission: Ambassador R. James "Jim" NICHOLSON embassy: Villa Domiziana, Via delle Terme Deciane 26, 00153 Rome mailing address: PSC 59, Box 66, APO AE 09624 telephone: [39] (06) 4674-3428 FAX: [39] (06) 5758346
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Christiaan Mark Johan KROENER chancery: 4200 Linnean Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 244-5300 FAX: [1] (202) 362-3430 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York consulate(s): Boston	chief of mission: Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Gabriel MONTALVO chancery: 3339 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 333-7121 FAX: [1] (202) 337-4036
Disputes - international	none	none
Economic aid - donor	ODA, $4 billion (2003 est.)	-
Economic aid - recipient	-	none
Economy - overview	The Netherlands has a prosperous and open economy, which depends heavily on foreign trade. The economy is noted for stable industrial relations, moderate unemployment and 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 2% of the labor force but provides large surpluses for the food-processing industry and for exports. The Netherlands, along with 11 of its EU partners, began circulating the euro currency on 1 January 2002. The country continues to be one of the leading European nations for attracting foreign direct investment. Economic growth slowed considerably in 2001-06, as part of the global economic slowdown, but for the four years before that, annual growth averaged nearly 4%, well above the EU average.	This unique, noncommercial economy is supported financially by an annual tax on Roman Catholic dioceses throughout the world, as well as by special collections (known as Peter's Pence); the sale of postage stamps, coins, medals, and tourist mementos; fees for admission to museums; and the sale of publications. Investments and real estate income also account for a sizable portion of revenue. The incomes and living standards of lay workers are comparable to those of counterparts who work in the city of Rome.
Electricity - consumption	108.2 billion kWh (2005)	NA kWh
Electricity - exports	5.398 billion kWh (2005)	0 kWh
Electricity - imports	23.69 billion kWh (2005)	NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by Italy
Electricity - production	94.34 billion kWh (2005)	NA kWh
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Zuidplaspolder -7 m highest point: Vaalserberg 322 m	lowest point: unnamed location 19 m highest point: unnamed location 75 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-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling	party to: none of the selected agreements signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution, Environmental Modification
Ethnic groups	Dutch 83%, other 17% (of which 9% are non-Western origin mainly Turks, Moroccans, Antilleans, Surinamese, and Indonesians) (1999 est.)	Italians, Swiss, other
Exchange rates	euros per US dollar - 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002)	euros per US dollar - 1.06 1.1324 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999)
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 Jan Peter BALKENENDE (since 22 July 2002); Deputy Prime Ministers Wouter BOS (since 22 February 2007) and Andre ROUVOET (since 22 February 2007) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarchy 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; deputy prime ministers appointed by the monarch note: there is also a Council of State composed of the monarch, heir apparent, and councilors that provides consultations to the cabinet on legislative and administrative policy	chief of state: Pope JOHN PAUL II (since 16 October 1978) head of government: Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo SODANO (since 2 December 1990) cabinet: Pontifical Commission appointed by the pope elections: pope elected for life by the College of Cardinals; election last held 16 October 1978 (next to be held after the death of the current pope); secretary of state appointed by the pope election results: Karol WOJTYLA elected pope
Exports	1.546 million bbl/day (2004)	0 kWh
Exports - commodities	machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels; foodstuffs	-
Exports - partners	Germany 25.5%, Belgium 14%, UK 8.9%, France 8.6%, Italy 5.1%, US 4.5% (2006)	-
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
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; one of the oldest flags in constant use, originating with WILLIAM I, Prince of Orange, in the latter half of the 16th century	two vertical bands of yellow (hoist side) and white with the crossed keys of Saint Peter and the papal miter centered in the white band
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 2.2% industry: 24.1% services: 73.7% (2006 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	3% (2006 est.)	-
Geographic coordinates	52 30 N, 5 45 E	41 54 N, 12 27 E
Geography - note	located at mouths of three major European rivers (Rhine, Maas or Meuse, and Schelde)	urban; landlocked; enclave in Rome, Italy; world's smallest state; outside the Vatican City, 13 buildings in Rome and Castel Gandolfo (the pope's summer residence) enjoy extraterritorial rights
Heliports	1 (2007)	1 (2002)
Highways	-	none; all city streets
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 2.5% highest 10%: 22.9% (1999)	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Illicit drugs	major European producer of synthetic drugs, including ecstasy, and cannabis cultivator; important gateway for cocaine, heroin, and hashish entering Europe; major source of US-bound ecstasy; large financial sector vulnerable to money laundering; significant consumer of ecstasy	-
Imports	2.465 million bbl/day (2004)	NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by Italy
Imports - commodities	machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs, clothing	-
Imports - partners	Germany 17.1%, Belgium 9.4%, China 9.4%, US 7.8%, UK 5.9%, Russia 5.1%, France 4.5% (2006)	-
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)	11 February 1929 (from Italy) note: on 11 February 1929, three treaties were signed with Italy which, among other things, recognized the full sovereignty of the Vatican and established its territorial extent; however, the origin of the Papal States, which over the years have varied considerably in extent, may be traced back to the 8th century
Industrial production growth rate	2.3% (2006 est.)	-
Industries	agroindustries, metal and engineering products, electrical machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum, construction, microelectronics, fishing	printing; production of coins, medals, postage stamps, a small amount of mosaics and staff uniforms; worldwide banking and financial activities
Infant mortality rate	total: 4.88 deaths/1,000 live births male: 5.43 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.31 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)	-
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	1.1% (2006 est.)	-
International organization participation	AfDB, Arctic Council (observer), AsDB, Australia Group, Benelux, BIS, CBSS (observer), CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, Schengen Convention, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNRWA, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC	CE (observer), IAEA, ICFTU, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM (guest), OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, UN (observer), UNCTAD, UNHCR, UPU, WHO (observer), WIPO, WToO (observer), WTrO (observer)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	-	NA
Irrigated land	5,650 sq km (2003)	0 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court or Hoge Raad (justices are nominated for life by the monarch)	there are three tribunals responsible for civil and criminal matters within Vatican City; three other tribunals rule on issues pertaining to the Holy See note: judicial duties were established by the Motu Proprio of Pius XII on 1 May 1946
Labor force	7.49 million (2006 est.)	NA
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 2% industry: 19% services: 79% (2004 est.)	essentially services with a small amount of industry; note - dignitaries, priests, nuns, guards, and 3,000 lay workers live outside the Vatican
Land boundaries	total: 1,027 km border countries: Belgium 450 km, Germany 577 km	total: 3.2 km border countries: Italy 3.2 km
Land use	arable land: 21.96% permanent crops: 0.77% other: 77.27% (2005)	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (urban area) (1998 est.)
Languages	Dutch (official), Frisian (official)	Italian, Latin, French, various other languages
Legal system	based on 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	based on Code of Canon Law and revisions to it
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 to serve 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 2003 (next to be held in May 2007); Second Chamber - last held 22 November 2006 (next to be held by early 2011) election results: First Chamber - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CDA 23, PvdA 19, VVD 15, Green Left Party 5, Socialist Party 4, D66 3, other 6; Second Chamber - percent of vote by party - CDA 26.5%, PvdA 21.2%, Socialist Party 16.6%, VVD 14.6%, Party for Freedom 5.9%, Green Party 4.6%, Christian Union 4.0%, other 6.6%; seats by party - CDA 41, PvdA 33, Socialist Party 25, VVD 22, Party for Freedom 9, Green Party 7, Christian Union 6, other 7	unicameral Pontifical Commission
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 79.11 years male: 76.52 years female: 81.82 years (2007 est.)	-
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.)	definition: NA total population: 100% male: NA% female: NA%
Location	Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between Belgium and Germany	Southern Europe, an enclave of Rome (Italy)
Map references	Europe	Europe
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm	none (landlocked)
Merchant marine	total: 566 ships (1000 GRT or over) 5,210,664 GRT/5,217,874 DWT by type: bulk carrier 9, cargo 346, carrier 19, chemical tanker 39, container 63, liquefied gas 13, passenger 14, passenger/cargo 16, petroleum tanker 12, refrigerated cargo 11, roll on/roll off 20, specialized tanker 4 foreign-owned: 172 (Belgium 2, Denmark 19, Finland 14, France 1, Germany 70, Ireland 9, South Korea 1, Norway 9, Sweden 27, UK 7, US 13) registered in other countries: 220 (Antigua and Barbuda 19, Australia 2, Austria 2, Bahamas 24, Canada 1, Cyprus 23, Gibraltar 11, Isle of Man 1, Liberia 28, Luxembourg 1, Malta 3, Marshall Islands 5, Netherlands Antilles 53, Norway 1, Panama 14, Paraguay 1, Philippines 22, Portugal 1, St Vincent and The Grenadines 5, UK 2, US 1, unknown 1) (2007)	-
Military - note	-	defense is the responsibility of Italy; Swiss Papal Guards are posted at entrances to the Vatican City to provide security and protect the Pope
Military branches	Royal Netherlands Army, Royal Netherlands Navy (includes Naval Air Service and Marine Corps), Royal Netherlands Air Force (Koninklijke Luchtmacht, KLu), Royal Military Police, Defense Interservice Command (DICO) (2006)	Swiss Guards Corps (Corpo della Guardia Svizzera)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.6% (2005 est.)	-
National holiday	Queen's Day (Birthday of Queen-Mother JULIANA and accession to the throne of her oldest daughter BEATRIX), 30 April (1909 and 1980)	Coronation Day of Pope JOHN PAUL II, 22 October (1978)
Nationality	noun: Dutchman(men), Dutchwoman(women) adjective: Dutch	noun: none adjective: none
Natural hazards	flooding	NA
Natural resources	natural gas, petroleum, peat, limestone, salt, sand and gravel, arable land	none
Net migration rate	2.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	-
Pipelines	condensate 81 km; gas 7,229 km; oil 578 km; refined products 716 km (2006)	-
Political parties and leaders	Christian Democratic Appeal or CDA [Jan Peter BALKENENDE]; Christian Union Party [Andre ROUVOET]; Democrats 66 or D66 [Alexander PECHTOLD]; Green Left Party [Femke HALSEMA]; Labor Party or PvdA [Wouter BOS]; List Pim Fortuyn [Olaf STUGER]; Party for Freedom or PVV [Geert WILDERS]; Party for the Animals or PvdD [Marianne THIEME]; People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (Liberal) or VVD [Mark RUTTE]; Reformed Political Party of SGP [Bas VAN DER VLIES]; Socialist Party [Jan MARIJNISSEN]; plus a few minor parties	none
Political pressure groups and leaders	Netherlands Trade Union Federation or FNV (consisting of a merger of Socialist and Catholic trade unions); Christian Trade Union Federation or CNV; Trade Union Federation of Middle and High Personnel or MHP; Federation of Catholic and Protestant Employers Associations; Interchurch Peace Council or IKV; large multinational firms; the nondenominational Federation of Netherlands Enterprises	none (exclusive of influence exercised by church officers)
Population	16,570,613 (July 2007 est.)	911 (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line	10.5% (1999)	NA%
Population growth rate	0.464% (2007 est.)	0.01% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	none
Radio broadcast stations	AM 4, FM 246, shortwave 3 (2004)	AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 2 (1998)
Railways	total: 2,811 km standard gauge: 2,811 km 1.435-m gauge (2,064 km electrified) (2006)	total: 0.86 km standard gauge: 0.86 km 1.435-m gauge note: a spur of the Italian Railways system, serving Rome's Saint Peter's station (2001 est.)
Religions	Roman Catholic 31%, Dutch Reformed 13%, Calvinist 7%, Muslim 5.5%, other 2.5%, none 41% (2002)	Roman Catholic
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.048 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.023 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.741 male(s)/female total population: 0.981 male(s)/female (2007 est.)	-
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	limited to cardinals less than 80 years old
Telephone system	general assessment: highly developed and well maintained domestic: extensive fixed-line fiber-optic network; cellular telephone system is one of the largest in Europe with 5 major network operators utilizing the third generation of the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) international: country code - 31; 9 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Eutelsat, and 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions) (2004)	general assessment: automatic exchange domestic: tied into Italian system international: uses Italian system
Telephones - main lines in use	7.6 million (2005)	NA
Telephones - mobile cellular	15.834 million (2005)	NA
Television broadcast stations	21 (plus 26 repeaters) (1995)	1 (1996)
Terrain	mostly coastal lowland and reclaimed land (polders); some hills in southeast	low hill
Total fertility rate	1.66 children born/woman (2007 est.)	-
Unemployment rate	5.5% (2006 est.)	-
Waterways	6,183 km (navigable for ships of 50 tons) (2005)	none

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