Netherlands - Economic Indicators

Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between Belgium and Germany

52 30 N, 5 45 E

Europe

slightly less than twice the size of New Jersey

451 km

temperate; marine; cool summers and mild winters

mostly coastal lowland and reclaimed land (polders); some hills in southeast

highest point: Mount Scenery 862 m (on the island of Saba in the Caribbean, now considered an integral part of the Netherlands following the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles)

natural gas, petroleum, peat, limestone, salt, sand and gravel, arable land

arable land 29.8%; permanent crops 1.1%; permanent pasture 24.2%

4,860 sq km (2012)

an area known as the Randstad, anchored by the cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, the Hague, and Utrecht, is the most densely populated region; the north tends to be less dense, though sizeable communities can be found throughout the entire country

flooding

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

located at mouths of three major European rivers (Rhine, Maas or Meuse, and Schelde); about a quarter of the country lies below sea level and only about half of the land exceeds one meter above sea level

17,084,719 (July 2017 est.)

Dutch 77.4%, EU 6.2%, Turkish 2.3%, Moroccan 2.3%, Indonesian 2.1%, Surinamese 2%, other 7.7% (2017 est.)

Dutch (official)

Roman Catholic 23.7%, Protestant 15.5% (includes Dutch Reformed 6.5%, Protestant Church of The Netherlands 5.7%, Calvinist 3.3%), Islam 4.9%, other 5.7% (includes Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish), none 50.1% (2015 est.)

0.39% (2017 est.)

10.9 births/1,000 population (2017 est.)

8.9 deaths/1,000 population (2017 est.)

1.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.)

an area known as the Randstad, anchored by the cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, the Hague, and Utrecht, is the most densely populated region; the north tends to be less dense, though sizeable communities can be found throughout the entire country

AMSTERDAM (capital) 1.091 million; Rotterdam 993,000; The Hague (seat of government) 650,000 (2015)

29.6 years (2015 est.)

7 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)

1.78 children born/woman (2017 est.)

73%

10.9% of GDP (2014)

3.48 physicians/1,000 population (2015)

4.7 beds/1,000 population (2009)

urban: 100% of population

rural: 100% of population

total: 100% of population

urban: 0% of population

rural: 0% of population

total: 0% of population (2015 est.)

urban: 97.5% of population

rural: 99.9% of population

total: 97.7% of population

urban: 2.5% of population

rural: 0.1% of population

total: 2.3% of population (2015 est.)

0.2% (2016 est.)

23,000 (2016 est.)

<200 (2016 est.)

20.4% (2016)

5.5% of GDP (2014)

parliamentary constitutional monarchy; part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

12 provinces (provincies, singular - provincie); Drenthe, Flevoland, Fryslan (Friesland), Gelderland, Groningen, Limburg, Noord-Brabant (North Brabant), Noord-Holland (North Holland), Overijssel, Utrecht, Zeeland (Zealand), Zuid-Holland (South Holland)

Aruba, Curacao, Sint Maarten

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)

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

civil law system based on the French system; constitution does not permit judicial review of acts of the States General

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

Christian Democratic Appeal or CDA [Sybrand VAN HAERSMA BUMA]

Christian Union or CU [Gert-Jan SEGERS]

Democrats 66 or D66 [Alexander PECHTOLD]

Denk [Tunahan KUZU]

50 Plus [Henk KROL]

Forum for Democracy or FvD [Thierry BAUDET]

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 [Lilian MARIJNISSEN]

plus a few minor parties

Christian Trade Union Federation or CNV [Maurice LIMMEN]

Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers or VNO-NCW [Hans DE BOER]

Federation for Small and Medium-sized Businesses or MKB

Netherlands Trade Union Federation or FNV [Han BUSKER]

Social Economic Council or SER [Mariette HAMER]

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, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

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

lion, tulip; national color: orange

The Netherlands, the sixth-largest economy in the European Union, plays an important role as a European transportation hub, with a consistently high trade surplus, stable industrial relations, and low unemployment. Industry focuses on food processing, chemicals, petroleum refining, and electrical machinery. A highly mechanized agricultural sector employs only 2% of the labor force but provides large surpluses for food-processing and underpins the country’s status as the world’s second largest agricultural exporter.

The Netherlands is part of the euro zone, and as such, its monetary policy is controlled by the European Central Bank. The Dutch financial sector is highly concentrated, with four commercial banks possessing over 80% of banking assets, and is four times the size of Dutch GDP.

In 2008, during the financial crisis, the government budget deficit hit 5.3% of GDP. Following a protracted recession from 2009 to 2013, during which unemployment doubled to 7.4% and household consumption contracted for four consecutive years, economic growth began inching forward in 2014. Since 2010, Prime Minister Mark RUTTE’s government has implemented significant austerity measures to improve public finances and has instituted broad structural reforms in key policy areas, including the labor market, the housing sector, the energy market, and the pension system. In 2017, the government budget returned to a surplus of 0.7% of GDP, with economic growth of 3.2%, and GDP per capita finally surpassed pre-crisis levels. The fiscal policy announced by the new government in the 2018-2021 coalition plans for increases in government consumption and public investment, fueling domestic demand and household consumption and investment. The new government’s policy also plans to increase demand for workers in the public and private sector, forecasting a further decline in the unemployment rate, which hit 4.8% in 2017.

$915.2 billion (2017 est.)

$888 billion (2016 est.)

$868.8 billion (2015 est.)

$824.5 billion (2017 est.)

3.1% (2017 est.)

2.2% (2016 est.)

2.3% (2015 est.)

$53,600 (2017 est.)

$52,100 (2016 est.)

$51,300 (2015 est.)

30.6% of GDP (2017 est.)

28.5% of GDP (2016 est.)

28.5% of GDP (2015 est.)

vegetables, ornamentals, dairy, poultry and livestock products; propagation materials

agroindustries, metal and engineering products, electrical machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum, construction, microelectronics, fishing

2.5% (2017 est.)

7.969 million (2017 est.)

5.1% (2017 est.)

5.9% (2016 est.)

8.8% (2015 est.)

30.3 (2015 est.)

25.1 (2013 est.)

41.8% of GDP (2017 est.)

0.6% of GDP (2017 est.)

59% of GDP (2017 est.)

61.8% of GDP (2016 est.)

calendar year

1.3% (2017 est.)

0.1% (2016 est.)

0% (31 December 2016 est.)

0.05% (31 December 2015 est.)

1.5% (31 December 2017 est.)

1.47% (31 December 2016 est.)

$452.7 billion (31 December 2017 est.)

$411.9 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$907.8 billion (31 December 2017 est.)

$827.6 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$1.636 trillion (31 December 2017 est.)

$1.507 trillion (31 December 2016 est.)

$652.7 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$735.1 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$675 billion (31 December 2013 est.)

$82.44 billion (2017 est.)

$65.71 billion (2016 est.)

$526.4 billion (2017 est.)

$495.4 billion (2016 est.)

machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, mineral fuels; food and livestock, manufactured goods

Germany 24.1%, Belgium 10.7%, UK 9.4%, France 8.8%, Italy 4.2% (2016)

$435.4 billion (2017 est.)

$402.9 billion (2016 est.)

machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs, clothing

Germany 15.3%, China 14.1%, Belgium 8.4%, US 7.9%, UK 5.3%, Russia 4.1% (2016)

$36.13 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$38.21 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$4.063 trillion (31 December 2016 est.)

$4.054 trillion (31 December 2015 est.)

$4.888 trillion (31 December 2017 est.)

$4.759 trillion (31 December 2016 est.)

$5.809 trillion (31 December 2017 est.)

$5.623 trillion (31 December 2016 est.)

euros (EUR) per US dollar -

0.89 (2017 est.)

0.9 (2016 est.)

0.92 (2015 est.)

0.89 (2014 est.)

0.76 (2013 est.)

102.5 billion kWh (2015 est.)

106 billion kWh (2015 est.)

19.34 billion kWh (2016 est.)

24.26 billion kWh (2016 est.)

33.86 million kW (2015 est.)

80.4% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

1.4% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

0.1% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

22% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

18,090 bbl/day (2016 est.)

6,335 bbl/day (2016 est.)

1.09 million bbl/day (2016 est.)

113.2 million bbl (1 January 2017 est.)

1.28 million bbl/day (2016 est.)

973,000 bbl/day (2016 est.)

2.331 million bbl/day (2016 est.)

2.1 million bbl/day (2016 est.)

47.46 billion cu m

39.96 billion cu m (2015 est.)

53.65 billion cu m (2016 est.)

39.57 billion cu m (2016 est.)

786.6 billion cu m (1 January 2017 est.)

184.8 million Mt (2015 est.)

more than 90% of households are connected to cable or satellite TV systems that provide a wide range of domestic and foreign channels; public service broadcast system includes multiple broadcasters, 3 with a national reach and the remainder operating in regional and local markets; 2 major nationwide commercial television companies, each with 3 or more stations, and many commercial TV stations in regional and local markets; nearly 600 radio stations with a mix of public and private stations providing national or regional coverage (2008)

.nl

PH (2016)

29 (2013)

1 (2013)

gas 14,000 km; oil and refined products 2,500 km; chemicals 3,000 km (2016)

6,237 km (navigable by ships up to 50 tons) (2012)

1.17% of GDP (2017)

1.17% of GDP (2016)

1.16% of GDP (2015)

1.15% of GDP (2014)

1.16% of GDP (2013)

Royal Netherlands Army, Royal Netherlands Navy (includes Naval Air Service and Marine Corps), Royal Netherlands Air Force (Koninklijke Luchtmacht, KLu), Royal Marechaussee (Military Police) (2015)

17 years of age for an all-volunteer force (2014)

none

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 and a significant consumer of ecstasy; a large financial sector vulnerable to money laundering