Netherlands

"Nederland" redirects here. For other uses, see Nederland (disambiguation).

This article is about the constituent country. For the sovereign state, see Kingdom of the Netherlands. For the European part of the constituent country, see European Netherlands. For other uses, see Netherlands (disambiguation).

Netherlands Nederland
Constituent country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Flag Coat of arms
Motto:  Je maintiendrai (French) ("I will maintain")
Anthem: Wilhelmus (Dutch) ("William")
Location of Netherlands (dark green) – in Europe (light green & dark grey) – in the European Union (light green)
Sovereign state	Kingdom of the Netherlands
Before independence	Spanish Netherlands
Act of Abjuration	26 July 1581
Peace of Münster	30 January 1648
United Kingdom of the Netherlands	16 March 1815
Liberation Day	5 May 1945
Kingdom Charter	15 December 1954
Caribbean reorganisation	10 October 2010
Capital and largest city	Amsterdam 52°22′N 4°53′E
Government seat	The Hague
Official languages	Dutch
Recognised regional languages	West Frisian Papiamento English
Minority languages	Dutch Low Saxon Dutch Sign Language Limburgish Sinte Romani Yiddish
Ethnic groups (2024)	72.0% Dutch 9.2% other European 2.5% Turkish 2.3% Moroccan 2.0% Indonesian 2.0% Surinamese 1.1% Dutch Caribbean 8.9% other
Religion (2025)	58% no religion 28% Christianity 16% Catholicism 12% Protestantism 6% Islam 7% other
Demonym(s)	Dutch
Government	Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
• Monarch	Willem-Alexander
• Prime Minister	Rob Jetten
Legislature	States General
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	House of Representatives
European Parliament
• Netherlands constituency	31 seats
Area
• Total	41,865 km2 (16,164 sq mi) (134th)
• Water (%)	18.41
Highest elevation (Mount Scenery)	870 m (2,850 ft)
Population
• 2026 census	18,130,208 (70th)
• Density	541/km2 (1,401.2/sq mi) (26th)
GDP (PPP)	2027 estimate
• Total	$1.650 trillion (29th)
• Per capita	$90,552 (10th)
GDP (nominal)	2027 estimate
• Total	$1.500 trillion (18th)
• Per capita	$82,327 (10th)
Gini (2025)	25.9 low
HDI (2023)	0.955 very high · 8th
Currency	Euro (€) (EUR) United States dollar (US$) (USD)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET) UTC−04:00 (AST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST) UTC−04:00 (AST)
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy
Calling code	+31, +599
Internet TLD	.nl, .bq

The Netherlands, also informally known as Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Netherlands consists of twelve provinces and three overseas special municipalities. European Netherlands has land borders with Germany to the east and with Belgium to the south, and a coastline to the north and west. It shares maritime borders with the United Kingdom, Germany, and Belgium in the North Sea. The official language is Dutch, with West Frisian as a secondary official language in the province of Friesland. Dutch, English, and Papiamento are official in the Caribbean territories. People from the Netherlands are referred to as Dutch.

Netherlands literally means "lower countries", in reference to its low elevation and flat topography, 26% of which is below sea level. Most of the areas below sea level, known as polders, are the result of land reclamation that began in the 14th century. In the Republican period, the Dutch Republic experienced major political, economic, and cultural development; this period is commonly known as the Dutch Golden Age. During this time, its trading companies, the Dutch East India Company and the Dutch West India Company, established multiple colonies and trading posts. While neutral in the First World War, the Netherlands was invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany in 1940 during the Second World War, which lasted until the end of the war in 1945.

With a population of over 18 million people, all living within a total area of 41,850 km² (16,160 sq mi)—of which the land area is 33,500 km² (12,900 sq mi)—the Netherlands is the 26th most densely populated country, with a density of 541 people per square kilometre (1,400 people/sq mi). Nevertheless, it is the world's second largest exporter of food and agricultural products by value, owing to its fertile soil, mild climate, intensive agriculture, and inventiveness. The four largest cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht. Amsterdam is the country's most populous city and the nominal capital, though the primary national political institutions are in The Hague.

The Netherlands has been a parliamentary constitutional monarchy with a unitary structure since 1848. The country has a tradition of pillarisation (separation of citizens into groups by religion and political beliefs) and a long record of social tolerance, having legalised prostitution and euthanasia, along with maintaining a liberal drug policy. The Netherlands allowed women's suffrage in 1919 and was the first country to legalise same-sex marriage in 2001. A developed country, its mixed-market advanced economy is the eighteenth-largest in the world, and has the eleventh-highest per capita income globally. The Hague holds the seat of the States General, cabinet, and Supreme Court. The Port of Rotterdam is the busiest in Europe. Schiphol is the busiest airport in the Netherlands, and the fourth busiest in Europe. The Netherlands is a founding member of the European Union, eurozone, G10, NATO, OECD, and World Trade Organization, as well as a part of the Schengen Area and the trilateral Benelux Union. It hosts intergovernmental organisations and international courts, many of which are in The Hague.