1992 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1992 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Climate
temperate; marine; cool summers and mild winters
Coastline
451 km
Comparative area
slightly less than twice the size of New Jersey
Continental shelf
not specific
Disputes
none
Environment
27% of the land area is below sea level and protected from the North Sea by dikes
Land area
33,920 km2
Land boundaries
1,027 km total; Belgium 450 km, Germany 577 km
Land use
arable land 26%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 32%; forest and woodland 9%; other 32%; includes irrigated 16%
Natural resources
natural gas, crude oil, fertile soil
Note
located at mouths of three major European rivers (Rhine, Maas or Meuse, Schelde)
Terrain
mostly coastal lowland and reclaimed land (polders); some hills in southeast
Territorial sea
12 nm
Total area
37,330 km2
People and Society
Birth rate
13 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate
8 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Ethnic divisions
Dutch 96%, Moroccans, Turks, and other 4% (1988)
Infant mortality rate
7 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Labor force
5,300,000; services 50.1%, manufacturing and construction 28.2%, government 15.9%, agriculture 5.8% (1986)
Languages
Dutch
Life expectancy at birth
75 years male, 81 years female (1992)
Literacy
99% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can read and write (1979 est.)
Nationality
noun - Dutchman(men), Dutchwoman(women); adjective - Dutch
Net migration rate
1 migrant/1,000 population (1992)
Organized labor
29% of labor force
Population
15,112,064 (July 1992), growth rate 0.6% (1992)
Religions
Roman Catholic 36%, Protestant 27%, other 6%, unaffiliated 31% (1988)
Total fertility rate
1.6 children born/woman (1992)
Government
Administrative divisions
12 provinces (provincien, singular - provincie); Drenthe, Flevoland, Friesland, Gelderland, Groningen, Limburg, Noord-Brabant, Noord-Holland, Overijssel, Utrecht, Zeeland, Zuid-Holland
Capital
Amsterdam; The Hague is the seat of government
Chief of State
Queen BEATRIX Wilhelmina Armgard (since 30 April 1980); Heir Apparent WILLEM-ALEXANDER, Prince of Orange, son of Queen Beatrix (born 27 April 1967)
Communists
about 6,000
Constitution
17 February 1983
Dependent areas
Aruba, Netherlands Antilles
Diplomatic representation
Ambassador Johan Hendrick MEESMAN; Chancery at 4200 Linnean Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008; telephone (202) 244-5300; there are Dutch Consulates General in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco US: Ambassador C. Howard WILKINS, Jr.; Embassy at Lange Voorhout 102, The Hague (mailing address PSC 71, Box 1000, APO AE 09715); telephone [31] (70) 310-9209; FAX [31] (70) 361-4688; there is a US Consulate General in Amsterdam
Executive branch
monarch, prime minister, vice prime minister, Cabinet, Cabinet of Ministers
First Chamber
last held on 9 June l991 (next to be held 9 June 1995); results - elected by the country's 12 provincial councils; seats - (75 total) percent of seats by party NA
Flag
three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue; similar to the flag of Luxembourg, which uses a lighter blue and is longer
Head of Government
Prime Minister Ruud (Rudolph) F. M. LUBBERS (since 4 November 1982); Vice Prime Minister Wim KOK (since 2 November 1989)
Independence
1579 (from Spain)
Judicial branch
Supreme Court (De Hoge Raad)
Legal system
civil law system incorporating French penal theory; judicial review in the Supreme Court of legislation of lower order rather than Acts of the States General; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Legislative branch
bicameral legislature (Staten Generaal) consists of an upper chamber or First Chamber (Eerste Kamer) and a lower chamber or Second Chamber (Tweede Kamer)
Long-form name
Kingdom of the Netherlands
Member of
AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, Australia Group, Benelux, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, COCOM, CSCE, EBRD, EC, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, EMS, ESA, ESCAP, FAO, G-10, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS, MTCR, NACC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
National holiday
Queen's Day, 30 April (1938)
Other political or pressure groups
large multinational firms; Federation of Netherlands Trade Union Movement (comprising Socialist and Catholic trade unions) and a Protestant trade union; Federation of Catholic and Protestant Employers Associations; the nondenominational Federation of Netherlands Enterprises; and IKV - Interchurch Peace Council
Political parties and leaders
Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), Willem van VELZEN; Labor (PvdA), Wim KOK; Liberal (VVD), Joris VOORHOEVE; Democrats '66 (D'66), Hans van MIERIO; a host of minor parties
Second Chamber
last held on 6 September 1989 (next to be held by September 1993); results - CDA 35.3%, PvdA 31. 9%, VVD 14.6%, D'66 7.9%, other 10.3%; seats - (150 total) CDA 54, PvdA 49, VVD 22, D'66 12, other 13
Suffrage
universal at age 18
Type
constitutional monarchy
Economy
Agriculture
accounts for 4% of GDP; animal production predominates; crops - grains, potatoes, sugar beets, fruits, vegetables; shortages of grain, fats, and oils
Budget
revenues $98.7 billion; expenditures $110.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1991)
Currency
Netherlands guilder, gulden, or florin (plural - guilders, gulden, or florins); 1 Netherlands guilder, gulden, or florin (f.) = 100 cents
Economic aid
donor - ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $19.4 billion
Electricity
22,216,000 kW capacity; 63,570 million kWh produced, 4,300 kWh per capita (1991)
Exchange rates
Netherlands guilders, gulden, or florins (f.) per US$1 - 1.7753 (January 1992), 1.8697 (1991), 1.8209 (1990), 2.1207 (1989), 1.9766 (1988), 2.0257 (1987)
Exports
$131.5 billion (f.o.b., 1990) commodities: agricultural products, processed foods and tobacco, natural gas, chemicals, metal products, textiles, clothing partners: EC 74.9% (FRG 28.3%, Belgium-Luxembourg 14.2%, France 10.7%, UK 10.2%), US 4.7% (1988)
External debt
none
Fiscal year
calendar year
GDP
purchasing power equivalent - $249.6 billion, per capita $16,600; real growth rate 2.2% (1991 est.)
Illicit drugs
European producer of illicit amphetamines and other synethic drugs
Imports
$125.9 billion (c.i.f., 1990) commodities: raw materials and semifinished products, consumer goods, transportation equipment, crude oil, food products partners: EC 63.8% (FRG 26.5%, Belgium-Luxembourg 23.1%, UK 8.1%), US 7.9% (1988)
Industrial production
growth rate 1.7% (1991 est.); accounts for 25% of GDP
Industries
agroindustries, metal and engineering products, electrical machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum, fishing, construction, microelectronics
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
3.6% (1991 est.)
Overview
This highly developed and affluent economy is based on private enterprise. The government makes its presence felt, however, through many regulations, permit requirements, and welfare programs affecting most aspects of economic activity. The trade and financial services sector contributes over 50% of GDP. Industrial activity provides about 25% of GDP and is led by the food-processing, oil-refining, and metalworking industries. The highly mechanized agricultural sector employs only 5% of the labor force, but provides large surpluses for export and the domestic food-processing industry. An unemployment rate of 6.2% and a sizable budget deficit are currently the most serious economic problems.
Unemployment rate
6.2% (1991 est.)
Communications
Airports
28 total, 28 usable; 19 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 11 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 6 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
98 major transport aircraft
Highways
108,360 km total; 92,525 km paved (including 2,185 km of limited access, divided highways); 15,835 km gravel, crushed stone
Inland waterways
6,340 km, of which 35% is usable by craft of 1,000 metric ton capacity or larger
Merchant marine
345 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,630,962 GRT/3,687,598 DWT; includes 3 short-sea passenger, 191 cargo, 30 refrigerated cargo, 24 container, 12 roll-on/roll-off, 2 livestock carrier, 10 multifunction large-load carrier, 22 oil tanker, 27 chemical tanker, 10 liquefied gas, 2 specialized tanker, 9 bulk, 3 combination bulk; note - many Dutch-owned ships are also registered on the captive Netherlands Antilles register
Pipelines
crude oil 418 km; petroleum products 965 km; natural gas 10,230 km
Ports
maritime - Amsterdam, Delfzijl, Den Helder, Dordrecht, Eemshaven, Ijmuiden, Rotterdam, Scheveningen, Terneuzen, Vlissingen; inland - 29 ports
Railroads
3,037 km track (includes 1,871 km electrified and 1,800 km double track); 2,871 km 1.435-meter standard gauge operated by Netherlands Railways (NS); 166 km privately owned
Telecommunications
highly developed, well maintained, and integrated; extensive redundant system of multiconductor cables, supplemented by radio relay links; 9,418,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 3 (3 relays) AM, 12 (39 repeaters) FM, 8 (7 repeaters) TV; 5 submarine cables; 1 communication satellite earth station operating in INTELSAT (1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean antenna) and EUTELSAT systems; nationwide mobile phone system
Military and Security
Branches
Royal Netherlands Army, Royal Netherlands Navy (including Naval Air Service and Marine Corps), Royal Netherlands Air Force, Royal Constabulary
Defense expenditures
exchange rate conversion - $7.2 billion, 2.9% of GDP (1991)
Manpower availability
males 15-49, 4,144,477; 3,649,746 fit for military service; 111,952 reach military age (20) annually