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 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 (now the EU), and participated in the introduction of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) in 1999.
Full Name: Kingdom of the Netherlands
Area: 41,526 sq km (land: 33,883 sq km, water: 7,643 sq km)
Population: 16,645,313 (July 2008 est.)
Capital City: Amsterdam; The Hague is the seat of government
People: Dutch 80.7%, EU 5%, Indonesian 2.4%, Turkish 2.2%, Surinamese 2%, Moroccan 2%, Netherlands Antilles & Aruba 0.8%, other 4.8% (2008 est.)
Language: Dutch (official), Frisian (official)
Religion: Roman Catholic 30%, Dutch Reformed 11%, Calvinist 6%, other Protestant 3%, Muslim 5.8%, other 2.2%, none 42% (2006)
Government Type: Constitutional monarchy
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)
GDP: $US 645.5 billion (2007 est.)
GDP per Capita: $US 39,000 (2007 est.)
Inflation: 1.6% (2007 est.)
Unemployment: 4.6% (2007 est.)
Industries: Agroindustries, metal and engineering products, electrical machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum, construction, microelectronics, fishing
Currency: Euro (€ - EUR)
Member of EU: Yes
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Info provided by the CIA World Factbook
Updated 10/2008
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