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The Netherlands
Introducing The Netherlands
The Netherlands is located in North West Europe. It is bound by the North Sea to the north and west, Germany to the east and Belgium to the south. The country is largely a delta comprised of silt from the mouths of the Rhine, Waal, Maas, Ijssel and Schelde Rivers and is generally low and flat except for the southeast where hills rise.
The country is roughly 300 km's (~190 miles) from north to south, and about 200 km's (~120 miles)from east to west.
Officially the country has a surface area of 41863 square km's (~16000 square miles) and there are about 16 million people living in it. This gives us one of the highest population densities in the world.
The inland area, which is in some places below sea level, is protected by coastal dunes and manmade dykes. Without these sea defenses around 40% of the country would be under water. The above mentioned rivers also give access for sea-going vessels to the inland waterways of Belgium and Germany.
The Netherlands has a temperate maritime climate influenced by the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean. Since the country is small there is little variation in climate from region to region, although the marine influences are less inland. Rainfall is distributed fairly evenly throughout the year with average annual precipitation exceeding 700 mm (28 inches).
Average temperature ranges are from -1 to 4 degrees Celsius (30 to 39 degrees Fahrenheit) in January to 13 to 22 degrees Celsius (55 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit) in July.
The principal ethnic majority are the Dutch who account for 96% of the population and are an ethnically homogeneous people of Saxon, Frankish and Frisian origins. Around 1% of the population are immigrants and repatriates from the Dutch East Indies that include Surinamese, Indonesian and Moluccans.
Mostly Christians with 36% of the population Roman Catholic while 18.5% are Dutch Reformed and 8.4% are of other reformed churches.
The official language is Dutch which is spoken by almost the entire population. The principal minority language is Frisian while English and German are also widely understood.
Its main trading partners are Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, the USA and East European countries.
Main Primary Products: Cereals, Fish, Fruit and Vegetables, Livestock, Oil and Gas, Potatoes, Poultry, Salt, Sugar Beets.
Major Industries: Agriculture, Chemicals, Clothing, Diamond Cutting, Fertilizers, Fishing, Food Processing, Forestry, Iron and Steel, Oil and Gas Production and Refining, Printing, Ship Building, Textiles, Tobacco Processing.
Main Exports: Chemicals, Dairy Produce, Flower Bulbs, Fruit and Vegetables, Iron and Steel, Machinery, Meat, Natural Gas, Petroleum Products, Textiles.
The Netherlands continue to fight their battle against the water from the North Sea and that of the great rivers that meander their way northwards from France and Germany. More than one third of the country is situated below sea level and is protected against the water by many hundreds of kilometers of dikes.
The fight against water and the favorable position along the North Sea and the main European rivers, have historically given rise to a few "specialties" in the country:
- Hydraulic Engineering
- Dredging
- Shipping
- Trade
- International Servicing
| GDP |
approx. € 425 billion |
| Export |
approx. € 241 billion |
| Import |
approx. € 217 billion |
| Population |
approx. 16.1 million |
| Area |
approx. 15,500 sq.miles. |
| Economic growth (2001/estimates 2002) |
1,3% / 0.75% |
| Interest rate (10 years benchmark capital market) |
4.50% |
| Inflation |
3.3% |
| Unemployment rate |
2.2% |
Valuable SPECIFIED information on The Netherlands
Valuable GENERAL information on The Netherlands
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