*Netherlands, Geography Location: Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between Belgium and Germany Map references: Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World Area: total area: 37,330 km2 land area: 33,920 km2 comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of New Jersey Land boundaries: total 1,027 km, Belgium 450 km, Germany 577 km Coastline: 451 km Maritime claims: continental shelf: not specified exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm International disputes: none Climate: temperate; marine; cool summers and mild winters Terrain: mostly coastal lowland and reclaimed land (polders); some hills in southeast Natural resources: natural gas, petroleum, fertile soil Land use: arable land: 26% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 32% forest and woodland: 9% other: 32% Irrigated land: 5,500 km2 (1989 est.) Environment: without an extensive system of dikes and dams, nearly one-half of the total area would be inundated by sea water Note: located at mouths of three major European rivers (Rhine, Maas or Meuse, Schelde) *Netherlands, People Population: 15,274,942 (July 1993 est.) Population growth rate: 0.63% (1993 est.) Birth rate: 12.81 births/1,000 population (1993 est.) Death rate: 8.53 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.) Net migration rate: 2.06 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.) Infant mortality rate: 6.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 77.55 years male: 74.48 years female: 80.78 years (1993 est.) Total fertility rate: 1.59 children born/woman (1993 est.) Nationality: noun: Dutchman(men), Dutchwoman(women) adjective: Dutch Ethnic divisions: Dutch 96%, Moroccans, Turks, and other 4% (1988) Religions: Roman Catholic 36%, Protestant 27%, other 6%, unaffiliated 31% (1988) Languages: Dutch Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1979) total population: 99% male: NA% female: NA% Labor force: 5.3 million by occupation: services 50.1%, manufacturing and construction 28.2%, government 15.9%, agriculture 5.8% (1986) *Netherlands, Government Names: conventional long form: Kingdom of the Netherlands conventional short form: Netherlands local long form: Koninkrijk de Nederlanden local short form: Nederland Digraph: NL Type: constitutional monarchy Capital: Amsterdam; The Hague is the seat of government Administrative divisions: 12 provinces (provincien, singular - provincie); Drenthe, Flevoland, Friesland, Gelderland, Groningen, Limburg, Noord-Brabant, Noord-Holland, Overijssel, Utrecht, Zeeland, Zuid-Holland Dependent areas: Aruba, Netherlands Antilles Independence: 1579 (from Spain) Constitution: 17 February 1983 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 National holiday: Queen's Day, 30 April (1938) Political parties and leaders: Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), Willem van VELZEN; Labor (PvdA), Wim KOK; Liberal (VVD), Frederick BOLKSTEIN; Democrats '66 (D'66), Hans van MIERIO; a host of minor parties 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 Interchurch Peace Council (IKV) Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal Elections: 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 Second Chamber: last held on 6 September 1989 (next to be held in May 1994); 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 Executive branch: monarch, prime minister, vice prime minister, Cabinet, Cabinet of Ministers 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) *Netherlands, Government Judicial branch: Supreme Court (De Hoge Raad) Leaders: 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) Head of Government: Prime Minister Ruud (Rudolph) F. M. LUBBERS (since 4 November 1982); Vice Prime Minister Willem (Wim) KOK (since 2 November 1989) Member of: AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, Australia Group, Benelux, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, COCOM, CSCE, EBRD, EC, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, 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, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, PCA, UN, UNAVEM II, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNPROFOR, UNTAC, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Johan Hendrick MEESMAN chancery: 4200 Linnean Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008 telephone: (202) 244-5300 FAX: (202) 362-3430 consulates general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Manila (Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands), New York US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Thomas H. GEWECKE embassy: Lange Voorhout 102, The Hague mailing address: PSC 71, Box 1000, APO AE 09715 telephone: [31] (70) 310-9209 FAX: [31] (70) 361-4688 consulate general: Amsterdam 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 *Netherlands, Economy 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. Unemployment and a sizable budget deficit are currently the most serious economic problems. Many of the economic issues of the 1990s will reflect the course of European economic integration. National product: GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $259.8 billion (1992) National product real growth rate: 1.6% (1992) National product per capita: $17,200 (1992) Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.5% (1992 est.) Unemployment rate: 5.3% (1992 est.) Budget: revenues $109.9 billion; expenditures $122.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992 est.) Exports: $128.5 billion (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: agricultural products, processed foods and tobacco, natural gas, chemicals, metal products, textiles, clothing partners: EC 77% (Germany 27%, Belgium-Luxembourg 15%, UK 10%), US 4% (1991) Imports: $117.7 billion (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: raw materials and semifinished products, consumer goods, transportation equipment, crude oil, food products partners: EC 64% (Germany 26%, Belgium-Luxembourg 14%, UK 8%), US 8% (1991) External debt: $0 Industrial production: growth rate 1.6% (1992 est.); accounts for 25% of GDP Electricity: 22,216,000 kW capacity; 63,500 million kWh produced, 4,200 kWh per capita (1992) Industries: agroindustries, metal and engineering products, electrical machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum, fishing, construction, microelectronics Agriculture: accounts for 4.6% of GDP; animal production predominates; crops - grains, potatoes, sugar beets, fruits, vegetables; shortages of grain, fats, and oils Illicit drugs: transit country for illicit narcotics produced in neighboring countries; European producer of illicit amphetamines and other synthetic drugs Economic aid: donor - ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $19.4 billion *Netherlands, Economy Currency: 1 Netherlands guilder, gulden, or florin (f.) = 100 cents Exchange rates: Netherlands guilders, gulden, or florins (f.) per US$1 - 1.8167 (January 1993), 1.7585 (1992), 1.8697 (1991), 1.8209 (1990), 2.1207 (1989), 1.9766 (1988) Fiscal year: calendar year *Netherlands, Communications Railroads: 2,828 km 1.435-meter standard gauge operated by Netherlands Railways (NS) (includes 1,957 km electrified and 1,800 km double track) 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 Pipelines: crude oil 418 km; petroleum products 965 km; natural gas 10,230 km Ports: coastal - Amsterdam, Delfzijl, Den Helder, Dordrecht, Eemshaven, Ijmuiden, Rotterdam, Scheveningen, Terneuzen, Vlissingen; inland - 29 ports Merchant marine: 344 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,762,000 GRT/3,675,649 DWT; includes 3 short-sea passenger, 193 cargo, 30 refrigerated cargo, 26 container, 13 roll-on/roll-off, 1 livestock carrier, 11 multifunction large-load carrier, 23 oil tanker, 22 chemical tanker, 10 liquefied gas, 2 specialized tanker, 6 bulk, 4 combination bulk; note - many Dutch-owned ships are also registered on the captive Netherlands Antilles register Airports: total: 28 usable: 28 with permanent-surface runways: 20 with runways over 3,659 m: 0 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 11 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 6 Telecommunications: highly developed, well maintained, and integrated; extensive redundant system of multiconductor cables, supplemented by microwave radio relay microwave 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 *Netherlands, Defense Forces Branches: Royal Netherlands Army, Royal Netherlands Navy (including Naval Air Service and Marine Corps), Royal Netherlands Air Force, Royal Constabulary Manpower availability: males age 15-49 4,183,167; fit for military service 3,677,445; reach military age (20) annually 104,263 (1993 est.) Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $7.8 billion, 3% of GDP (1992)