Area Total | 41,543 sq km |
Climate | temperate; marine; cool summers and mild winters |
Natural Resources | natural gas, petroleum, peat, limestone, salt, sand and gravel, arable land |
Imports | $China 16.4%, Germany 15.3%, Belgium 8.5%, US 6.9%, UK 5.1%, Russia 4.3% (2017) – machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs, clothing |
Exports | Germany 24.2%, Belgium 10.7%, UK 8.8%, France 8.8%, Italy 4.2% (2017) – machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, mineral fuels; food and livestock, manufactured goods |
Government | parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
Capital | Amsterdam; note – The Hague is the seat of government |
Population | 17.2 million (July 2018 est.) |
Ethnicity | Dutch 76.9%, EU 6.4%, Turkish 2.4%, Moroccan 2.3%, Indonesian 2.1%, German 2.1%, Surinamese 2%, Polish 1%, other 4.8% (2018 est.) |
Language | Dutch (official); Frisian, Low Saxon, Limburgish, Romani, and Yiddish |
News about the Netherlands
- The Netherlands is silent for two minutes to remember its deadby Robin Pascoe (DutchNews.nl) on May 4, 2024
The Netherlands fell silent for two minutes at 8 pm on Saturday to remember the Dutch who died during World...
- Baby bomen? Leiden giveaway encourages parents to adopt treesby Brandon Hartley (DutchNews.nl) on May 4, 2024
Leiden officials are to give expectant parents an unexpected gift this year. Those who register their newborns in the city...
- Podcast: The We Will Never Get A New Cabinet Editionby Gordon Darroch (DutchNews.nl) on May 3, 2024
Want to support the DutchNews podcast and keep up our stocks of stroopwafels and orange tompouces? Click here to become...
- NL may miss out on EU billions already allocated: ministersby Hanneke Sanou (DutchNews.nl) on May 3, 2024
The Dutch government could lose out on billions of euros of EU money because it will not meet conditions attached...
- Press freedom in NL is “under attack from populist parties”by Robin Pascoe (DutchNews.nl) on May 3, 2024
Press freedom in the Netherlands is among the highest in the world, according to a report by campaign group Reporters...
- Four Amsterdam police officers face the sack for Whatsapp racismby Robin Pascoe (DutchNews.nl) on May 3, 2024
Four police officers in Amsterdam who were members of a racist Whatsapp group where they shared discriminatory texts face being...
- Amsterdam French fry makers may have had their chipsby Robin Pascoe (DutchNews.nl) on May 3, 2024
The rise of the TikTok queue in Amsterdam – where tourists flock to enjoy a stroopwafel or cake recommended by...
- First-time mums in the Netherlands are getting older: CBSby Hanneke Sanou (DutchNews.nl) on May 3, 2024
Dutch women are having their first baby at an average age of 30 and a bit, almost a year up...
- Thunderstorms bring flooding and fire to the southby Robin Pascoe (DutchNews.nl) on May 3, 2024
The heavy rainfall on Thursday night caused flash flooding in some parts of Limburg, particularly in Valkenburg aan de Geul...
- More countryside and farmland lost to developmentby Robin Pascoe (DutchNews.nl) on May 3, 2024
The amount of untouched countryside and woods in the Netherlands declined some 2.5% in the ten years to 2022 to...
- ‘On every roof something is possible’: how sponge cities could change the way we handle rainby Matt Simon (Netherlands | The Guardian) on May 2, 2024
Amsterdam is home to 45,000 sq metres of ‘blue-green’ roofs, which absorb rainwater and allow it to be used by building residents to water plants and flush toiletsYou might visit Amsterdam for its canals, and who could blame you, really. But the truly interesting waterways aren’t under your feet – they’re above your head.Beautiful green roofs have […]
- Dutch woman arrested over shooting of Spanish former politicianby Agence France-Presse in Madrid (Netherlands | The Guardian) on April 30, 2024
Woman detained in Netherlands for alleged role in non-fatal shooting of Alejo Vidal-Quadras in Madrid last yearA Dutch woman has been arrested in the Netherlands in relation to the shooting of a Spanish former politician in Madrid last year.Alejo Vidal-Quadras, a founder of Spain’s far-right Vox party, was shot in the face near his home in the wealthy […]
- Dutch city pilots radical debt cancellation scheme for poor familiesby Jennifer Rankin in Brussels (Netherlands | The Guardian) on April 30, 2024
Councillor in Arnhem says existing system to resolve issues caused by debt costs billions and isn’t workingThe Dutch city of Arnhem is going to cancel the debts of some of the poorest families in the Netherlands in an attempt to break a health-crushing downward spiral and give people a fresh start.Earlier this month, municipal officials began knocking on […]
- Media freedom ‘perilously close to breaking point’ in several EU countriesby Jon Henley Europe correspondent (Netherlands | The Guardian) on April 29, 2024
Civil liberties network warns of decline across the bloc as a result of harm or neglect by governmentsMedia freedom is declining across the EU and “perilously close to breaking point” in several countries, a leading civil liberties network has said, highlighting widespread threats against journalists and attacks on the independence of public […]
- ‘Urination equality’: Amsterdam women win fight for more public toiletsby Ashifa Kassam European community affairs correspondent (Netherlands | The Guardian) on April 29, 2024
Years of pressure by those fined for urinating in street due to lack of facilities pays off with €4m plansThe need kicked in as Geerte Piening was on her way home from a bar one night in 2015. She swiftly weighed her options: it was past closing time in Amsterdam’s lively Leidseplein area, meaning she could not duck into a bar to use their facilities, […]
- Yorick Blumenfeld obituaryby William Taylor (Netherlands | The Guardian) on April 23, 2024
My friend Yorick Blumenfeld, who has died aged 91, was a prolific writer and futurologist with more than 25 books and 2,000 articles to his name.In the early 1960s, at the height of the cold war and worried by the risk of nuclear annihilation, Yorick and his wife, Helaine, travelled to the South Pacific with a group of friends and founded Philia, an […]
- EU ministers warned not to relax support for Ukraine amid requests for air defence aidby Jennifer Rankin in Brussels (Netherlands | The Guardian) on April 22, 2024
Member states warned at meeting not to be complacent but ministers stop short of pledging Patriot missilesEU ministers have been warned against “relaxing” support for Ukraine but stopped short of new pledges to supply air defence systems that Kyiv is urgently seeking to defend itself against relentless Russian bombardment.The Ukrainian government has […]
- ‘Ban them until we know they’re safe’: Dutch flower growers urged to stop using pesticidesby Senay Boztas in Sassenheim (Netherlands | The Guardian) on April 20, 2024
Organic float at annual flower parade a sign of changing times amid concerns over chemicals’ link to neurological disordersFlower farmer John Huiberts stands next to a flamingo made of thousands of organic pink hyacinths. At the annual BloemenCorso, or flower parade, where decorated floats travel through 26 miles of fields in full bloom, his electric […]
- Slaughter-free sausages: trying the latest lab-grown meat creationby Linda Geddes (Netherlands | The Guardian) on April 17, 2024
Meatable hopes its cultivated sausages will satisfy the world’s appetite for meat without harming animals or the planetEven before I see the sausages, I am greeted by their rich, meaty aroma. Sizzling in a pan of foaming margarine, they look like regular chipolatas being fried up for a Sunday breakfast, their pink-grey exteriors slowly turning a rich […]
- Dutch heir to throne spent year in Madrid amid safety fears, reports sayby Ashifa Kassam in Madrid and agencies (Netherlands | The Guardian) on April 17, 2024
Princess Amalia, who had reportedly been talked about by organised crime groups, is now back in AmsterdamThe heir to the Dutch throne, Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange, spent more than a year in Spain as the Dutch royal family grappled with threats to her safety, according to media in the Netherlands.The 20-year-old lived and studied in Madrid, royal […]
- Father Frans van der Hoff obituaryby Oliver Balch (Netherlands | The Guardian) on April 15, 2024
Dutch missionary who co-founded the Fairtrade movement through guaranteeing prices for coffee farmers in MexicoThe Dutch-born Catholic missionary Frans van der Hoff, who has died aged 84, was a co-founder of the global Fairtrade movement. Through guaranteeing price levels for their produce that benefit their communities, it has improved the livelihoods of […]
- Reform UK’s rise may tempt Sunak into moving further right. Let the Netherlands be a cautionary tale | Tarik Abou-Chadi and Simon van Teutemby Tarik Abou-Chadi and Simon van Teutem (Netherlands | The Guardian) on April 15, 2024
Across Europe, the mainstream right is being eclipsed by more extreme rivals. The same fate could await the ToriesA recent YouGov poll marked a pivotal moment in British politics. For the first time, Reform UK was shown to have edged ahead of the Conservatives among male voters. As Labour solidifies its base, the rise of Reform is clearly to the detriment […]
- Even Europe’s far-right firebrands seem to sense Brexit is a disaster | William Keeganby William Keegan (Netherlands | The Guardian) on April 14, 2024
When I met the Dutch politician Geert Wilders years ago, he was set on ‘Nexit’. Now he too would rather stay in the EUExports are performing badly, pace the fantasy world of the Daily Express; supply lines for imports once regarded as routine are disrupted or discontinued altogether; staff shortages owing to new restrictions on travel and employment of […]
- Shell says it ‘lobbies for energy transition’ during climate ruling appealby Ajit Niranjan (Netherlands | The Guardian) on April 12, 2024
Company is fighting Dutch court ruling that says it must emit 45% less CO2 by 2030 than in 2019Shell has argued that it “lobbies for, not against, the energy transition” on the final day of its appeal against an important climate ruling.The fossil fuel company is fighting the decision of a Dutch court in 2021 that forces it to pump 45% less […]
- ‘War, refugees, destruction’: colonialism and conflict key themes of Venice Biennaleby Lanre Bakare Arts and culture correspondent (Netherlands | The Guardian) on April 12, 2024
This year’s ‘Olympics of the art world’ features many artists wrestling with ideas of colonialism and its lingering influence This year’s Venice Biennale is being billed as an event rooted in the now, in a world of conflict and division – or, as one newspaper put it, the celebration of global art will be full of “war, refugees, […]
- Avalanche in Austria kills three skiers from the Netherlandsby Staff and agencies (Netherlands | The Guardian) on April 11, 2024
Group of 17 were ski touring near resort of Sölden when 80-metre wide avalanche hitAn avalanche near the Austrian ski resort of Sölden has killed three skiers from the Netherlands. Another person was rescued and taken to hospital.The victims were part of a 17-person ski touring group that was on an ascent with four Austrian guides. Ski touring involves […]
- Greta Thunberg detained at The Hague climate demonstrationby Agencies (Netherlands | The Guardian) on April 6, 2024
Climate activist detained after Extinction Rebellion protesters tried to block road near Dutch parliamentGreta Thunberg was detained by police at a demonstration in The Hague, in the Netherlands.The climate activist was put in a bus by local police along with other protesters who tried to block a major highway into the city on Saturday. Continue reading...
- ‘We need to accept the weeds’: the Dutch ‘tile whipping’ contest seeking to restore greeneryby Senay Boztas in Amersfoort (Netherlands | The Guardian) on April 4, 2024
National competition has goal of helping Netherlands reach environmental targets by removing garden pavingTineke Menalda sits in the sun on her front step, nursing a cup of coffee and idly plucking out the odd weed. Three years ago, the front of her terrace house in Amersfoort was completely paved. But now, sitting in a lush garden of trees and green, she […]
- From the Arctic Circle to the top of European theatre: director Eline Arbo on being ‘an outsider looking in’by Natasha Tripney (Netherlands | The Guardian) on April 4, 2024
The Norwegian theatremaker talks about succeeding Ivo van Hove as artistic director of one of the influential Internationaal Theater Amsterdam and staging classic plays as rock concertsWhen Eline Arbo informed her mother at a young age that she wanted to be a theatre director, her mother told her that it would take more than talent and hard work to become a […]
- ‘Some were extremely hostile’: how Dutch far-right figure turned to Islamby Ashifa Kassam European community affairs correspondent (Netherlands | The Guardian) on April 3, 2024
Joram van Klaveren played a key role in Geert Wilders’ Freedom party but is now actively working to counteract its messageHe was once Geert Wilders’ right-hand man, crafting Freedom party (PVV) messaging that described Islam as a “lie” and pushed for the Qur’an and mosques to be banned in the Netherlands.One decade on, Joram van Klaveren is a […]