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
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Fewer positive coronavirus tests, but new variant total hits 200
by robin (DutchNews.nl) on January 16, 2021
Public health institute RIVM reported 5,360 new coronavirus infections in the 24 hours to Saturday morning, down over 700 on...
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Organised crime is infiltrating care sector, exploiting vulnerable clients
by robin (DutchNews.nl) on January 16, 2021
Several small care organisations in Twente forced their vulnerable clients – often troubled youngsters or people with psychological or addiction...
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Major cocaine seizures made in Roosendaal and Rotterdam port
by robin (DutchNews.nl) on January 16, 2021
Transport company workers in Roosendaal, in Noord Brabant, have found 750 kilos of cocaine hidden between other goods on an...
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Coronavirus slashes burglary rate, but boosts noisy neighbour complaints
by robin (DutchNews.nl) on January 16, 2021
Last year’s crime figures have been strongly influenced by the coronavirus pandemic, with fewer home break-ins and more online criminality,...
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The caretaker coalition: what does it mean, and what happens now?
by robin (DutchNews.nl) on January 16, 2021
The Dutch cabinet has resigned in the wake of the childcare benefit scandal in which thousands of parents were wrongly...
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Wilders failed to declare €170,000 donation for legal fees: FTM
by robin (DutchNews.nl) on January 16, 2021
Dutch far right leader Geert Wilders has failed to declare a donation of some €175,000 which was given to his...
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Cabinet’s resignation will not affect coronavirus plan, says Rutte
by Gordon Darroch (DutchNews.nl) on January 15, 2021
The resignation of the entire Dutch cabinet on Friday formed a dramatic conclusion to the tax office benefits scandal, but...
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Mixed feelings amongst wronged families on cabinet resignation
by Senay (DutchNews.nl) on January 15, 2021
There were mixed feelings amongst the families who have been driven to financial despair by the unjust actions of the...
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Dutch government resigns over child benefits scandal
by Jon Henley Europe correspondent (Netherlands | The Guardian) on January 15, 2021
PM Mark Rutte will stay on in caretaker capacity until general elections scheduled for 17 MarchThe Dutch government has resigned amid an escalating scandal over child benefits in which more than 20,000 families were wrongly accused of fraud by the tax authority.The move came less than a month before parliament was due to break up ahead of general elections […]
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Compensating duped parents is a priority, Rutte says, after cabinet resignation
by robin (DutchNews.nl) on January 15, 2021
The cabinet has resigned because of the government’s failings to deal properly with the childcare benefit scandal and to make...
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Dutch government collapses in fall out from child benefit scandal
by robin (DutchNews.nl) on January 15, 2021
The Dutch government has resigned in the wake of the childcare benefit scandal after an official report said ministers, civil...
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Dutch government faces collapse over child benefits scandal
by Jon Henley Europe correspondent (Netherlands | The Guardian) on January 14, 2021
Coalition at risk amid fallout from tax authorities wrongly ‘hunting down’ thousands of familiesThe Dutch government will decide on Friday whether to step down over an escalating scandal in which tax officials wrongly accused thousands of parents of fraud, plunging many families into debt by ordering them to repay childcare allowances.The opposition […]
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Wanted: UK bison rangers, no previous experience expected
by Patrick Barkham and agencies (Netherlands | The Guardian) on January 13, 2021
Project using large beasts to help restore woodland offers unprecedented job opportunityCan you handle a beast as heavy as a small car, that can hurdle high fences from a standing start, and is a peaceful bulldozer for biodiversity?If you’re not intimidated by the weightiest wild land mammal in Europe, you could become Britain’s first ever bison ranger. […]
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Germany and Netherlands likely to extend Covid lockdowns
by Jon Henley in Paris, Kate Connolly in Berlin, and Daniel Boffey in Brussels (Netherlands | The Guardian) on January 12, 2021
German chancellor says infections may rise 10-fold by Easter if virus’s spread is not haltedCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageGermany’s tough anti-Covid measures are likely to last a further eight to 10 weeks, Angela Merkel has warned, while the Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, has extended the Netherlands’ national […]
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'Welcome to Brexit': Dutch officials seize ham sandwiches from British drivers – video
by (Netherlands | The Guardian) on January 12, 2021
Dutch TV news has aired footage of customs officers confiscating ham sandwiches from drivers arriving by ferry from the UK under post-Brexit rules banning personal imports of meat and dairy products into the EU.Shown on the current affairs programme EenVandaag, officials wearing hi-vis jackets explained to startled car and lorry drivers at the Hook of […]
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Dutch officials seize ham sandwiches of drivers arriving from UK
by Jon Henley Europe correspondent (Netherlands | The Guardian) on January 11, 2021
Personal imports of meat and dairy products into EU banned since Brexit transition endedDutch TV news has aired footage of customs officers confiscating ham sandwiches from drivers arriving by ferry from the UK under post-Brexit rules banning personal imports of meat and dairy products into the EU.Officials wearing high-visibility jackets are shown […]
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Foreign visitors face ban from Amsterdam's cannabis cafes
by Jon Henley Europe correspondent (Netherlands | The Guardian) on January 11, 2021
Proposals would allow only Dutch residents to enter city’s 166 marijuana-selling coffee shopsNon-residents face being banned from Amsterdam’s cannabis coffee shops as part of wide-ranging plans to discourage organised crime and cut back on drugs tourism that have drawn mixed reactions from residents and business owners.Backed by police and prosecutors, […]
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Customers in Europe hit by post-Brexit charges when buying from UK
by Jon Henley Europe correspondent (Netherlands | The Guardian) on January 7, 2021
Shoppers tell of shock at unexpected bills for VAT or customs declarations as some retailers stop shipping to continentCustomers in Europe buying products ranging from furniture to pet food from UK companies are receiving unexpected bills for VAT and customs declarations or finding household names have stopped shipping to the continent, as post-Brexit […]
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EU approves Moderna jab amid tensions over slow rollout of vaccines
by Jon Henley Europe correspondent (Netherlands | The Guardian) on January 6, 2021
Move should ease frustrations over low supplies of Pfizer vaccine and EU’s longer authorisation process Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe European Medicines Agency has approved the Moderna vaccine, making it the second coronavirus shot to be cleared for general use across the EU, as tensions continued to rise over the slow […]
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As parts of UK enter third Covid lockdown, how does rest of Europe compare?
by Jon Henley and Guardian correspondents (Netherlands | The Guardian) on January 5, 2021
Rules vary from country to country but many European nations face severe restrictionsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageAfter a brief and partial relaxation of the rules over Christmas and New Year, many continental European countries have returned to the tough anti-Covid regimes that were imposed this autumn – with some […]
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Netherlands and Germany refuse entry to UK nationals for non-essential travel
by Jon Henley Europe correspondent and Philip Oltermann in Berlin (Netherlands | The Guardian) on January 4, 2021
Thirteen people barred since Brexit because UK no longer exempt from EU Covid-related travel restrictions Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageMore than a dozen UK nationals have been refused entry to the Netherlands since 1 January because Britain is no longer exempt from Covid-related restrictions on non-essential travel from […]
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Dutch high hopes for legal cannabis farms hit by nimby protests
by Daniel Boffey in Brussels (Netherlands | The Guardian) on January 3, 2021
Drug supply experiment falters as Netherlands plan for greenhouses stirs anxiety among local residentsA Dutch trial of state-regulated cannabis cultivation farms to supply coffee shops risks being derailed by an outbreak of nimbyism after locals protested about the location of one of the new facilities.The plans to take over greenhouses on the outskirts of […]
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Pollutionwatch: fine particles affect lungs of those near airports
by Gary Fuller (Netherlands | The Guardian) on January 1, 2021
Trial finds reduced lung function and heart changes in young people who exercised near SchipholFor seven months in 2018, a lorry trailer was parked near a runway at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport. It housed exercise bikes and air pollution measurement equipment. Twenty-one healthy young people took turns to visit the trailer for pedalling sessions. Air was […]
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UN finds Netherlands violated human rights of stateless child
by Agence France-Presse in Geneva (Netherlands | The Guardian) on December 29, 2020
Dutch authorities left 10-year-old without legal protection by registering him as ‘nationality unknown’The Netherlands violated a child’s rights by failing to acknowledge that he was stateless and eligible for international protection, a UN committee has found, urging the country to change its legislation.In its first ever decision on the right of […]
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George Blake obituary
by Richard Norton-Taylor (Netherlands | The Guardian) on December 26, 2020
British double agent who betrayed hundreds of western spies to the Soviet Union, where he lived after escaping from jailGeorge Blake, who has died aged 98, was the most notorious Soviet agent inside Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service (MI6). Interned by the Nazis in the Netherlands, recruited by MI6, then by the KGB after he was captured during the […]
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Amsterdam gallery owner recalls how sale of Banksy work saved staff jobs
by Daniel Boffey in Brussels (Netherlands | The Guardian) on December 25, 2020
Kim Logchies-Prins tells how employees gathered around canvas, sold for £1.5m, to give thanksThe owner of an art museum in Amsterdam who sold a prized Banksy painting for £1.5m to avoid laying off staff during the coronavirus pandemic has told how her employees gathered around the canvas to give thanks.Kim Logchies-Prins, co-founder with her husband, […]
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Coming and going: the race to move before transition period ends
by Jedidajah Otte (Netherlands | The Guardian) on December 25, 2020
Britons trying to move to mainland Europe – and Europeans trying to do the opposite – tell their talesWith a week to go before the Brexit transition period finishes on 31 December, people wanting to relocate to either the UK or the EU before freedom of movement ends are coming to terms with the possibility their plans will be scuppered by travel bans, […]
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UK warned of further restrictions – as it happened
by Lucy Campbell (now); Aamna Mohdin, Haroon Siddique, Caroline Davies and Helen Sullivan (earlier) (Netherlands | The Guardian) on December 21, 2020
This blog is now closed. We’ve launched a new blog at the link below: Coronavirus news – live 11.37pm GMT We’ve launched a new blog at the link below – head there for the latest: Related: Coronavirus live news: Biden receives vaccine as global death toll passes 1.7m 11.37pm GMT 11.07pm GMT The UK’s Foreign Office said on Monday it is advising […]
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EU to hold crisis talks as countries block travel from UK over new Covid strain
by Jon Henley, Sam Jones, Angela Giuffrida and Oliver Holmes (Netherlands | The Guardian) on December 20, 2020
WHO tells members to step up efforts to stop spread as Israel turns away UK passport holdersCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageEU ambassadors are to hold a crisis meeting in Brussels on Monday to discuss travel restrictions on the UK as multiple countries began closing their doors to travellers from Britain after the discovery of […]
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Trump's Twitter account was hacked, Dutch ministry confirms
by AFP in the Hague (Netherlands | The Guardian) on December 16, 2020
Public prosecutor states Victor Gevers did access US president’s site but as ethical hacker faces no chargesDutch prosecutors have confirmed that Donald Trump’s Twitter account was hacked in October despite denials from Washington and the company, but said the “ethical hacker” would not face charges.The hacker, named as Victor Gevers, broke into […]