An Introduction to The Netherlands
The Kingdom of the Netherlands - which also includes certain Caribbean islands - is centred in northwestern Europe, often erroneously referred to as Holland, and is famously low-lying, with 20 percent of its area below sea level and a further 30 percent less than one meter above. The enterprising Dutch caused much of this problem by digging peat from the ground, but have then solved it, for the time being at least, with ingenious land reclamation schemes. See full country profile.Latest Research News from The Netherlands
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GOVERNMENT: Constitutional monarchy and unitary parliamentary democracy
AREA: 41,543 sq km
POPULATION: 16,847,007 (2012 est.)
MAJOR LANGUAGE: Official Language: Dutch
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The Kingdom of the Netherlands - which also includes certain Caribbean islands - is centred in northwestern Europe, often erroneously referred to as Holland, and is famously low-lying, with 20 percent of its area below sea level and a further 30 percent less than one meter above. The enterprising Dutch caused much of this problem by digging peat from the ground, but have then solved it, for the time being at least, with ingenious land reclamation schemes.
The Union of Utrecht broke away from control by the Spanish King, whose provinces included the modern-day Netherlands, from 1579 onwards, and the ensuing Dutch Republic lasted two hundred years and established the country as one of Europe's significant powers - it was also a major colonial power, founding an Empire stretching from South America to Asia via South Africa and of course including the city that is now New York and was originally New Amsterdam. The republic was a bastion of protestantism (ironically, more people there now declare themselves Roman Catholics than practicing Protestants), and a hub of trade, establishing many of the customs and practices of modern capitalism. Unions with Belgium and Luxembourg came and went during the period of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, between 1815 and 1940, marked also by the growth and decline of its Empire and by a slow pace of industrialisation.The country is home to beautiful Amsterdam and to five international courts, including that of Justice in The Hague. Today it's distinguished by liberal attitudes and laws on subjects such as drugs, women's rights, same sex marriage and euthanasia; by a free and strong economy; and by a good quality of life - it was recently ranked as the happiest country in an OECD study.
GDP: $704.0 bn (2011 est.); $42,183 per capita
Religions Roman Catholic 30%; Protestant 20% (Dutch Reformed 11%, Calvinist 6%, other Protestant 3%); Muslim 5.8%; other 2.2%; none 42% (2006)
Currency: Euro
Telephone Code: + 31
MR Association(s):
Center for Marketing Intelligence & Research (MOA)
The Netherlands is the 15th largest research market in the world, and the 7th largest in Europe. 86 percent of MR turnover comes from domestic clients and 14 percent from international. According to the ESOMAR Global Prices Study 2012 the country was the 10th most expensive for carrying out research.
Source: ESOMAR
Prosperous, open and with good industrial relations, the Dutch economy depends heavily on foreign trade - its ports (Rotterdam in particular) having long been the hub of sea transport in the region and its traders being legendary from the 17th century on. The country has low unemployment and inflation and a good current account surplus, and receives high levels of foreign direct investment. The agricultural and horticultural sectors are highly mechanised and generate good income.
Like other European countries, the Netherlands was hit by the financial crisis of 2008 and unlike some of them it has not yet managed to balance its budget, or to get particularly close, attracting stern attention from EU finance bosses.
The Netherlands exported $576.9 bn worth of goods in 2011, including machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels and foodstuffs. Its biggest export partners include Germany (26% in 2009), Belgium (13%), France (9.2%) and the UK (7.7%). Imports of $514.1 bn the same year included similar items plus clothing and transport equipment - its largest import partners are Germany with 15.5% in 2009, China 12.6%, Belgium 8.3%, the US 6.8% and the UK 6.2%.
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