The Dutch – all 17 million of them – live in 41,528 square kilometres, little more than half the size of Scotland. This makes the Netherlands one of the world's most densely populated countries.
The Netherlands is best known for its tulips, windmills and clogs. And for its low altitude and vulnerability to flooding. Less well known is that the Netherlands has the sixteenth largest economy in the world, and ranks tenth in GDP per capita. Equally little known is that the Dutch have won Nobel prizes for chemistry, physics, medicine, economics and peace or that the world's planners and architects flock here to learn about Dutch solutions for this crowded country.
So what kind of people are the Dutch? What about their government and politics, economy, history, religion, the climate, their customs and etiquette, and particular ways of celebrating holidays and special occasions? We hope to introduce you to many of these aspects of our country during your visit.
The country
The Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system. It forms part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Kingdom of the Netherlands consists of the Netherlands itself and three other countries located in the Caribbean: Aruba, Curacao and Sint Maarten.
Furthermore, there are three extraordinary municipalities of the Kingdom of the Netherlands: Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius , located southeast of the Virgin Islands.
The Netherlands is sometimes called ‘Holland’. Holland is part of the names of the two western coastal provinces, North and South Holland, which have played a dominant role in the country's history.
Situated between the North Sea, Belgium and Germany, the Netherlands is roughly 300 km (+/- 190 miles) from north to south, and about 200 km (+/- 120 miles) from east to west. The capital city is Amsterdam, while the government is located in The Hague. Amsterdam is also the largest city, with a population of 834.713 (Oct 2016).
Gateway position
Thanks to the location of North and South Holland on the estuaries of two major European rivers, the Rhine and the Maas, these two provinces are still very important for the economy. With Rotterdam being Europe’s biggest seaport, and Amsterdam Schiphol one of Europe's biggest airports, the Netherlands is an important gateway between Europe and the rest of the world.
The Dutch
The Dutch are the native inhabitants and dominant ethnic group (81%) of the Netherlands. They are also the tallest people in the world. The average Dutchman stands at 1.82 metres (just over 6 feet), while women average nearly 1.69 metres (almost 5 foot 7).
Winning the struggle against the sea has created a can-do attitude that is typically Dutch. And since controlling water requires many parties to meet and plan together, it has forced them to learn how to work as a team and adopt pragmatic solutions. European partners and the broader international community regard the Dutch as bridge builders and often ask them to serve as such.
The dominant religious identification of the Dutch is Christianity (both Catholic and Protestant). Dutch society used to be strictly organised along religious or ideological lines with every grouping having its own schools, newspapers, trade unions, clubs and so on. Although modern Dutch society has become increasingly secular, legacies of the old system can still be seen today in the media, interest groups and the education system.
Dutch society is egalitarian, individualistic and modern. Education, hard work, ambition and ability are valued; things considered non-essential or excessive are not. The Dutch are proud of their cultural heritage: a rich history in art, architecture and technological advancements, and involvement in international trade and affairs.
The Dutch economy
The Dutch economy is the fifth-largest economy in the Eurozone. The Netherlands is noted for its stable labour and industrial relations, its moderate unemployment and inflation, a sizable trade surplus, and its important role as a European transport hub. Thanks to a high employment rate and a high labour productivity, the Dutch GDP per capita is one of the highest in the European Union. The Netherlands, along with 11 of its EU partners, began circulating the euro currency on 1 January 2002.
The Netherlands has traditionally had an open economy and through the centuries it has been a strong trading nation. Today, it is the sixth largest exporter of goods in the world. According to research carried out by the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB) , the Netherlands earns about 30% of its income from the export of goods and services. In 2013, the value of exports was 88% of the Netherlands’ GDP.
Industrial activity is predominantly in food processing (FrieslandCampina, Heineken, Unilever), health care & life science (Crucell, DSM, Philips), chemicals (AKZO Nobel, DOW Benelux, OCI Nitrogen), petroleum refining (Shell), electrical machinery (ASML) and transport equipment (DAF Trucks, Fokker, VDL).
A highly mechanised agricultural sector employs only 2% of the labour force but provides large surpluses for the food-processing industry and for exports. The Netherlands is the world’s second-largest exporter of agri-food products.
The government of Prime Minister Mark Rutte started implementing fiscal consolidation measures in early 2011, mainly reductions in expenditures. This resulted in an improved budget deficit. According to the CPB the budget deficit will amount to 2.1% of GDP in 2015; this will be the third consecutive year on row below the 3% level of the Maastricht Treaty. Moreover, the CPB forecasts a government debt level of 70.3% of GDP in 2015, which is moderate in comparison to other Eurozone countries. Furthermore, the unemployment rate will remain relatively low at 6.8 % of the labour force.
Internationalism
The Netherlands is a founding member of the EU, NATO and the OECD, and has signed the Kyoto Protocol. The Hague area is home to more than 80 international organisations (including NGOs) working in the fields of peace, justice and security. The Netherlands also hosts five international courts in or near The Hague: the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the International Criminal Court, and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. This has led to the city being dubbed ‘the legal capital of the world’.
People have been migrating to the Netherlands for centuries, from French Protestants (Huguenots) in the seventeenth century to twentieth-century immigrants from former Dutch colonies Indonesia and Suriname, and the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom. In the 1960s and 1970s a labour shortage attracted many migrant workers from southern Europe, Turkey and Morocco. The total Dutch population is just over 17 million, 21% of whom are immigrants and/or belong to ethnic minorities. People with a foreign ethnic background tend to live in the larger cities: Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht, and The Hague. Here, they make up more than 30% of the inhabitants.
Lastly, in case you would like to practice a little bit of Dutch:
Hello = hallo
Good morning = goedemorgen
Good afternoon = goedemiddag
Thank you = bedankt
See you later = tot ziens
