Etymology

Netherlands and the Low Countries

The countries that comprise the region called the Low Countries (Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg) all have comparatively the same toponymy. Place names with , , , , or (in Germanic languages) and or (in Romance languages) are in use in low-lying places all over Europe. The Romans made a distinction between the Roman provinces of downstream Germania Inferior (nowadays part of Belgium and the Netherlands) and upstream Germania Superior. Thus, in the case of the Low Countries and the Netherlands, the geographical ___location of this lower region is more or less downstream and near the sea, compared to that of the upper region of Germania Superior. The designation 'Low' returned in the 10th-century Duchy of Lower Lorraine, which covered much of the Low Countries.

The Dukes of Burgundy used the term les pays de par deçà ("the lands over here") for the Low Countries. Under Habsburg rule, this became pays d'embas ("lands down-here"). This was translated as in contemporary Dutch official documents. From a regional point of view, Niderlant was also the area between the Meuse and the lower Rhine in the late Middle Ages. From the mid-sixteenth century, the "Low Countries" and the "Netherlands" lost their original deictic meaning.

In most Romance languages, the term "Low Countries" is officially used as the name for the Netherlands.

Holland

The term Holland has frequently been used informally to refer to the whole of the modern country of the Netherlands in various languages, including Dutch and English. In some languages, Holland is used as the formal name for the Netherlands. However, Holland is a region within the Netherlands that consists of the two provinces of North and South Holland. Formerly these were a single province, and earlier the County of Holland, which included parts of present-day Utrecht. The emphasis on Holland during the formation of the Dutch Republic, the Eighty Years' War, and the Anglo-Dutch Wars in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, made Holland a pars pro toto for the entire country.

Many Dutch people object to the country being referred to as Holland instead of the Netherlands, on much the same grounds as many Welsh or Scottish people object to the United Kingdom being referred to as England. In particular, those from regions other than Holland find it undesirable or misrepresentative to use the term Holland for the whole country, as the Holland region only comprises two of the twelve provinces, and 38% of Dutch citizens. As of 2019, the Dutch government officially has preferred the Netherlands instead of Holland when talking about the country.

Often Holland or Hollanders is used by the Flemish to refer to the Dutch in the Netherlands, and by the Southern Dutch (Dutch living "below the great rivers", a natural cultural, social and religious boundary formed by the rivers Rhine and Meuse) to refer to the Northern Dutch (Dutch living North of these rivers). In the Southern province of Limburg, the term is used for the Dutch from the other 11 provinces. The use of the term in this context by the Southern Dutch is in a derogatory fashion.

Dutch

Dutch is used as the adjective for the Netherlands, as well as the demonym. The origins of the word go back to Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz, Latinised into Theodiscus, meaning "popular" or "of the people", akin to Old Dutch Dietsch or Old English þeodisc, meaning "(of) the common (Germanic) people". At first, the English language used Dutch to refer to any or all speakers of West Germanic languages. Gradually its meaning shifted to the West Germanic people they had the most contact with.

History

Prehistory (before 800 BC)

The oldest human (Neanderthal) traces in the Netherlands, believed to be about 250,000 years old, were found near Maastricht. At the end of the Ice Age, the nomadic late Upper Palaeolithic Hamburg culture (13,000–10,000 BC) hunted reindeer in the area, using spears. The later Ahrensburg culture (11,200–9,500 BC) used bow and arrow. From Mesolithic Maglemosian-like tribes (c. 8000 BC), the world's oldest canoe was found in Drenthe.

Indigenous late Mesolithic hunter-gatherers from the Swifterbant culture (c. 5600 BC), related to the southern Scandinavian Ertebølle culture, were strongly linked to rivers and open water. Between 4800 and 4500 BC, the Swifterbant people started to adopt from the neighbouring Linear Pottery culture the practice of animal husbandry, and between 4300 and 4000 BC agriculture. The Funnelbeaker culture (4300–2800 BC) erected the dolmens, large stone grave monuments found in Drenthe. There was a quick transition from the Funnelbeaker farming culture to the pan-European Corded Ware pastoralist culture (c. 2950 BC). In the southwest, the Seine-Oise-Marne culture—related to the Vlaardingen culture (c. 2600 BC)—survived well into the Neolithic period, until it too was succeeded by the Corded Ware culture.

The subsequent Bell Beaker culture (2700–2100 BC) introduced metalwork in copper, gold and later bronze and opened new international trade routes, reflected in copper artefacts. Finds of rare bronze objects suggest that Drenthe was a trading centre in the Bronze Age (2000–800 BC). The Bell Beaker culture developed locally into the Barbed-Wire Beaker culture (2100–1800 BC) and later the Elp culture (1800–800 BC), a Middle Bronze Age culture marked by earthenware pottery. The southern region became dominated by the related Hilversum culture (1800–800 BC).

Celts, Germanic tribes and Romans (800 BC–410 AD)

From 800 BC onwards, the Iron Age Celtic Hallstatt culture became influential, replacing the Hilversum culture. Iron ore brought a measure of prosperity and was available throughout the country. Smiths travelled from settlement to settlement with bronze and iron, fabricating tools on demand. The King's grave of Oss (700 BC) was found in a burial mound, the largest of its kind in Western Europe.

The deteriorating climate in Scandinavia from 850 BC and 650 BC might have triggered the migration of Germanic tribes from the North. By the time this migration was complete, around 250 BC, a few general cultural and linguistic groups had emerged. The North Sea Germanic Ingaevones inhabited the northern part of the Low Countries. They would later develop into the Frisii and the early Saxons. The Weser–Rhine Germanic (or Istvaeones) extended along the middle Rhine and Weser and inhabited the Low Countries south of the great rivers. These tribes would eventually develop into the Salian Franks. The Celtic La Tène culture (c. 450 BC to the Roman conquest) expanded over a wide range, including the southern area of the Low Countries. Some scholars have speculated that even a third ethnic identity and language, neither Germanic nor Celtic, survived in the Netherlands until the Roman period, the Nordwestblock culture.

The first author to describe the coast of Holland and Flanders was the geographer Pytheas, who noted in c. 325 BC that in these regions, "more people died in the struggle against water than in the struggle against men." During the Gallic Wars, the area south and west of the Rhine was conquered by Roman forces under Julius Caesar from 57 BC to 53 BC. Caesar describes two main Celtic tribes living in what is now the southern Netherlands: the Menapii and the Eburones. Under Augustus, the Roman Empire would conquer the entirety of the modern day Netherlands, incorporating it into the province of Germania Antiqua in 7 BC, but would be repelled back across the Rhine after the Battle of Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD, with the Rhine becoming fixed as Rome's permanent northern frontier around 12 AD. Notable towns would arise along the Limes Germanicus: Nijmegen and Voorburg. In the first part of Gallia Belgica, the area south of the Limes became part of the Roman province of Germania Inferior. The area to the north of the Rhine, inhabited by the Frisii, remained outside Roman rule, while the Germanic border tribes of the Batavi and Cananefates served in the Roman cavalry. The Batavi rose against the Romans in the Batavian rebellion of 69 AD but were eventually defeated. The Batavi later merged with other tribes into the confederation of the Salian Franks, whose identity emerged in the first half of the third century. Salian Franks appear in Roman texts as both allies and enemies. They were forced by the confederation of the Saxons from the east to move over the Rhine into Roman territory in the fourth century. From their new base in West Flanders and the Southwest Netherlands, they were raiding the English Channel. Roman forces pacified the region but did not expel the Franks, who continued to be feared at least until the time of Julian the Apostate (358) when Salian Franks were allowed to settle as foederati in Texandria.

Early Middle Ages (411–1000)

After the Roman government in the area collapsed in roughly the year 406, the Franks expanded their territories into numerous kingdoms. By the 490s, Clovis I had conquered and united all these territories in the southern Netherlands in one Frankish kingdom, and from there continued his conquests into Gaul. During this expansion, Franks migrating to the south (modern territory of France and Walloon part of Belgium) eventually adopted the Vulgar Latin of the local population. A widening cultural divide grew with the Franks remaining in their original homeland in the north (i.e. the southern Netherlands and Flanders), who kept on speaking Old Frankish, which by the ninth century had evolved into Old Low Franconian or Old Dutch. A Dutch-French language boundary hence came into existence.

To the north of the Franks, climatic conditions improved, and during the Migration Period Saxons, the closely related Angles, Jutes, and Frisii settled the coast. Many moved on to England and came to be known as Anglo-Saxons, but those who stayed would be referred to as Frisians and their language as Frisian. Frisian was spoken along the entire southern North Sea coast. By the seventh century, a Frisian Kingdom (650–734) under King Aldegisel and King Redbad emerged with Traiectum (Utrecht) as its centre of power, while Dorestad was a flourishing trading place. Between 600 and around 719 the cities were often fought over between the Frisians and the Franks. In 734, at the Battle of the Boarn, the Frisians were defeated after a series of wars. With the approval of the Franks, the Anglo-Saxon missionary Willibrord converted the Frisian people to Christianity and established the Archdiocese of Utrecht. However, his successor Boniface was murdered by the Frisians in 754.

The Frankish Carolingian empire controlled much of Western Europe. In 843, it was divided into three parts—East, Middle, and West Francia. Most of present-day Netherlands became part of Middle Francia, which was a weak kingdom and subject to numerous partitions and annexation attempts by its stronger neighbours. It comprised territories from Frisia in the north to the Kingdom of Italy in the south. Around 850, Lothair I of Middle Francia acknowledged the Viking Rorik of Dorestad as ruler of most of Frisia. When the kingdom of Middle Francia was partitioned in 855, the lands north of the Alps passed to Lothair II and subsequently were named Lotharingia. After he died in 869, Lotharingia was partitioned, into Upper and Lower Lotharingia, the latter comprising the Low Countries that became part of East Francia in 870. Around 879, another Viking expedition led by Godfrid, Duke of Frisia, raided the Frisian lands. Resistance to the Vikings, if any, came from local nobles, who gained in stature as a result, and that laid the basis for the disintegration of Lower Lotharingia into semi-independent states. One of these local nobles was Gerolf of Holland, who assumed lordship in Frisia, and Viking rule came to an end.

High Middle Ages (1000–1384)

The Holy Roman Empire ruled much of the Low Countries in the 10th and 11th century but was not able to maintain political unity. Powerful local nobles turned their cities, counties and duchies into private kingdoms that felt little sense of obligation to the emperor. Holland, Hainaut, Flanders, Gelre, Brabant, and Utrecht were in a state of almost continual war or paradoxically formed personal unions. As Frankish settlement progressed from Flanders and Brabant, the area quickly became Old Low Franconian (or Old Dutch).

Around 1000 AD, agrarian conditions started to improve, which lead to increase in population, reclamation of wasteland by farmers, and steady growth of trade and industry. Towns grew around monasteries and castles, and a mercantile middle class began to develop in these urban areas, especially in Flanders, and later Brabant. Wealthy cities started to buy certain privileges for themselves from the sovereign.

Around 1100 AD, farmers from Flanders and Utrecht began draining and cultivating uninhabited swampy land in the western Netherlands, making the emergence of the County of Holland as the centre of power possible. The title of Count of Holland was fought over in the Hook and Cod Wars between 1350 and 1490. The Cod faction consisted of the more progressive cities, while the Hook faction consisted of the conservative noblemen. These noblemen invited Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy to conquer Holland.

Burgundian, Habsburg and Spanish Habsburg Netherlands (1384–1581)

Most of the Imperial and French fiefs in what is now the Netherlands and Belgium were united in a personal union by Philip the Good in 1433. The House of Valois-Burgundy and their Habsburg heirs would rule the Low Countries from 1384 to 1581. The new rulers defended Dutch trading interests. The fleets of the County of Holland defeated the fleets of the Hanseatic League several times. Amsterdam grew and in the 15th century became the primary trading port in Europe for grain from the Baltic region. Amsterdam distributed grain to the major cities of Belgium, Northern France and England. This trade was vital because Holland could no longer produce enough grain to feed itself. Land drainage had caused the peat of the former wetlands to reduce to a level that was too low for drainage to be maintained.

Under Habsburg Charles V, all fiefs in the current Netherlands region were united into the Seventeen Provinces, which included most of present-day Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of France and Germany. In 1568, under Phillip II, the Eighty Years' War between the Provinces and their Spanish ruler began. The level of ferocity exhibited by both sides can be gleaned from a Dutch chronicler's report:

On more than one occasion men were seen hanging their own brothers, who had been taken prisoners in the enemy's ranks... A Spaniard had ceased to be human in their eyes. On one occasion, a surgeon at Veer cut the heart from a Spanish prisoner, nailed it on a vessel's prow, and invited the townsmen to come and fasten their teeth in it, which many did with savage satisfaction.

The Duke of Alba attempted to suppress the Protestant movement in the Netherlands. Netherlanders were "burned, strangled, beheaded, or buried alive" by his "Blood Council" and Spanish soldiers. Bodies were displayed along roads to terrorise the population into submission. Alba boasted of having executed 18,600; this figure does not include those who perished by war and famine.

The first great siege was Alba's effort to capture Haarlem and thereby cut Holland in half. It dragged on from December 1572 to the next summer, when Haarlemers finally surrendered on 13 July upon the promise that the city would be spared from being sacked. It was a stipulation Don Fadrique was unable to honour, when his soldiers mutinied, angered over pay owed and the miserable conditions of the campaign. On 4 November 1576, Spanish tercios seized Antwerp and subjected it to the worst pillage in the Netherlands' history. The citizens resisted but were overcome; seven thousand were killed and a thousand buildings were torched.

Following the sack of Antwerp, delegates from Catholic Brabant, Protestant Holland and Zeeland agreed to join Utrecht and William the Silent in driving out Spanish troops and forming a new government for the Netherlands. Don Juan of Austria, the new Spanish governor, was forced to concede initially, but within months returned to active hostilities. The Dutch looked for help from the Protestant Elizabeth I of England, but she initially stood by her commitments to the Spanish in the Treaty of Bristol of 1574. When the next large-scale battle occurred at Gembloux in 1578, the Spanish forces won easily. In light of the defeat at Gembloux, the southern states of the Seventeen Provinces distanced themselves from the rebels in the north with the 1579 Union of Arras. Opposing them, the northern half of the Seventeen Provinces forged the Union of Utrecht in which they committed to support each other against the Spanish. The Union of Utrecht is seen as the foundation of the modern Netherlands.

Spanish troops sacked Maastricht in 1579, killing over 10,000 civilians. In 1581, the northern provinces adopted the Act of Abjuration, the declaration of independence in which the provinces officially deposed Philip II. Against the rebels Philip could draw on the resources of the Spanish Empire. Elizabeth I sympathised with the Dutch struggle and sent an army of 7,600 soldiers to aid them. English forces faced the Spanish in the Netherlands under the Duke of Parma in a series of largely indecisive actions that tied down significant numbers of Spanish troops and bought time for the Dutch to reorganise their defences. The war continued until 1648, when Spain under King Philip IV recognised the independence of the seven north-western provinces in the Peace of Münster. Parts of the southern provinces became de facto colonies of the new republican-mercantile empire.

Dutch Republic (1581–1795)

Following the declaration of independence, the provinces of Holland, Zeeland, Groningen, Friesland, Utrecht, Overijssel, and Gelderland entered into a confederation. All these duchies, lordships and counties enjoyed a significant degree of autonomy and was governed by its own administrative body known as the States-Provincial. The confederal government, known as the States General, was headquartered in The Hague and comprised representatives from each of the seven provinces. The sparsely populated region of Drenthe was part of the republic, albeit not considered a province in its own right. Moreover, during the Eighty Years' War, the Republic came to occupy a number of Generality Lands located in Flanders, Brabant and Limburg. These areas were primarily inhabited by Roman Catholics and lacked a distinct governmental structure of their own. They were utilized as a buffer zone between the Republic and the Spanish-controlled Southern Netherlands.

In the Dutch Golden Age, spanning much of the 17th century, the Dutch Empire grew to become one of the major seafaring and economic powers. Science, military and art (especially painting) were among the most acclaimed in the world. By 1650, the Dutch owned 16,000 merchant ships. The Dutch East India Company and the Dutch West India Company established colonies and trading posts all over the world. The Dutch settlement in North America began with the founding of New Amsterdam in 1614. In South Africa, the Dutch settled the Cape Colony in 1652. Dutch colonies in South America were established along the many rivers in the fertile Guyana plains, among them Colony of Surinam (now Suriname). In Asia, the Dutch established a presence in India, the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), Formosa (now Taiwan), and the only western trading post in Japan, Dejima. During the period of Proto-industrialisation, the empire received 50% of textiles and 80% of silks import from the India's Mughal Empire.

Many economic historians regard the Netherlands as the first thoroughly capitalist country. In early modern Europe, it had the wealthiest trading city in Amsterdam, and the first full-time stock exchange. The inventiveness of the traders led to insurance and retirement funds as well as phenomena such as the boom-bust cycle, the world's first asset-inflation bubble, the tulip mania of 1636–1637, and the world's first bear raider, Isaac le Maire. In 1672 – known in Dutch history as the Rampjaar (Disaster Year) – the Dutch Republic was attacked by France, England and three German Bishoprics simultaneously, in what would become known as the Franco-Dutch War. At sea, it could successfully prevent the English and French navies from blockading the western shores. On land, however, it was almost taken over by the advancing French and German armies from the east. It managed to turn the tide by inundating parts of Holland.

From 1672 to 1712, the Republic, led by William III of Orange and Anthonie Heinsius would regularly clash with France in what some historians have come to call the Forty Years' War. In the Nine Years' War and the War of the Spanish Succession, the Republic was at the centre of anti-French coalitions. The Dutch ultimately successfully defended the Spanish Netherlands, established a barrier there, and their troops proved central to the alliance which halted French territorial expansion in Europe until a new cycle began in 1792 with the French Revolutionary Wars. However, the wars left them effectively bankrupt, and inflicted permanent damage on the Dutch merchant navy; while they remained the dominant economic power in the Far East, Britain took over as the pre-eminent global commercial and maritime power. Between 1590 and 1713, the United Provinces consistently possessed one of Europe's largest and most capable armies. However, following the conclusion of the War of the Spanish Succession, other major powers such as Prussia, Austria, Britain, and Russia significantly expanded their military forces. The Republic struggled to match these developments, and gradually assumed the status of a mid-tier power. However, historians have sometimes overstated the extent of this decline, especially when considering the period up to the 1750s.

Batavian Republic and Kingdom (1795–1890)

In the 18th century the Dutch Republic had seen a state of a general decline, with economic competition from England and long-standing rivalries between the two main factions in Dutch society, the republican Staatsgezinden and the supporters of the stadtholder the Prinsgezinden as main political factions. With the armed support of revolutionary France, Dutch republicans proclaimed the Batavian Republic, modelled after the French Republic and rendering the Netherlands a unitary state on 19 January 1795. The stadtholder William V of Orange had fled to England. From 1806 to 1810, the Kingdom of Holland was set up by Napoleon Bonaparte as a puppet kingdom governed by his brother Louis Bonaparte. However, King Louis Bonaparte tried to serve Dutch interests instead of his brother's, and he was forced to abdicate on 1 July 1810. The Emperor sent in an army and the Netherlands became part of the French Empire until November 1813, when Napoleon was defeated in the Battle of Leipzig.

William Frederick, son of the last stadtholder, returned to the Netherlands in 1813 and proclaimed himself Sovereign Prince. Two years later, the Congress of Vienna added the southern Netherlands to the north to create a strong country on the northern border of France. William Frederick raised this United Netherlands to the status of a kingdom and proclaimed himself as King William I in 1815. William became hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg in exchange for his German possessions. However, the Southern Netherlands had been culturally separate from the north since 1581, and rebelled. The south gained independence in 1830 as Belgium (recognised by the Northern Netherlands in 1839 as the Kingdom of the Netherlands was created by decree), while the personal union between Luxembourg and the Netherlands was severed in 1890, when William III died with no surviving male heirs. Ascendancy laws prevented his daughter Queen Wilhelmina from becoming the next Grand Duchess.

The Belgian Revolution and the Java War in the Dutch East Indies brought the Netherlands to the brink of bankruptcy. However, the Cultivation System was introduced in 1830; in the Dutch East Indies, 20% of village land had to be devoted to government crops for export. The policy brought the Dutch enormous wealth and made the colony self-sufficient. The Netherlands abolished slavery in its colonies in 1863. Enslaved people in Suriname would be fully free only in 1873.

World wars and beyond (1890–present)

The Netherlands remained neutral during World War I, in part because the import of goods through the Netherlands proved essential to German survival until the blockade by the British Royal Navy in 1916. That changed in World War II, when Germany invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940. The Rotterdam Blitz forced most of the Dutch army to surrender. During the occupation, over 100,000 Dutch Jews were transported to Nazi extermination camps; only a few survived. Dutch workers were conscripted for forced labour in Germany, civilians who resisted were killed in reprisal for attacks on German soldiers, and the countryside was plundered for food. Although there were thousands of Dutch who risked their lives by hiding Jews from the Germans, over 20,000 Dutch fascists joined the Waffen SS. Political collaborators were members of the fascist NSB, the only legal political party in the occupied Netherlands. On 8 December 1941, the Dutch government-in-exile in London declared war on Japan, but could not prevent the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies. In 1944–45, the First Canadian Army liberated much of the Netherlands. Soon after VE Day, the Dutch fought a colonial war against the new Republic of Indonesia.

Decolonisation

In 1954, the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands reformed the political structure as a result of international pressure to carry out decolonisation. The Dutch colonies of Surinam and Curaçao and Dependencies and the European country all became countries within the Kingdom, on a basis of equality. Indonesia had declared its independence in August 1945. Suriname followed in 1975. The Netherlands was one of the founding members of Benelux and NATO. In the 1950s, the Netherlands became one of the six founding countries of the European Communities, following the 1952 establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community, and subsequent 1958 creations of the European Economic Community and European Atomic Energy Community. In 1993, the former two were incorporated into the European Union.

Government-encouraged emigration efforts to reduce population density prompted some 500,000 Dutch to leave the country after the war. The 1960s and 1970s were a time of great social and cultural change, such as rapid de-pillarisation. Students and other youth rejected traditional mores and pushed for change in matters such as women's rights, sexuality, disarmament and environmental issues. In 2002 the euro was introduced as fiat money, and in 2010 the Netherlands Antilles was dissolved. Referendums were held on each island. As a result, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (the BES islands) were incorporated as special municipalities upon the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles. The special municipalities are collectively known as the Caribbean Netherlands.

Geography

The European Netherlands has a total area of , including water bodies, and a land area of . The Caribbean Netherlands has a total area of It lies between latitudes 50° and 54° N, and longitudes 3° and 8° E.

The Netherlands is geographically very low relative to sea level and is considered a flat country, with about 26% of its area and 21% of its population below sea level. The European part of the country is for the most part flat, with the exception of foothills in the far southeast, up to a height of no more than at the Vaalserberg, and some low hill ranges in the central parts. Most of the areas below sea level are caused by peat extraction or achieved through land reclamation. Since the late 16th century, large polder areas are preserved through elaborate drainage systems that include dikes, canals and pumping stations.

Much of the country was originally formed by the estuaries of three large European rivers: the Rhine (Rijn), the Meuse (Maas) and the Scheldt (Schelde), as well as their tributaries. The south-western part of the Netherlands is a river delta of these rivers, the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta.

The European Netherlands is divided into north and south parts by the Rhine, the Waal, its main tributary branch, and the Meuse. These rivers functioned as a natural barrier between fiefdoms and hence historically created a cultural divide, as is evident in some phonetic traits that are recognisable on either side of what the Dutch call their "Great Rivers" (de Grote Rivieren). Another significant branch of the Rhine, the IJssel river, discharges into Lake IJssel, the former Zuiderzee ('southern sea'). Just like the previous, this river forms a linguistic divide: people to the northeast of this river speak Dutch Low Saxon dialects (except for the province of Friesland, which has its own language).

Geology

The Netherlands is mostly composed of deltaic, coastal and aeolian derived sediments during the Pleistocene glacial and interglacial periods.

Almost the entire west Netherlands is composed of the Rhine-Meuse river estuary. In the east of the Netherlands, remains are found of the last ice age, which ended approximately ten thousand years ago. As the continental ice sheet moved in from the north, it pushed moraine forward. The ice sheet halted as it covered the eastern half of the Netherlands. After the ice age ended, the moraine remained in the form of a long hill-line. The cities of Arnhem and Nijmegen are built on these hills.

Floods

Over the centuries, the Dutch coastline has changed considerably as a result of natural disasters and human intervention.

On 14 December 1287, St. Lucia's flood affected the Netherlands and Germany, killing more than 50,000 people in one of the most destructive floods in recorded history. The St. Elizabeth flood of 1421 and the mismanagement in its aftermath destroyed a newly reclaimed polder, replacing it with the Biesbosch tidal floodplains. The huge North Sea flood of February 1953 caused the collapse of several dikes in the southwest Netherlands; more than 1,800 people drowned. The Dutch government subsequently instituted a large-scale programme, the "Delta Works", to protect the country against future flooding, which was completed over a period of more than 40 years.

The impact of disasters was, to an extent, increased through human activity. Relatively high-lying swampland was drained to be used as farmland. The drainage caused the fertile peat to contract and ground levels to drop; groundwater levels were lowered to compensate, causing the underlying peat to contract further. Additionally, until the 19th century peat was mined, dried, and used for fuel, further exacerbating the problem. Even in flooded areas, peat extraction continued through turf dredging.

To guard against floods, a series of defences against the water were contrived. In the first millennium AD, villages and farmhouses were built on hills called terps. Later, these terps were connected by dikes. In the 12th century, local government agencies called "waterschappen" ("water boards") or "hoogheemraadschappen" ("high home councils") started to appear, whose job it was to maintain the water level and to protect a region from floods; these agencies continue to exist. As the ground level dropped, the dikes by necessity grew and merged into an integrated system. By the 13th century windmills had come into use to pump water. The windmills were later used to drain lakes, creating the famous polders.

In 1932 the Afsluitdijk ("Closure Dike") was completed, blocking the former Zuiderzee (Southern Sea) from the North Sea and thus creating the IJsselmeer (IJssel Lake). It became part of the larger Zuiderzee Works in which four polders totalling were reclaimed from the sea.

The Netherlands is one of the countries that may suffer most from climate change. Not only is the rising sea a problem, but erratic weather patterns may cause the rivers to overflow.

Delta Works

After the 1953 disaster, the Delta Works was constructed, which is a comprehensive set of civil works throughout the Dutch coast. The project started in 1958 and was largely completed in 1997 with the completion of the Maeslantkering. Since then, new projects have been periodically started to renovate and renew the Delta Works. The main goal of the Delta project was to reduce the risk of flooding in South Holland and Zeeland. This was achieved by raising of outer sea-dikes and of the inner, canal, and river dikes, and by closing off the sea estuaries of Zeeland. New risk assessments occasionally show problems requiring additional Delta project dike reinforcements. The Delta project is considered by the American Society of Civil Engineers as one of the seven wonders of the modern world.

It is anticipated that global warming will result in a rise in sea level. The Netherlands is actively preparing for a sea-level rise. A politically neutral Delta Commission has formulated an action plan to cope with a sea-level rise of and a simultaneous land height decline of . The plan encompasses the reinforcement of existing coastal defences like dikes and dunes with of additional flood protection. Climate change will not only threaten the Netherlands from the coast, but could also alter rainfall patterns and river run-off. To protect the country from river flooding, another programme is already being executed. The Room for the River plan grants more flow space to rivers, protects the major populated areas and allows for periodic flooding of indefensible lands. The few residents who lived in these so-called "overflow areas" have been moved to higher ground, with some of that ground having been raised above anticipated flood levels.

Climate change

The Netherlands is already affected by climate change. The average temperature in the Netherlands rose by more than 2 °C from 1901 to 2020. Climate change has resulted in increased frequency of droughts and heatwaves. Because significant portions of the Netherlands have been reclaimed from the sea or otherwise are very near sea level, the Netherlands is very vulnerable to sea level rise.

The Netherlands has the fourth largest greenhouse gas emissions per capita of the European Union, in part due to the large number of cows. The Dutch government has set goals to lower emissions in the next few decades. The Dutch response to climate change is driven by a number of unique factors, including larger green recovery plans by the European Union in the face of the COVID-19 and a climate change litigation case, State of the Netherlands v. Urgenda Foundation, which created mandatory climate change mitigation through emissions reductions 25% below 1990 levels. In 2021 CO2 emissions were down 14% compared to 1990 levels. The goal of the Dutch government is to reduce emissions in 2030 by 49%.

Nature

The Netherlands has 21 national parks and hundreds of other nature reserves. Most of these are owned by Staatsbosbeheer, the national department for forestry and nature conservation and Natuurmonumenten, a private organisation that buys, protects and manages nature reserves. The Wadden Sea in the north, with its tidal flats and wetlands, is rich in biological diversity, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Nature Site. The Eastern Scheldt, formerly the northeast estuary of the river Scheldt was designated a national park in 2002, making it the largest national park in the Netherlands at an area of .

Phytogeographically, the European Netherlands is shared between the Atlantic European and Central European provinces of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, the European territory of the Netherlands belongs to the ecoregion of Atlantic mixed forests. In 1871, the last old original natural woods were cut down. These woods were planted on anthropogenic heaths and sand-drifts (overgrazed heaths) (Veluwe). The Netherlands had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 0.6/10, ranking it 169th globally out of 172 countries.

Nitrogen pollution is a problem. The number of flying insects in the Netherlands has dropped by 75% since the 1990s.

Caribbean islands

In the Lesser Antilles islands of the Caribbean, the territories of Curaçao, Aruba and Sint Maarten have a constituent country status within the wider Kingdom of the Netherlands. Another three territories which make up the Caribbean Netherlands are designated as special municipalities. The Caribbean Netherlands have maritime borders with Anguilla, Curaçao, France (Saint Barthélemy), Saint Kitts and Nevis, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Venezuela. The islands of the Caribbean Netherlands enjoy a tropical climate with warm weather all year round.

Within this island group:

• Bonaire is part of the ABC islands within the Leeward Antilles island chain off the Venezuelan coast. The Leeward Antilles have a mixed volcanic and coral origin.

• Saba and Sint Eustatius are part of the SSS islands within the Leeward Islands. They are located east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The locals (French, Spanish, Dutch and the locally spoken English) consider them part of the Windward Islands, although in the international English language, the Windward Islands refer to other islands further south. These two islands are of volcanic origin and hilly, leaving little ground suitable for agriculture. The highest point is Mount Scenery, , on Saba. This is the highest point in the country and in the entire Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Government and politics

The Netherlands has been a constitutional monarchy since 1815 and a parliamentary democracy since 1848. The Netherlands is described as a consociational state. Dutch politics and governance are characterised by an effort to achieve broad consensus on important issues. The Netherlands was ranked as the 17th best electoral democracy in the world by V-Dem Democracy indices in 2023 and 9th most democratic country in the world by the Democracy Index (The Economist) in 2022.

The monarch is the head of state, at present King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands. Constitutionally, the position is equipped with limited powers due to ministerial responsibility.

The executive power is formed by the government that includes the monarch and the Council of Ministers, the deliberative organ of the Dutch cabinet. The cabinet usually consists of 13 to 16 ministers and a varying number of state secretaries. One to three ministers are ministers without portfolio. The council of ministers is presided over by the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, who often is the leader of the largest party of the coalition. The Prime Minister is a primus inter pares, with no explicit powers beyond those of the other ministers. Dick Schoof has been Prime Minister since July 2024, succeeding the longest-serving Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

The cabinet is responsible to the bicameral parliament, the States General, which also has legislative powers. The 150 members of the House of Representatives, the lower house, are elected in direct elections on the basis of party-list proportional representation. These are held every four years, or sooner in case the cabinet falls. The provincial assemblies, the States Provincial, are directly elected every four years as well. The members of the provincial assemblies elect the 75 members of the Senate, the upper house, which has the power to reject laws, but not amend them.

Political culture

Both trade unions and employers organisations are consulted in policymaking in the financial, economic and social areas. They meet regularly with the government in the Social-Economic Council.

The Netherlands has a tradition of social tolerance. In the late 19th century this Dutch tradition of religious tolerance transformed into a system of pillarisation, in which religious groups coexisted separately and only interacted at the level of government. Protection for LGBT and abortion rights are enshrined within the Netherlands' foreign aid policy.

No single party has held a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and as a result, coalition cabinets had to be formed. Since male suffrage became universal in 1917, the Dutch political system has been dominated by three families of political parties: Christian Democrats (currently the CDA), Social Democrats (currently the PvdA), and Liberals (currently the VVD). In November 2023, the right-wing populist Party for Freedom of Geert Wilders was the winner of a general election, securing 37 out of 150 seats. A cabinet was inaugurated in July 2024, and Dick Schoof succeeded Mark Rutte as prime minister.

Administrative divisions

The Netherlands is divided into twelve provinces, each under a King's Commissioner. All provinces are divided into municipalities (gemeenten), of which there are 342 (2023).

The country is subdivided into 21 water districts, governed by a water board (waterschap or hoogheemraadschap), each having authority in matters concerning water management. The creation of water boards pre-dates that of the nation itself, the first appearing in 1196. The Dutch water boards are among the oldest democratic entities in the world still in existence. Direct elections of the water boards take place every four years.

Within the Dutch town of Baarle-Nassau, are 22 Belgian exclaves and within those are 8 Dutch enclaves.

The administrative structure on the three BES islands, collectively known as the Caribbean Netherlands, is outside the twelve provinces. These islands have the status of openbare lichamen (public bodies). In the Netherlands these administrative units are often referred to as special municipalities.

Foreign relations

The history of Dutch foreign policy has been characterized by its neutrality. According to the 2024 Global Peace Index, Netherlands is the 18th most peaceful country in the world. Since World War II, the Netherlands has become a member of a large number of international organisations, most prominently the UN, NATO and the EU.

The foreign policy of the Netherlands is based on four basic commitments: to Atlantic co-operation, to European integration, to international development and to international law. One of the more controversial international issues surrounding the Netherlands is its liberal policy towards soft drugs.

The historical ties inherited from its colonial past in Indonesia and Suriname still influence the foreign relations of the Netherlands. Many with heritage from these countries now live permanently in the Netherlands.

Military

The Netherlands has one of the oldest standing armies in Europe; it was first established in the late 1500s. After the defeat of Napoleon, the Dutch army was transformed into a conscription army. The Netherlands abandoned its neutrality in 1948 when it signed the Treaty of Brussels, and became a founding member of NATO in 1949. The Dutch military was therefore part of the NATO strength in Cold War Europe. In 1983 the (ceremonial) function of commander of chief of the monarch was transferred to the government, which means the monarch (nominal head of state) has no formal military function. In 1996 conscription was suspended, and the Dutch army was once again transformed into a professional army. Since the 1990s the Dutch army has been involved in the Bosnian War and the Kosovo War, it held a province in Iraq after the defeat of Saddam Hussein, and it was engaged in Afghanistan. The Netherlands has ratified many international conventions concerning war law. The Netherlands decided not to sign the UN treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

The military is composed of four branches, all of which carry the prefix Koninklijke (Royal):

• Koninklijke Marine (KM), the Royal Netherlands Navy, including the Naval Air Service and Marine Corps;

• Koninklijke Landmacht (KL), the Royal Netherlands Army;

• Koninklijke Luchtmacht (KLu), the Royal Netherlands Air Force;

• Koninklijke Marechaussee (KMar), the Royal Marechaussee (Military Police), tasks include military police and border control.

The submarine service opened to women on 1 January 2017. The Korps Commandotroepen, the Special Operations Force of the Netherlands Army, is open to women, but because of the extremely high physical demands for initial training, it is almost impossible for a woman to become a commando. The Dutch Ministry of Defence employs more than 70,000 personnel, including over 20,000 civilians and over 50,000 military personnel.

Economy

Since the 16th century, shipping, fishing, agriculture, trade, and banking have been leading sectors of the Dutch economy. The Netherlands has a high level of economic freedom. The Netherlands is one of the top countries in the Global Enabling Trade Report (2nd in 2016), and was ranked the fifth most competitive economy in the world by the Swiss International Institute for Management Development in 2017. The country was ranked the 8th most innovative nation in the world in the 2024 Global Innovation Index down from 2nd in 2018.

, the key trading partners of the Netherlands were Germany, Belgium, the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Italy, China and Russia. The Netherlands is one of the world's 10 leading exporting countries. Foodstuffs form the largest industrial sector. Other major industries include chemicals, metallurgy, machinery, electrical goods, trade, services and tourism. Examples of international Dutch companies operating in the Netherlands include Randstad NV, Heineken, KLM, financial services (ING, ABN AMRO, Rabobank), chemicals (DSM, AKZO), petroleum refining (Shell plc), electronic machinery (Philips, ASML), and satellite navigation (TomTom).

The Netherlands has the 17th-largest economy in the world, and ranks 11th in GDP (nominal) per capita. The Netherlands has low income inequality, but wealth inequality is relatively high. Despite ranking 11th in GDP per capita, UNICEF ranked the Netherlands 1st in child well-being in rich countries, both in 2007 and in 2013.

Amsterdam is the financial and business capital of the Netherlands. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange (AEX), part of Euronext, is the world's oldest stock exchange and is one of Europe's largest bourses. As a founding member of the euro, the Netherlands replaced (for accounting purposes) its former currency, the "gulden" (guilder), on 1 January 1999. Actual euro coins and banknotes followed on 1 January 2002. One euro was equivalent to 2.20371 Dutch guilders. In the Caribbean Netherlands, the United States dollar is used instead. The Netherlands is a "conduit country" that helps to funnel profits from high-tax countries to tax havens. It has been ranked as the 4th largest tax haven in the world.

The Dutch ___location gives it prime access to markets in the United Kingdom and Germany, with the Port of Rotterdam being the largest port in Europe. Other important parts of the economy are international trade, banking and transport. The Netherlands successfully addressed the issue of public finances and stagnating job growth long before its European partners. Amsterdam is the 5th-busiest tourist destination in Europe, with more than 4.2 million international visitors. Since the enlargement of the EU, large numbers of migrant workers have arrived in the Netherlands from Central and Eastern Europe.

The Netherlands continues to be one of the leading European nations for attracting foreign direct investment and is one of the five largest investors in the United States. The economy experienced a slowdown in 2005, but in 2006 recovered to the fastest pace in six years on the back of increased exports and strong investment. The pace of job growth reached 10-year highs in 2007. The Netherlands is the fourth-most competitive economy in the world, according to the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report.

Energy

Beginning in the 1950s, the Netherlands discovered huge natural gas resources. The sale of natural gas generated enormous revenues for the Netherlands for decades, adding, over sixty years, hundreds of billions of euros to the government's budget, about 1.5% of GNP. However, the unforeseen consequences of the country's huge energy wealth impacted the competitiveness of other sectors of the economy, leading to the theory of Dutch disease. The field is operated by government-owned Gasunie and output is jointly exploited by the government, Royal Dutch Shell, and ExxonMobil. Gas production caused earthquakes which damaged housing. After a large public backlash, the government decided to phase out gas production from the field.

The Netherlands has made notable progress in its transition to a carbon-neutral economy. Thanks to increasing energy efficiency, energy demand shows signs of decoupling from economic growth. The share of energy from renewable sources doubled from 2008 to 2019, with especially strong growth in offshore wind and rooftop solar. However, the Netherlands remains heavily reliant on fossil fuels and has a concentration of energy- and emission-intensive industries that will not be easy to decarbonise. Its 2019 Climate Agreement defines policies and measures to support the achievement of Dutch climate targets and was developed through a collaborative process involving parties from across Dutch society. As of 2018, the Netherlands had one of the highest rates of carbon dioxide emissions per person in the European Union.

Agriculture and natural resources

The Netherlands' biocapacity totals only 0.8 global hectares per person in 2016, 0.2 of which are dedicated to agriculture. The Dutch biocapacity per person is just about half of the 1.6 global hectares of biocapacity per person available worldwide. In contrast, in 2016, the Dutch used on average 4.8 global hectares of biocapacity – their ecological footprint of consumption. As a result, the Netherlands was running a biocapacity deficit of 4.0 global hectares per person in 2016. The Dutch waste more food than any other EU citizen, at over three times the EU average.

The Dutch agricultural sector is highly mechanised, and has a strong focus on international exports. It employs about 4% of the Dutch labour force but produces large surpluses in the food-processing industry and accounts for 21% of the Dutch total export value. The Dutch rank first in the European Union and second worldwide in value of agricultural exports, behind only the United States, with agricultural exports earning €80.7 billion in 2014, up from €75.4 billion in 2012. In 2019 agricultural exports were worth €94.5 billion. In an effort to reduce agricultural pollution, the Dutch government is imposing strict limits on the productivity of the farming sector, triggering Dutch farmers' protests.

One-third of the world's exports of chilis, tomatoes, and cucumbers go through the country. The Netherlands exports one-fifteenth of the world's apples. A significant portion of Dutch agricultural exports consists of fresh-cut plants, flowers, and flower bulbs, with the Netherlands exporting two-thirds of the world's total.

Demographics

The Netherlands had an estimated population of 17,947,406 as of 31 November 2023. It is the 6th most densely populated country in Europe and the 33rd most densely populated country in the world with a density of . Between 1900 and 1950, the country's population almost doubled from 5.1 to 10 million. From 1950 to 2000, the population further increased, to 15.9 million.

The fertility rate in the Netherlands is 1.78 children per woman (2018 estimate), which is high compared with many other European countries, but below the rate of 2.1 children per woman required for natural population replacement. The Netherlands has one of the oldest populations in the world, with the average age of 42.7 years. Life expectancy is high in the Netherlands: 84.3 years for newborn girls and 79.7 for boys (2020 estimate). The Dutch are the tallest people in the world, by nationality, with an average height of for men and for women in 2009. The average height of young men in the Netherlands increased from 5 feet, 4 inches to approximately 6 feet between the 1850s until the early 2000s.

The country has a migration rate of 1.9 migrants per 1,000 inhabitants per year. The majority of the population of the Netherlands is ethnically Dutch. In 2022, the population was 74.8% ethnically Dutch, 8.3% other European, 2.4% Turkish, 2.4% Moroccan, 2.0% Indonesian, 2.0% Surinamese, and 8.1% others. Some 150,000 to 200,000 people living in the Netherlands are expatriates, mostly concentrated in and around Amsterdam and The Hague, now constituting almost 10% of the population of these cities. Significant minorities in the country include Frisians 700,000, Jews 41,000-45,000 and the Roma and the Sinti 40,000.

According to Eurostat, in 2010 there were 1.8 million foreign-born residents in the Netherlands, corresponding to 11.1% of the total population. Of these, 1.4 million (8.5%) were born outside the EU and 0.43 million (2.6%) were born in another EU Member State. In 2022, there were 4.4 million residents in the Netherlands with at least one foreign-born parent. Over half the young people in Amsterdam and Rotterdam have a non-western background. Dutch people, or descendants of Dutch people, are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in South Africa and the United States.

The Randstad is the country's largest conurbation located in the west of the country and contains the four largest cities: Amsterdam in the province North Holland, Rotterdam and The Hague in the province South Holland, and Utrecht in the province Utrecht. The Randstad has a population of about 8.2 million inhabitants and is the 5th largest metropolitan area in Europe. According to Dutch Central Statistics Bureau, in 2015, 28 per cent of the Dutch population had a spendable income above 45,000 euros (which does not include spending on health care or education).

Language

The official language of the Netherlands is Dutch, which is spoken by the vast majority of inhabitants. The dialects most spoken in the Netherlands are the Brabantian-Hollandic dialects.

Besides Dutch, West Frisian is recognised as a second official language in the northern province of Friesland (Fryslân in West Frisian). West Frisian has a formal status for government correspondence in that province. Four other languages are protected under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. The first of these recognised regional languages is Low Saxon (Nedersaksisch in Dutch). Low Saxon consists of several dialects of the Low German language spoken in the north and east of the Netherlands, like Tweants in the region of Twente, and Drents in the province of Drenthe.

Limburgish is recognised as a regional language. It consists of Dutch varieties of Meuse-Rhenish and is spoken in the south-eastern province of Limburg. Yiddish and the Romani language were recognised in 1996 as non-territorial languages.

English has a formal status in the special municipalities of Saba and Sint Eustatius. It is widely spoken on these islands. Papiamento has a formal status in the special municipality of Bonaire.

The Netherlands has a long tradition of learning foreign languages, formalised in Dutch education laws. Some 90% of the total population are able to converse in English, 70% in German, and 29% in French. English is a mandatory course in all secondary schools. In most lower level secondary school educations (vmbo), one additional modern foreign language is mandatory during the first two years. In higher level secondary schools (havo and vwo), the acquisition of two additional modern foreign language skills is mandatory. Besides English, the standard modern languages are French and German, although schools can replace one of these with Chinese, Spanish, Russian, Italian, Turkish or Arabic. Additionally, schools in Friesland teach and have exams in West Frisian.

Religion

Forms of Christianity have dominated religious life in what is now the Netherlands for more than 1,200 years, and by the middle of the sixteenth century the country was strongly Protestant (Calvinist). The population was predominantly Christian until the late 20th century. Although significant religious diversity remains, there has been a decline of religious adherence.

In 2020, Statistics Netherlands found that 55% of the total population declared itself non-religious. Groups that represent the non-religious in the Netherlands include Humanistisch Verbond. Catholics comprised 19.8% of the total population, Protestants (14.4%). Muslims comprised 5.2% of the total population and followers of other Christian denominations and other religions (like Judaism, Buddhism and Hinduism) comprised the remaining 5.1%. A 2015 survey from another source found that Protestants outnumbered Catholics.

The southern provinces of North Brabant and Limburg have historically been strongly Catholic, and some residents consider the Catholic Church as a base for their cultural identity. Protestantism in the Netherlands consists of a number of churches within various traditions. The largest of these is the Protestant Church in the Netherlands (PKN), a united church which is Calvinist and Lutheran in orientation. It was formed in 2004 as a merger of the Dutch Reformed Church, the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands and a smaller Lutheran Church. Several orthodox Calvinist and liberal churches did not merge into the PKN. Although Christianity has become a minority in the Netherlands, it contains a Bible Belt from Zeeland to the northern parts of the province Overijssel, in which Protestant beliefs remain strong. Several Christian religious holidays are national holidays (Christmas, Easter, Pentecost, and the Ascension of Jesus).

Islam is the second largest religion in the state. The Muslim population increased from the 1960 as a result of large numbers of migrant workers. This included migrant workers from Turkey and Morocco, as well as migrants from former Dutch colonies, such as Surinam and Indonesia. During the 1990s, Muslim refugees arrived from countries like Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, and Afghanistan. Since 2000 there has been raised awareness of religion, mainly due to Islamic extremism.

Another religion practised is Hinduism, with around 215,000 adherents (slightly over 1% of the population). Most of these are Indo-Surinamese. There are sizeable populations of Hindu immigrants from India and Sri Lanka, and Western adherents of Hinduism-orientated new religious movements such as Hare Krishnas. The Netherlands has an estimated 250,000 Buddhists or people strongly attracted to this religion, mainly ethnic Dutch people. There are about 30,000 Jews in the Netherlands, though the Institute for Jewish Policy Research estimates range from 30,000 to 63,000, depending on how the number is calculated.

The Constitution of the Netherlands guarantees freedom of education, which means that all schools that adhere to general quality criteria receive the same government funding. This includes schools based on religious principles by religious groups (especially Catholic and Protestant). Three political parties in the Dutch parliament, (CDA, and two small parties, ChristianUnion and SGP) are based upon the Christian belief. Several Christian religious holidays are national holidays (Christmas, Easter, Pentecost and the Ascension of Jesus).

A survey in December 2014 concluded that for the first time there were more atheists (25%) than theists (17%) in the Netherlands, while the remainder of the population was agnostic (31%) or ietsistic (27%). In 2015, a vast majority of the inhabitants of the Netherlands (82%) said they had never or almost never visited a church, and 59% stated that they had never been to a church. Of all the people questioned, 24% saw themselves as atheist, an increase of 11% compared to the previous study done in 2006. The expected rise of spirituality has come to a halt according to research in 2015. In 2006, 40% of respondents considered themselves spiritual; in 2015 this has dropped to 31%. The number who believed in the existence of a higher power fell from 36% to 28% over the same period.

Education

Education in the Netherlands is compulsory between the ages of 5 and 16. If a child does not have a "starting qualification" (HAVO, VWO or MBO 2+ degree) they are still forced to attend classes until they achieve such a qualification or reach the age of 18.

Children in the Netherlands attend elementary school from (on average) ages 4 to 12. It has eight grades and the first is facultative. Based on an aptitude test, the eighth grade teacher's recommendation and the opinion of the pupil's parents or caretakers, a choice is made for one of the three main streams of secondary education.

The VMBO has four grades and is subdivided over several levels. Successfully completing the VMBO results in a low-level vocational degree that grants access to the MBO. The MBO (middle-level applied education) is a form of education that primarily focuses on teaching a practical trade or a vocational degree. With the MBO certification, a student can apply for the HBO. The HAVO has 5 grades and allows for admission to the HBO. The HBO (higher professional education) are universities of professional education (applied sciences) that award professional bachelor's degrees; similar to polytechnic degrees. An HBO degree gives access to the university system. The VWO (comprising atheneum and gymnasium) has 6 grades and prepares for studying at a research university. Universities offer a three-year bachelor's degree, followed by a one or two-year master's degree, which in turn can be followed by a doctoral degree programme.

Doctoral candidates in the Netherlands are generally non-tenured employees of a university. All Dutch schools and universities are publicly funded and managed with the exception of religious schools. Dutch universities have a tuition fee of about 2,000 euros a year for students from the Netherlands and the EU, and 15,000 euros for non-EU students.

Healthcare

In 2016, the Netherlands maintained its position at the top of the annual Euro Health Consumer Index (EHCI), which compares healthcare systems in Europe, scoring 916 of a maximum 1,000 points. The Netherlands has been among the top three countries in each report published since 2005. On 48 indicators such as patient rights and information, accessibility, prevention and outcomes, the Netherlands secured its top position among 37 European countries for six years in a row.

The Netherlands was ranked first in a study in 2009 comparing the health care systems of the United States, Australia, Canada, Germany and New Zealand.

According to the Health Consumer Powerhouse (HCP), patients have a great degree of freedom from where to buy their health insurance, to where they get their healthcare. Healthcare decisions are made in dialogue between patients and healthcare professionals. Healthcare in the Netherlands is split 3 ways: in somatic and mental health care and in 'cure' (short term) and 'care' (long term). Home doctors (huisartsen, comparable to general practitioners) form the largest part of the first level. Being referred by a member of the first level is mandatory for access to the second and third level. The health care system is, in comparison to other Western countries, effective but not the most cost-effective.

Healthcare is financed by a dual system that came into effect in January 2006. Long-term treatments, especially those that involve semi-permanent hospitalisation, and disability costs such as wheelchairs, are covered by a state-controlled mandatory insurance. In 2009 this insurance covered 27% of all health care expenses. Other sources of health care payment are taxes (14%), out of pocket payments (9%), additional optional health insurance packages (4%) and a range of other sources (4%).

Health insurance in the Netherlands is mandatory. Healthcare in the Netherlands is covered by two statutory forms of insurance:

• Zorgverzekeringswet (ZVW), often called "basic insurance", covers common medical care.

• Algemene Wet Bijzondere Ziektekosten (AWBZ) covers long-term nursing and care.

While Dutch residents are automatically insured by the government for AWBZ, everyone has to buy their own basic healthcare insurance, except those under 18 who are automatically covered under their parents. Insurance companies are obliged to provide a package with a defined set of insured treatments. This insurance covers 41% of all health care expenses. Insurers have to offer a universal package for everyone over 18, regardless of age or state of health – it is illegal to refuse an application or impose special conditions. The funding burden for all short-term health care coverage is carried 50% by employers, 45% by the insured person and 5% by the government. Those on low incomes receive compensation to help them pay their insurance. Premiums paid by the insured are about €135 per month.

Transport

Mobility on Dutch roads has grown continuously since the 1950s and now exceeds 200 billion km travelled per year, three quarters of which are done by car. Around half of all trips in the Netherlands are made by car, 25% by bicycle, 20% walking, and 5% by public transport.

Road transport

The Netherlands has one of the densest road networks in the world. The Netherlands has a relatively high uptake of electric vehicles, as the government implemented ambitious policy on both charging infrastructure and tax benefits. As of 2019, the Netherlands hosts approximately 30% of all recharging stations in the European Union. Moreover, newly sold cars in the Netherlands have on average the lowest emissions in the EU.

Public transport

About 13% of all distance is travelled by public transport, the majority of which is by train. The Dutch rail network of 3,013 km route is also rather dense. The network is mostly focused on passenger rail services and connects all major cities, with over 400 stations. Trains are frequent, with two trains per hour on lesser lines, two to four trains per hour on average, and up to eight trains an hour on the busiest lines. The Dutch national train network includes the HSL-Zuid, a high-speed line between the Amsterdam metropolitan area and the Belgian border for trains running from Paris and London, to the Netherlands.

Cycling

Cycling is a ubiquitous mode of transport. Almost as many kilometres are covered by bicycle as by train. The Dutch are estimated to have at least 18 million bicycles, which makes more than one per capita, and twice as many as the circa 9 million motor vehicles on the road. In 2013, the European Cyclists' Federation ranked the Netherlands and Denmark as the most bike-friendly countries in Europe. Cycling infrastructure is extensive. Busy roads have received some 35,000 km of dedicated cycle tracks, physically segregated from motorised traffic. Busy junctions are often equipped with bicycle-specific traffic lights. There are large bicycle parking facilities, particularly in city centres and train stations.

Water transport

The Port of Rotterdam is the largest port in Europe and the largest port outside East Asia, with the rivers Meuse and Rhine providing excellent access to the hinterland upstream. , Rotterdam was the world's tenth largest container port. The port's main activities are petrochemical industries and general cargo handling and transshipment. The harbour functions as an important transit point for bulk materials and between the European continent and overseas. The Volkeraksluizen between Rotterdam and Antwerp are the biggest sluices for inland navigation in terms of tonnage. In 2007, the Betuweroute, a new fast freight railway from Rotterdam to Germany, was completed. Amsterdam is Europe's 4th largest port. The inland shipping fleet of the Netherlands is the largest in Europe. Passenger boats in the Netherlands includes a ferry network in Amsterdam, and waterbusses and taxis in Rotterdam.

Air transport

Schiphol Airport, just southwest of Amsterdam, is the main international airport in the Netherlands, and the third busiest airport in Europe by number of passengers. Schiphol is the main hub for KLM, the nation's flag carrier and the world's oldest airline. In 2016, the Royal Schiphol Group airports handled 70 million passengers. All air traffic is international and Schiphol Airport is connected to over 300 destinations worldwide, more than any other European airport. The airport is a major freight hub as well, processing 1.44 million tonnes of cargo in 2020. Smaller international airports are located in or near Eindhoven, Rotterdam, Maastricht and Groningen. Air transport is of vital significance for the Caribbean part of the Netherlands, with all islands having their own airport. This includes the shortest runway in the world on Saba.

Culture

Art, architecture and philosophy

The Netherlands has had many well-known painters. In the Middle Ages Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Bruegel the Elder were leading Dutch pioneers. During the Dutch Golden Age, the Dutch Republic was prosperous and witnessed a flourishing artistic movement. The "Dutch Masters", spanning this 17th century era, included Rembrandt, Johannes Vermeer, Jan Steen, and Jacob van Ruisdael. Famous Dutch painters of the 19th and 20th century included Vincent van Gogh and Piet Mondrian.

Literature flourished during the Dutch Golden Age, with Joost van den Vondel and P. C. Hooft as the most famous writers. In the 19th century, Multatuli wrote about the poor treatment of the natives in the Dutch colony. Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank is the most translated book from Dutch. Other important 20th century authors include Harry Mulisch, Jan Wolkers, Hella Haasse, Willem Frederik Hermans, Cees Nooteboom and Gerard Reve.

Various architectural styles can be distinguished in the Netherlands. The Romanesque architecture was built between 950 and 1250. Gothic architecture was used from about 1230. Gothic buildings had large windows, pointed arches and were richly decorated. Brabantine Gothic originated with the rise of the Duchy of Brabant and spread throughout the Burgundian provinces. Dutch Baroque architecture (1525–1630) and classicism (1630–1700) is especially evident in the west. Other architectural styles are Art Nouveau, Expressionism, De Stijl, Traditionalism and Brutalism.

Erasmus and Spinoza were famous Dutch philosophers. The Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens (1629–95) discovered Saturn's moon Titan, argued that light travelled as waves, invented the pendulum clock, and was the first physicist to use mathematical formulae. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek was the first to observe and describe single-celled organisms with a microscope.

Windmills, tulips, clogs, cheese, and cannabis have grown to symbolize the Netherlands, especially among tourists.

Dutch value system

The Dutch are proud of their cultural heritage, rich history in art, and involvement in international affairs. A predominant attitude in the Netherlands is to think of the nation as being "both tolerant and cosmopolitan."

A Dutch saying indicating their sense of national pride in their reclamation of land from the sea and marshes is "God created the world, but the Dutch created the Netherlands."

Dutch manners are open and direct with a no-nonsense attitude—informality combined with adherence to basic behaviour. "Dealing with the Dutch" by Jacob Vossestein states: "Dutch egalitarianism is the idea that people are equal, especially from a moral point of view, and accordingly, causes the somewhat ambiguous stance the Dutch have towards hierarchy and status."

The Netherlands is one of the most secular countries of Europe. Religion in the Netherlands is generally considered as a personal matter which is not supposed to be propagated in public, although it often remains a discussion subject.

Music

The Netherlands has multiple music traditions. Traditional Dutch music is a genre known as "Levenslied", meaning Song of life. These songs typically have a simple melody and rhythm, and a straightforward structure of verses and choruses. Themes can be light, but are often sentimental and include love, death and loneliness. Traditional musical instruments such as the accordion and the barrel organ are a staple of levenslied music, though in recent years many artists use synthesisers and guitars.

Contemporary Dutch rock and pop music (Nederpop) originated in the 1960s, heavily influenced by popular music from the United States and Britain. Bands such as Shocking Blue, Golden Earring, Tee Set, George Baker Selection and Focus enjoyed international success. From the 1980s, more and more pop musicians started working in the Dutch language, partly inspired by the huge success of the band Doe Maar.

Current symphonic metal bands Epica, Delain, ReVamp, The Gathering, Asrai, Autumn, Ayreon and Within Temptation as well as jazz and pop singer Caro Emerald are having international success. Metal bands like Hail of Bullets, God Dethroned, Izegrim, Asphyx, Textures, Heidevolk, and Slechtvalk are popular guests at the biggest metal festivals in Europe. Contemporary local stars include pop singer Anouk, country pop singer Ilse DeLange, Limburgish dialect singing folk band Rowwen Hèze, rock band BLØF and duo Nick & Simon.

Early 1990s Dutch and Belgian house music came together in Eurodance project 2 Unlimited. Selling 18 million records, the two singers in the band are the most successful Dutch music artists to this day. Tracks like "Get Ready for This" are still popular themes of U.S. sports events. In the mid-1990s Dutch language rap and hip hop (Nederhop) came to fruition and has become popular in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Since the 1990s, Dutch electronic dance music (EDM) gained widespread popularity in the world in many forms. Some of the world's best known dance music DJs hail from the Netherlands, including Armin van Buuren, Tiësto, Hardwell, Martin Garrix, Dash Berlin, Julian Jordan, Nicky Romero, W&W, Don Diablo, Ummet Ozcan, Headhunterz, Sander van Doorn, and Afrojack; the first four of which have been ranked as best in the world by DJ Mag Top 100 DJs. The Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) is the world's leading electronic music conference and the biggest club festival for the many electronic subgenres on the planet. The Netherlands has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest since its first edition in 1956, and has won five times.

In classical music, Jan Sweelinck is a famous Dutch composer, with Louis Andriessen among the best known contemporary Dutch classical composers. Ton Koopman is a Dutch conductor, organist and harpsichordist. Notable violinists are Janine Jansen and André Rieu.

Film and television

Some Dutch films – mainly by director Paul Verhoeven – have received international distribution and recognition, such as Turkish Delight ("Turks Fruit", 1973), Soldier of Orange ("Soldaat van Oranje", 1977), Spetters (1980), and The Fourth Man ("De Vierde Man", 1983). Verhoeven then went on to direct big Hollywood movies like RoboCop (1987), Total Recall (1990), and Basic Instinct (1992), and returned with Dutch film Black Book ("Zwartboek", 2006).

Other well-known Dutch film directors are Jan de Bont, Anton Corbijn, Dick Maas, Fons Rademakers, and documentary makers Bert Haanstra and Joris Ivens. Film director Theo van Gogh achieved international notoriety in 2004 when he was murdered by Mohammed Bouyeri in the streets of Amsterdam after directing the short film Submission.

Directors of photography from the Netherlands include Hoyte van Hoytema and Theo van de Sande. Internationally successful Dutch actors include Famke Janssen, Carice van Houten, Rutger Hauer, and Jeroen Krabbé.

The Netherlands has a well developed television market, with both multiple commercial and public broadcasters. Imported TV programmes, as well as interviews with responses in a foreign language, are virtually always shown with the original sound and subtitled. Only foreign shows for children are dubbed.

TV exports from the Netherlands mostly take the form of specific formats and franchises, most notably was the internationally active TV production conglomerate Endemol, founded by Dutch media tycoons John de Mol and Joop van den Ende. Endemol and its subsidiaries created and ran reality, talent, and game show franchises worldwide, including Big Brother and Deal or No Deal. Endemol merged with Shine Group in 2015, and again with Banijay in 2020.

Sports

Approximately 4.5 million of the 16.8 million people in the Netherlands are registered in one of the 35,000 sports clubs in the country. About two-thirds of the population between 15 and 75 participate in sports weekly. Football is the most popular team sport, followed by field hockey and volleyball. Tennis, gymnastics and golf are the three most widely engaged in individual sports. Organisation of sports began at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century. Federations for sports were established, rules were unified and sports clubs came into existence. A Dutch National Olympic Committee was established in 1912.

The national football team was runner-up in the World Cup of 1974, 1978, and 2010, and won the European Championship of 1988. Of SI's 50 greatest footballers of all time, Johan Cruyff (#5), Marco van Basten (#19), Ruud Gullit (#25), and Johan Neeskens (#36) are Dutch. The women's national team was runner-up in 2019 World Cup and won the European Championship of 2017. The Netherlands women's field hockey team won 9 out of 15 World Cups. The Netherlands baseball team have won the European championship 24 times out of 33 events. The volleyball national women's team won the European Championship in 1995 and the World Grand Prix in 2007.

The Netherlands has won 266 medals at the Summer Olympic Games and 110 at the Winter Olympic Games. Joop Zoetemelk won the 1979 Vuelta a Espana, the 1980 Tour de France, and the 1985 UCI World Championship. Jan Janssen won the 1968 Tour de France, Tom Dumoulin the 2017 Giro d'Italia. Max Verstappen, the youngest Formula 1 driver to make his debut and to win a race, was the first Dutchman to win a Grand Prix and a Formula One World Drivers Championship. Dutch K-1 kickboxers have won the K-1 World Grand Prix 15 times out of 19 tournaments.

Cuisine

Dutch cuisine is simple and straightforward, and contains many dairy products. Breakfast and lunch are typically bread with toppings, with cereal for breakfast as an alternative. Traditionally, dinner consists of potatoes, meat, and vegetables. The Dutch diet was high in carbohydrates and fat, reflecting the dietary needs of the labourers whose culture moulded the country. During the twentieth century this diet changed and became more cosmopolitan, with most global cuisines being represented in the major cities. In early 2014, Oxfam ranked the Netherlands as the country with the most nutritious, plentiful and healthy food. Modern culinary writers distinguish between three regional forms of Dutch cuisine: northeast, west and south:

The regions in the northeast are the least populated areas of the Netherlands. The late 18th century introduction of large scale agriculture means the cuisine is known for its meats. The relative lack of farms allowed for an abundance of game and husbandry, though dishes near the coastal regions include a large amount of fish. The various dried sausages, belonging to the metworst-family of Dutch sausages are found throughout this region. Smoked sausages are common, of which (Gelderse) rookworst is the most renowned. Larger sausages are eaten alongside stamppot, hutspot, or zuurkool (sauerkraut); whereas smaller ones are eaten as a street food. The provinces are home to hard textured rye bread, pastries and cookies. As a coastal region, Friesland is home to low-lying grasslands, and thus has a cheese production in common with the Western cuisine. Cookies are produced in great number and contain a lot of butter and sugar. The traditional alcoholic beverages are beer (strong pale lager) and Jenever, a high proof juniper-flavoured spirit, that came to be known in England as gin. An exception within the traditional Dutch alcoholic landscape, Advocaat, a rich and creamy liqueur made from eggs, sugar and brandy, is native to this region.

In the west, the abundance of water and flat grasslands, mean the area is known for its dairy products, which include prominent cheeses such as Gouda, Leyden (spiced cheese with cumin), and Edam (traditionally in small spheres) as well as Leerdammer and Beemster, while the adjacent Zaanstreek in North Holland has since the 16th century been known for its mayonnaise and typical whole-grain mustards. A by-product of the butter-making process, karnemelk (buttermilk), is considered typical for this region. Seafood such as soused herring, mussels, eels, oysters and shrimps are widely available and typical for the region.

The southern Dutch cuisine consists of the cuisines of the Dutch provinces of North Brabant and Limburg and the Flemish Region in Belgium. It is renowned for its rich pastries, soups, stews and vegetable dishes. It is the only Dutch culinary region that developed an haute cuisine. Pastries are abundant, often with rich fillings of cream, custard or fruits. Cakes, such as the Vlaai from Limburg and the Moorkop and Bossche bol from Brabant, are typical pastries. Savoury pastries abound, with the (a roll with a sausage of ground beef, literally translates into sausage bread) being the most popular. The alcoholic beverage of the region is beer, there are many local brands, ranging from Trappist to Kriek.

名稱

荷蘭的正式國名為尼德蘭（），字面意義為低窪之地，因此也被意譯為「低地國家」，或「低地國」。以普通名詞的單數形式出現時，即，通常指的只有這個構成國在歐洲區的領土部分；使用普通名詞的複數形式，加上冠詞，就成為專屬名詞，用來作為整個主權國家的名稱，在日耳曼語族中，英文稱之為「」，德文拼為「」。與英國或法國不同，這個名稱並不是起源於民族名稱，而是由地名轉化而來。這個名稱最早並不是一個特殊的名稱，在德語地區，只要是低窪地區，都常使用Nederr（低）這個名稱來命名，例如下萊茵河地區與下默茲河地區，就曾被稱為是Nederlanden（低地）；相對而言，地勢高的地區，就會被稱為Oberland（高地）。從15世紀開始，尼德蘭（）這個名字開始被使用來當成國家稱呼。因為比利時與盧森堡在歷史上曾經屬於荷蘭的一部分，在羅曼語族，如法語及西班牙語中，包括比利時與盧森堡，都可以稱為低地國（les Pays-bas，los Países Bajos），要視語句的情境來決定它所說的國家。

在許多其它語言中，包括在荷蘭王國的加勒比海地區，常把「荷蘭」（）當成這個國家的國名。這是一個常見的俗稱，但這是錯誤。「荷蘭」（）原是尼德蘭（）中一個地區的名稱，相當於今北荷蘭省與南荷蘭省兩地。荷蘭（）的字根來自老荷蘭語，字面意義為盛產木頭之地，最早是指哈勒姆（）周邊地區，到1064年被用作整個縣的名稱，後成為一個地區的名稱。在神聖羅馬帝國時，此地區由荷蘭伯爵統治，在12世紀初，此地居民在拉丁文本中被稱為，也就是後來的荷蘭人（）。在七省聯合共和國時代，荷蘭（）是其國內土地最大、人口最多、經濟最富裕的地區，因此被用來轉喻代指尼德蘭（）整體。在法蘭西第一帝國時期，曾於1806年建立荷蘭王國（），短暫以荷蘭（）作為國名。但從15世紀以來，其正式國名皆為尼德蘭（），荷蘭（）為非正式俗稱。

用荷蘭（）的名稱指稱尼德蘭（）這個國家的用法，在許多國家被普遍接受，英語、中文等語言常這麼稱呼，荷蘭人也常這麼使用，但也有對此稱呼敏感的人。「荷蘭」（）這個名稱可在非正式場合中使用，這須視情況而定。例如將他們的國家代表隊（）稱呼為「荷蘭隊」（），大多數人是可以接受的。但用「荷蘭」（）來稱呼他們的國家，在其國內並不是被完全接受，特別是對來自南北荷蘭省之外省份的居民來說，用荷蘭（）稱呼他們的國家並不禮貌。在正式場合中，建議使用其正式名稱，尼德蘭（）。為重塑國家形象，荷蘭政府於2019年宣布，自2020年1月起，在運動賽事及觀光宣傳場合中不再使用非正式的「荷蘭」（）稱謂，一律使用官方的正式名稱「尼德蘭」（），包括國家足球隊等荷蘭國家代表隊今後均會以「尼德蘭」（）名義出賽，不再使用「荷蘭隊」（）。不過在中文譯名方面，荷蘭旅遊局與荷蘭在台辦事處等荷蘭官方機構表示不會更改譯名，仍會維持原有的中文翻譯──「荷蘭」，而英文則採用。

如同用荷蘭（）來稱呼尼德蘭（）這個國家，用法蘭德斯（）代稱尼德蘭（），在16世紀至20世紀初也是常見稱法。法蘭德斯（）字面意思為泛水之地，原是尼德蘭（）中的一個地區名稱，相當於今尼德蘭（）南部與比利時北部一帶。在中國，大約直到清朝末年，都曾經用法蘭德斯作為這個國家的稱呼。

另一個常見的英語俗稱「」，用於稱呼荷蘭的主要族群，也就是尼德蘭人(荷蘭人)（）中的日耳曼族群，但也可以指他們（）整體。這個單字由德意志（）這個單字分化出來，最早來自Theodiscus，本義為「部落的」或「人民的」，是日耳曼民族（）的稱呼之一。荷蘭與德國同屬於日耳曼民族，有共同祖先，在16世紀時分別建立了自己的民族國家，因此分化為兩個民族，德意志人（）或日耳曼人（）成為德國人專有稱呼。在英語傳統中，稱呼荷蘭人為仍然被保持下來，但對於荷蘭人來說，稱呼他們為尼德蘭人（）是較為正式的用法。

尼德蘭在明朝末年開始與中國交往，最早中國人稱之為紅毛鬼、米粟果、紅毛番，也稱為荷蘭、波斯胡、紅夷、紅彞，《明史》中，稱為和蘭、阿南，《清史稿》同樣稱和蘭。在《海錄》稱為荷囒，又有賀蘭、荷南等稱呼，在1794年，乾隆皇帝下旨改稱荷蘭，作為官方稱呼。同治2年簽署之《中荷天津條約暨另款》與光緒27年《辛丑和約》，皆稱荷蘭為大和，因此大和、和國可視為晚清官方對荷蘭之正式譯名。《海國圖志》稱此地區為尼達蘭，此國為荷蘭。漢語中，稱呼為荷蘭、和蘭、賀蘭、阿蘭陀、荷蘭陀等，皆源自於Holland、Holandés（卡斯蒂利亞）或Hollanda。日文漢字譯為「」。而越南語也仿照中文的譯名譯為「Hà Lan」（）。

因為歷史因素，漢語將荷蘭（Holland）這個非正式名稱承襲下來，作為尼德蘭（Nederland）這個國家的正式稱呼。在中文中，往往不區分Nederland、Holland及Dutch，籠統地譯為荷蘭。這種譯法極為通行，但在某些時候，這種譯法可能會造成混淆：例如荷蘭地區（Holland），與尼德蘭（Nederland）這個國家，在中文裡一律譯為荷蘭；居住在荷蘭地區的荷蘭人（），日耳曼族裔荷蘭人（），與這個國家的居民尼德蘭人（），在中文裏同譯為荷蘭人；法國佔領時期的荷蘭王國（Kingdom of Holland），與尼德蘭王國（Kingdom of the Netherlands），經常都統一譯為荷蘭王國。在這種時候，需要回顧原文，以及經由上下文來分辨，才能確定它的內容是什麼。

歷史

在羅馬帝國統治荷蘭之前，據說凱爾特人與日爾曼人曾居住在此。

羅馬帝國時期與中世紀的荷蘭（前55年－410年）

在古羅馬時代，萊茵河南的地區先是屬于「比利時高盧」省，後歸于「日耳曼行省」。這裡的北部地區居住著許多日耳曼部落，南部則是高盧人，而這些高盧人在移民時期也融合了許多日耳曼部落，其中撒利恩法蘭克人從這裡遷移到高盧，並在公元五世紀建立起了強大的墨洛溫王朝。而後其權力逐漸被取代，在查理曼繼位之後版圖大幅擴張，史稱查理曼帝國。查理曼過世以後，荷蘭被劃分至西法蘭克王國境內，而後雨果·卡佩奪位成功建立卡佩王朝，但隨後又因卡佩王朝無男性子嗣可以繼位，故最後由旁系血親即位，成為瓦盧瓦王朝，此時法王分封近親為勃艮第公爵，是為勃艮第屬尼德蘭。

哈布斯堡時期的荷蘭（1519年－1581年）

中世紀，低地國家（大約包括現在的荷蘭、德國西部部分地區、盧森堡、比利時、法國北部部分地區）存在著很多諸侯封建領地，分別屬于勃艮地公國(Duchy of Burgundy) 和神聖羅馬帝國。到了十六世紀初，因為複雜的皇室聯姻，他們在神聖羅馬帝國哈布斯堡王朝之下統一起來。

1556年帝國皇帝查理五世（1519年－1556年在位）退位，將西班牙和低地（被稱為北方省）分給他的兒子腓力二世，將奧地利等其他地區以及哈布斯堡王朝正統分給他的弟弟斐迪南一世。就這樣，北方省屬于西班牙王國。

尼德蘭七省共和國時期（1581年－1795年）

1568年，因反抗西班牙國王的中央集權和對新教加爾文派的迫害，爆發了北方省反抗西班牙的八十年戰爭。1579年北方省中的七省（現在荷蘭、比利時和盧森堡的區域）成立了烏得勒支同盟，共同反對西班牙統治。這被認為現代荷蘭的開始。1581年，聯盟正式宣布獨立。戰爭在繼續，直到1648年西班牙國王菲利普四世才簽訂《明斯特條約》，承認七低地（尼德蘭）／七省聯合共和國，從西班牙王獲得獨立之後，荷蘭發展成為17世紀航海和貿易強國。它在世界各地建立殖民地和貿易據點，包括台灣的部分地區於1624年－1662年和1664年－1667年曾為其殖民地。這段時期在荷蘭被稱為「黃金年代」。先後開發與殖民四地，即後的紐約、南非、印度尼西亞與台灣(後三者的部分)。荷蘭也曾在毛里求斯殖民，但收效甚微，最終放棄。

17世紀後期，荷蘭先後與英國、法國交戰，在海上荷蘭戰勝英國（第二次英荷戰爭），在陸地荷蘭敗于法國（法荷戰爭），從而衰落下來。第二次英荷戰爭後，荷蘭用新阿姆斯特丹（紐約）交換了蘇里南（荷屬圭亞那）。第四次英荷戰爭導致荷蘭東印度公司運營不善進而破產，斯里蘭卡被英國奪得，阿姆斯特丹失去了歐洲金融中心地位。1672年，荷蘭面對歐洲霸權法國入侵，被稱為「災難年」（Rampjaar）。

1740年10月9日－12日，在爪哇巴達維亞（今印尼雅加達）爆發荷蘭人屠殺華人移民的紅溪慘案，華人死亡萬餘人。

法國佔領時期和荷蘭王國時期（1795年－1940年）

1795年荷蘭被法蘭西帝國占領，拿破崙先後在此扶植了巴達維亞共和國與荷蘭王國。

在1815年被拿破崙統治的法國佔領結束後，荷蘭和現在的比利時、盧森堡組成荷蘭聯合王國，同時荷屬開普殖民地正式被英國統治。比利時很快在1830年獨立，盧森堡也緊隨其後，荷蘭聯合王國隨之瓦解。

19世紀中，荷蘭相對於鄰國比利時相比較為落後，比利時在當時為工業強國。一直到1870年代，才因為第二次工業革命的發生而促使經濟起飛。

1914年，第一次世界大戰爆發，荷蘭在第一次世界大戰中保持中立。但戰事仍使荷蘭深受其苦，由於周邊的國家皆處於戰爭狀態，若欲於北海進行航運將會有極大的風險，因而糧食變得稀缺，甚至有發生飢荒的威脅存在。

第二次世界大戰（1940年－1945年）

荷蘭在戰爭爆發時如同第一次世界大戰一樣，再次宣佈自己是中立國。雖然如此，在第二次世界大戰中荷蘭自1940年5月依然被納粹德國佔領直至1945年才被解放。德國入侵荷蘭是為了繞開馬奇諾防線，並防止英軍登陸荷蘭北部。當時的入侵造成荷蘭在所有西歐被納粹德國佔領過的國家中死亡率是最高的。

戰後（1945年至今）

戰後，荷蘭經濟再度繁榮發展。荷蘭是荷比盧（原比荷盧經濟聯盟，即比利時、荷蘭、盧森堡三國）、歐洲經濟共同體和北約的成員。

1949年，荷蘭承認印度尼西亞獨立，失去了對荷屬東印度的統治權。同年荷蘭在西巴布亞建立荷屬新幾內亞。

去殖民化

1954年，迫於國際社會要求實行去殖民化的壓力，荷蘭王國頒布了《》，改革了政治結構。

於1954年12月15日，荷蘭通過《荷蘭王國章程》（Het Statuut），使荷蘭的原殖民地和屬地在王國內與荷蘭本土享有同等地位。自此荷蘭王國專指由荷蘭本土及其前殖民地組成部分的王國，而「荷蘭」則專指歐洲大陸荷蘭。

1962年10月，在美國壓力下，荷蘭將荷屬新幾內亞交付聯合國託管，該地區後來併入印尼。

1975年，荷蘭承認蘇里南獨立。

現時荷蘭王國包括四個部分，分別是歐洲大陸荷蘭、阿魯巴、庫拉索和荷屬聖馬丁，而博奈爾島、聖尤斯特歇斯島和薩巴島則併入荷蘭本土成為特別行政區。

地理

荷蘭本土位於歐洲西北部。西、北部臨北海，南部與東部分別和比利時與德國接壤，其總面積為41,526平方公里，其中水域面積就有7,643平方公里。

歐洲區荷蘭

平坦是荷蘭地形最突出的特點。其國土面積的一半海拔低于1公尺，26%甚至低于海平面。部分地區甚至是由圍海造地形成的，比如弗萊福蘭省的大部分地區。這些低地都修建了海堤來保護。而荷蘭人世代與海爭地，在荷蘭人眼中最大的敵人是海洋。歐洲區荷蘭的最高點是位于國家最東南角的法爾斯山，海拔321公尺，但全荷蘭的最高點卻是位於加勒比海沙巴島的風景山，高887公尺，這也是整個王國的地理最高點。

萊茵河、瓦爾河和馬斯河將荷蘭一分為二。

洪水

長期以來，因為自然災害與人類介入，荷蘭的海岸線不斷的在改變中。最著名的例子是1134年的暴風，讓大量土地滲入海裏，創造出澤蘭省西南邊的群島。

1278年12月14日，聖露西亞洪災（St. Lucia's flood）造成尼德蘭與德國超過5萬人喪生，是在荷蘭歷史上最嚴重的一次洪災之一。1421年的（St. Elizabeth flood）過後，摧毀了大量圩田，造成72平方公里的Biesbosch潮汐洪泛平原的出現。1953年2月，北海出現的洪水，造成尼德蘭西南方數個海堤潰堤，超過1,800位居民在洪水中喪生。荷蘭政府因此擬定了大規模的防洪計畫，以保護這個國家不受洪水威脅，其中最著名的為三角洲工程

。

氣候

歐洲區荷蘭盛行來自的西南風，屬溫帶海洋性氣候，冬暖夏涼，年降水量650～700毫米。但加勒比海的波奈爾則屬熱帶半乾旱氣候；沙巴和聖佑達修斯則熱帶而潮濕。

荷蘭加勒比區

荷蘭加勒比區是荷蘭本土三個特別行政區：博奈爾島、聖尤斯特歇斯島和薩巴島的集體名稱，又稱BES島嶼。

政治

自1581年至1806年，荷蘭是共和體制，但並非議會民主制國家。其後的1806年至1815年，荷蘭被法國短暫的統治。從1815年起，荷蘭一直是君主立憲制國家。

自2013年，國王威廉-亞歷山大就任國家元首至今。理論上說，國王有權任命政府成員。實際上通常會按照選舉結果建立聯合政府，再由國王宣布政府首腦的任命。

荷蘭議會由下議院（第二院）和上議院（第一院）構成。150名議員組成的下議院一般每隔四年選舉一次，可以提前改選，而選舉制度為比例代表制。由於下議院的政黨眾多，因此選舉後難以有單一政黨可以組建政府，因此組建政府的過程可能需要幾個月，不過聯合政府必須要在下議院獲得多數支持，但無須在上議院獲得多數。上議院權力較小，上議員則是每隔四年由新當選的省議會議員，根據地方選舉結果挑選組成。

荷蘭憲法也規定，法院為主的司法機關不得宣布國會通過的法案違憲。

政治學家一般認為荷蘭是協商民主政體的典型樣本。

2010年荷蘭大選，荷蘭舉行議會下議院選舉。選舉後，基督教民主呼籲與自由民主人民黨組建中間偏右少數派聯合政府，獲自由黨支持信任動議。2010年10月24日，馬克·呂特接替揚·彼得·巴爾克嫩德出任首相，成為荷蘭92年首個自由主義政黨的首相。2012年聯合政府提前解散，大選提前舉行。在重新舉行的大選，自由民主人民黨取得41席，工黨取得38席，選舉後自由民主人民黨與工黨組建大聯合政府。

政黨

荷蘭屬於多黨制，通常由多個政黨組成執政聯盟。目前該國主要大黨有自由民主人民黨，工黨，自由黨和基督教民主呼籲。

行政區劃

荷蘭本土的行政區劃為行省及下一級的荷蘭基礎政權（市鎮）。較特殊的是因為荷蘭多數國土位於低於海平面的地區，境內佈滿堤防以及其他水利工程，因此還擁有獨有的（Waterschap），委員會的運作是獨立的，其選舉不得有政黨介入。另外荷蘭還分成25個安全和防災廣域行政區域（Veiligheidsregio），其任務是促進區域合作，以維持消防、災難防護、危機管理、健康援助、公共秩序和安全的執行。

省份

荷蘭本土分為12個省。荷蘭省級政治是構成荷蘭政治的網絡之一，省份的地位僅次於中央政府，而省級政治由十二個省分主導。

省級單位的官員主要有三種來源：第一種是國王專員，第二種是省議會，第三種是省行政部門，他們共享立法權，女王專員以及行政部門的官員負責執行省政府的行政權，兩者與省政府的關係就是官方所稱作的。

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市鎮

荷蘭所有的省份的下一級行政區劃均為市鎮（gemeenten）。截至2019年1月，荷蘭共有355個市鎮。市鎮是荷蘭的第二級行政區劃，也是荷蘭的第三層公共行政單位，次於中央政府和省分。市鎮是由市長與市政委員所組成的（college van burgemeester en wethouders，簡稱college van B&W或B&W），以及（Gemeenteraad，簡稱GR）共同治理。特別市的市議會則被稱為（eilandsraad）。市議會每四年選舉一次，市議會的成員數依所屬市的規模不等，少至九名，多至四十五名成員。市議會是市的最高行政機構，負責領導公共政策的走向。執行委員會由（burgemeester）和數名市政委員（wethouder）組成，握有市鎮的執行權，負責執行政策的立法。市長六年一任，由中央政府指派，而市政委員則是由市議會選舉出來。市長除了負責維護市的公共秩序，在緊急危難時負有指揮權之外，其餘的治理任務可自由分配給市長和市政委員，因此具體的工作分配也因市而異。

荷蘭政府在陸續推行市的合併後，大幅減少了市鎮的數量，目前大約是自十九世紀中期行政區劃劃定以來的三分之一。市鎮又可因行政或統計的需求，被非正式地劃分為「社區」（wijken）和「鄰里」（buurten）等地區。

公共實體（加勒比海部分）

荷蘭除本土12個省外，另外在加勒比海有博奈爾、聖尤斯特歇斯、薩巴三個直屬荷蘭的三個特別行政區（Bijzondere gemeenten），依荷蘭法律定義為公共實體，合稱荷蘭加勒比區，並不隸屬於任何省分，擁有一般荷蘭本土市政府功能。各島政府由一名市長（gezaghebber）及市內閣（bestuurscollege）組成，向各島公民選出的（eilandsraad）問責。荷蘭加勒比區國家辦公室（Rijksdienst Caribisch Nederland）則負責稅務、治安、入出境、教育、社會福利。

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外交

荷蘭外交歷史上的一個重要特色，就是它過去的中立性。在第二次世界大戰之後，許多國際組織都設立在荷蘭國內，最著名的是聯合國及國際法庭組織。不過，荷蘭外交實際上放棄中立政策，先後加入北約與歐盟。

荷蘭的外交政策，基於四項基本立場：大西洋區域合作，歐洲整合（European integration），國際發展（International development），以及國際法。

軍事

荷蘭軍隊由四個部分構成：

• 荷蘭皇家陸軍（KL）

• 荷蘭皇家海軍（KM），包含海軍航空兵和海軍陸戰隊。

• 荷蘭皇家空軍（KLu）

• 荷蘭皇家憲兵隊（KMar）

荷蘭以「軍隊」（）一詞來統稱全軍，該詞衍生自戰爭（）和武力（）兩詞的複合。全軍最高統帥為荷蘭君主、國防部領導人為國防大臣、三軍司令由現役四星上將者出任，陸海空各軍種各由一名三星中將擔任司令。

荷蘭軍隊在過去是採用徵兵制，到1996年後完全實施募兵制；目前荷蘭國防部僱用四萬八千名武裝人員以及兩萬一千人的文職人員，其中包括文職人員和軍事人員也有雇用女性。軍事費用在2009年大概佔GDP的1.65％，2010年11月國防部表示將削減一百萬歐元的國防預算；同時甫上任不久的漢斯·希倫表示將會裁減一萬餘的人員並有更大規模的裁軍計畫，其具體內容為軍事演習次數減少20%，艦艇海上巡邏時間減少11%，領空飛行巡邏任務減少10%，這樣的削減內容不勝枚舉。截至2020年，其軍事費所佔GDP比例已降至1.48％。

經濟

綜述

荷蘭經濟高度發達，2024年人均GDP達67,984美元，居世界第十位，2011年人類發展指數高居世界第三位，為西方十大經濟強國之一。是世界第三大農產品出口國和世界主要造船國。荷蘭自然資源相對貧乏，但天然氣儲量豐富，2005年開採量達745億立方米，自給之餘還能出口。荷蘭交通十分發達，運輸總量佔歐盟的30%。

工業

荷蘭工業非常發達，主要工業部門有食品加工、石油化工、冶金、機械製造、電子、鋼鐵、造船、印刷、鑽石加工等。鹿特丹是歐洲最大的煉油中心。荷蘭有許多著名的跨國公司，2011年共有12家荷蘭企業進入「世界500強」。

如：荷蘭皇家殼牌集團（由荷蘭皇家石油公司與英國殼牌運輸和貿易公司于1907年合併而成，是世界最大工業公司之一，雄踞世界500強企業第二名，其成品石油和石化燃料的生產和銷售能力居世界第二位，為世界第二大石油公司）；飛利浦電子公司（成立于1891年，居世界500強企業第277位，在全球電子電器企業中排前十名。其照明設備、彩色顯像管、電動剃鬚刀、X光分析儀及音響設備在同行業居領先地位）；聯合利華公司（成立于1930年，在世界500強企業中排第136名，是全球最大的日用品和食品生產企業之一，分鹿特丹和倫敦兩個總部，荷蘭負責食品生產，英國負責日用化工品生產）；阿克蘇·諾貝爾公司（世界著名化工和醫藥企業，1994年由荷蘭阿克蘇公司和瑞典諾貝爾公司合併而成，列世界500強企業第479位）。

從1950年代開始，荷蘭發現了以為主的巨大天然氣資源。數十年來，天然氣的銷售為荷蘭創造了龎大的收入，為政府的預算增加了數千億歐元。然而另一方面，荷蘭獲得了過度富裕的生活，隨著天然氣出口的增加，當時的本國貨幣荷蘭盾的匯率也隨之上升，伴隨著勞動者薪水上漲，導致生產成本大幅攀升，工業產品的國際競爭力急速下滑，工人失業造成經濟惡化。伴隨著經濟惡化，由於經濟增長時期大幅提高的社會保障體系負擔對政府財政產生了巨大壓力，財政赤字也隨之急速增加。1977年《經濟學人》也將這種由於出口自然資源，導致貨幣匯率上升，因而工業出口減少、國內製造業衰退的現象，稱為『荷蘭病』。

當時由首相維姆·科克所領導的政府，呼籲各界能夠共體時艱以應經濟問題，於是下令三年內勞方不得要求加薪，相反的資方做出的承諾是三年內不得裁員，最後荷蘭的經濟也成功再度復甦。

農業

荷蘭土地面積不大，卻是世界上農業最發達的國家之一，荷蘭的農業部門機械化程度很高，並且非常重視國際出口。荷蘭的農產品出口值在歐盟排名第一，在全球範圍內排名第二，僅次於美國。農業構成中，畜牧業佔50%，園藝業佔38%，種植業佔12%。2005年荷蘭曾創造農產品和食品出口額789.3億美元的記錄。荷蘭人平均一人擁有十分之一頭牛、一頭豬，處于畜牧業最發達國家行列。荷蘭面積僅約41500平方公里，但全國卻有110平方公里用于種植鮮花和果蔬的溫室，因而享有「歐洲花園」的美譽。花卉是荷蘭的支柱性產業，年出口額達100億歐元，出口量佔國際市場的60%。荷蘭還是世界上奶酪產量最大的國家，世界上成立最早的豪達奶酪交易中心久負盛名，其運營時間已有300多年之久；北部的菲仕蘭省是另一個酪農業發達的地區，著名的黑白雙色荷斯坦牛（Holstein）與弗里斯蘭馬（Friesian horse）皆源自於此。此外，荷蘭也是馬鈴薯種植最主要的生產國之一。

服務業

自上世紀80年代以來，服務業迅速發展，成為荷蘭國民經濟的支柱。主要產業為運輸、銀行、保險、股市、旅遊及餐飲等。荷蘭擁有多家著名銀行和金融機構。例如：荷蘭銀行（由荷蘭通用銀行和阿姆斯特丹-鹿特丹銀行于1991年合併而成，在全球擁有3000多家分支機構，是世界上擁有銀行網絡最多的銀行之一。銀行排名居歐洲前十、世界前20名）；荷蘭國際集團（即ING，由荷蘭中產-郵政集團與荷蘭國民人壽保險公司于1991年合併而成。為荷蘭第一大金融機構，在2011年世界500強企業中名列第17位）；荷蘭農業合作銀行（由荷蘭數家農村信用社于1973年合併而成，是荷蘭第二大銀行，居全球銀行50強）。

旅遊業

有「歐洲花園」和「風車之國」之稱的荷蘭旅遊業較為發達。2011年，有1130萬外國遊客造訪了荷蘭。

久負盛名的攔海造陸工程、美麗宜人的鬱金香種植區（荷蘭有「鬱金香王國」之稱，鬱金香是其國花）、著名的奶酪小城豪達（擁有世界第一家奶酪交易中心）、充滿古老氣息的大型風車群（荷蘭是風車最多的國家）都是旅遊觀光的好去處。

對外貿易

荷蘭自古便是貿易強國，在17世紀上半葉有「海上馬車夫」之稱，首都阿姆斯特丹在當時的地位可與當今的紐約相提並論。時至今日，荷蘭在對外貿易方面仍處于世界領先地位，荷蘭是僅次于美國和法國的世界第三大農產品出口國。荷蘭主要進口工業原料、原油、半成品和機械等。60%的產品供出口，主要為石油製品、電子產品、船舶和農產品等。

交通運輸

荷蘭的水陸空交通均十分便利。境內河道縱橫，水路四通八達。流經南部注入北海的萊茵河是世界上航運最繁忙的河流之一。其河口的鹿特丹是世界頂級大港，吞吐量曾連續42年居世界第一。阿姆斯特丹機場為歐洲重要航空港，曾多次被評為世界最佳機場。荷蘭人環保意識極強，人均擁有兩輛自行車，自行車是重要的交通工具，城市幹道建有自行車專用車道。

鐵公路

荷蘭擁有世界上最密集的公路網之一，密度超過德國和法國，但略不及比利時。荷蘭的公路總長度達139,000公里，其中3,530公里是高速公路。

荷蘭鐵路是荷蘭主要的鐵路公司，負責營運該國之鐵路。荷蘭鐵路網長達3,013公里，並連接了所有主要城鎮和城市，擁有400多個車站。為歐盟第7繁忙，世界第16繁忙的鐵路系統。

自行車

在荷蘭，騎自行車是一種普遍的交通方式，境內擁有發達的自行車道，延伸至該國各地以及比利時和德國的邊界。據估計，荷蘭境內至少有1800萬輛自行車，比全國的總人口還多，也是境內汽車數量（900萬輛）的兩倍。36％的荷蘭人將自行車作為日常的交通工具。在2013年，將荷蘭和丹麥列為歐洲對自行車最友好的國家。

水運

荷蘭海運發達，是歐洲最重要的海運中心之一。截至2013年，鹿特丹港是歐洲最大的港口，並為世界第八大集裝箱港口，每年處理4.405億公噸貨物，除此之外還擁有阿姆斯特丹港、澤蘭港等港口。荷蘭內河航運網絡稠密程度居歐洲之最。截至2013年，荷蘭內河航運（包括天然河流和人工運河）運輸總里程為6,242公里。

航空

阿姆斯特丹史基浦機場座落於阿姆斯特丹西南方的市郊，為荷蘭主要的進出門戶，同時也是歐洲重要航空港，2019年是歐洲第三繁忙的機場。史基浦機場是荷蘭皇家航空的樞紐機場，荷蘭皇家航空是其中一間歷史最悠久且從未更名的航空公司，更是第一家營運達到一百年的航空公司。荷蘭本土其餘較小的國際機場包括鹿特丹海牙機場、埃因霍溫機場、格羅寧根機場及馬斯特里赫特亞琛機場。荷蘭加勒比區則有博奈爾的火烈鳥國際機場、聖尤斯特歇斯的F.D.羅斯福機場及薩巴的胡安喬·E·伊勞斯金機場。

通訊

荷蘭擁有較先進的互聯網基礎設施，（AMS-IX）在歐洲同類設施中規模最大。

荷蘭皇家電信目前為荷蘭固定網和移動業務的主要電信運營商；國內市場占有率高達50%，同時其移動網路業務覆蓋歐洲其他國家，如德國和比利時等。

人口和社會

人口

荷蘭是世界上人口密度最高的國家之一。它的人口密度超過400人／平方公里。

在荷蘭居住著多個種族的人群。儘管如此，純正荷蘭血統的居民仍占總人口的大多數。

• 80.9% 荷蘭人

• 2.4% 印度尼西亞人

• 2.4% 德國人

• 2.2% 土耳其人

• 2.0% 蘇里南人

• 1.9% 摩洛哥人

• 0.8% 荷屬安第列斯人和阿魯巴人

• 6.0% 其他種族

語言

荷蘭語是荷蘭的官方語言之一，屬於印歐語系日耳曼語族下的西日耳曼語支，是荷蘭、比利時、蘇里南、阿魯巴、庫拉索、荷屬聖馬丁等地的官方語言。在荷蘭全境、比利時北部的佛蘭德斯地區和法國法蘭德斯地區通用。歐洲約有兩千四百萬人以荷蘭語為第一語言。曾經被荷蘭統治了三個半世紀的印度尼西亞也有少量日常的使用。

荷蘭語字母表由26或27個拉丁字母組成，除A至Z外，在Y後面有一個 IJ 。荷蘭語有時用 IJ 代替Y。

荷蘭語與英語和德語接近，同屬西日耳曼語支。荷蘭語是由古代低地德語諸方言演變而來，最早的荷蘭語文獻可追溯到12世紀的佛蘭德。當代荷蘭語是五種方言群體的集合：中西部方言（包括南、北荷蘭省、烏德勒支、海爾德蘭的大部和西蘭的島嶼等地區使用的方言），東北方言（格羅寧根、德倫特、上艾瑟爾和海爾德蘭東部使用的方言），中南部方言（北布拉班特及其周邊的林堡地區，比利時的安特衛普、布拉班特和東佛蘭德），西南部方言（西佛蘭德）和東南部方言（荷蘭的林堡地區大部和比利時的同名地區）。東北方言通常被稱為薩克森方言，東南方言被稱為東部低地法蘭克方言，其他的三個群體則被稱為西部低地法蘭克方言。荷蘭的弗里斯蘭省的語言通常單獨列為一種語言：弗里斯蘭語。

南非語，又稱「南非荷蘭語」「阿非利卡語」「阿非利堪斯語」「布爾語」，是17世紀殖民者所說的荷蘭語的變種，並融合了相當數量的馬來、班圖諸語言的詞彙和語法，南非白人的祖先名為布爾人，其名稱的由來是來自荷蘭語中boer（農夫）這個單詞。南非語是南非共和國的官方語言之一。

英語是荷蘭普遍使用的外語之一，官方宣稱有95%－98%的人口能使用英語。此外，英語是荷屬聖馬丁、聖猶斯特歇斯和薩巴的官方語言。

帕皮阿門托語是荷屬加勒比的通用語之一，也是阿魯巴、博奈爾、庫拉索的官方語言。該語言是一種基于葡萄牙語的克里奧爾語，並同時受到西班牙語和荷蘭語的深刻影響。該語言現有兩種不同標準的正寫法。一種通行于阿魯巴，另一種通行于博奈爾和庫拉索。

宗教

荷蘭保障宗教自由。現在相對於其他歐洲國家，荷蘭是目前歐洲最世俗化的國家之一，67.8%的人無宗教信仰，或不參加宗教活動。荷蘭的主要宗教包括天主教（17%）和基督新教（13%）。天主教徒主要在南部地區，而基督新教，主要是荷蘭歸正宗教會，屬於喀爾文教派，歷史上曾經人人虔信，現在卻已式微。另外由于穆斯林移民大增，達到全國人口的5%，使伊斯蘭教成為荷蘭第三大宗教。此外，荷蘭還有許多佛教、猶太教和印度教的信徒。

寬容的社會風氣

荷蘭以社會風氣寬容開放著稱。通常，荷蘭的形象會與貿易、鬱金香、風車、木鞋、奶酪和白藍彩釉陶器等等相聯繫。在2001年4月1日，荷蘭成為全球第一個同性婚姻合法化的國家

。在2002年4月1日，荷蘭又成為全球第一個安樂死合法化的國家。同時荷蘭在對待大麻等非致命毒品、性交易和墮胎的法律是在世界範圍內最為自由化的。

城市化進程

荷蘭的四個最大城市是阿姆斯特丹、鹿特丹、海牙和烏得勒支，阿姆斯特丹是該國人口最多的城市和名義首都，而海牙則是國會、內閣和最高法院的所在地；鹿特丹擁有歐洲最大的海港，烏得勒支則因位置居於國土正中央，是荷蘭鐵路網路的中心。這四大城市所處的蘭斯台德都市圈擁有750萬居民，幾乎佔荷蘭人口的一半，是歐洲第6大都市圈。除此之外荷蘭還有為數眾多的中等規模城鎮，這些都是該國高度城市化的明証。

醫療

據2017年歐洲健康消費者組織發布的最新報告，荷蘭的醫療系統被評為歐洲最完善的醫療體系，為荷蘭連續第七年被評為歐洲第一。2016年，荷蘭人口的平均預期壽命為81.7歲；其中男性預期壽命為80.0歲，比歐盟的平均壽命（78.2歲）高出近兩年。女性預期壽命為83.2歲，接近歐盟平均水平。

荷蘭是個醫療分級做得較為明確的國家，基礎醫療機構為GP（General Practitioner，huisarts，即所謂家庭醫生/私人醫生），所有的荷蘭民眾都必須要註冊一個家庭醫師，有任何的疑難雜症都必須要先去家庭醫師報到，再由家庭醫師判斷是否要轉診到專門的大醫院。荷蘭有超過160間基礎醫療護理中心提供一週7天，每天24小時的服務。另一方面，荷蘭的醫療費用也相對昂貴，不過荷蘭政府也強制規定所有荷蘭居民都必須有醫療保險，但人民可以自己選擇各家不同的保險公司投保，而不同的保險公司也會有不同的方案。基本的醫療保險包括人們日常生活所需的大多數醫療服務，如普通和專科醫生門診、醫學化驗檢查、醫療器械費用、住院醫療、處方藥品、懷孕生產、以及18周歲以下未成年人的全面牙科醫療等。同時荷蘭政府為低收入者提供醫療津貼，幫助交納基本醫療保險的保險費。

文化

建築

荷蘭建築的第一個輝煌時期大約起始于17世紀的荷蘭黃金時代，由于經濟蓬勃的城市大為擴大，新會堂和倉庫的修建。商人從中大發橫財，增建新建築以及在其周圍各城市挖河渠（國防、運輸用途），房子的裝飾門面的翻修以適合新的市容。在鄉村，新的鄉村住房不斷出現。湧現了一大批知名的建築師如：雅各布·范·坎彭（1595年-1657年）、Lieven de Key（c. 1560年-1627年）和Hendrik de Keyser (1565年-1621年)。

20世紀，荷蘭建築師更是帶動了世界現代建築的發展。

藝術

荷蘭誕生過很多著名的畫家。北方文藝複興時期就有早期尼德蘭畫派出現。17世紀時，正值鼎盛的荷蘭共和國又出現了荷蘭黃金時代繪畫，荷蘭出現了倫勃朗、揚·弗美爾、揚·斯特恩和其他一些畫家；據估計在1640年之後的20年內荷蘭畫家繪製了大約130萬幅作品。19世紀和20世紀的畫家包括梵谷和皮特·蒙德里安。而莫里茨·科內利斯·埃舍爾亦是一位知名的圖形藝術家。

哲學和文學

荷蘭的哲學家包括伊拉斯謨和斯賓諾莎。法國哲學家笛卡兒的主要著作也完成于此。

在「黃金年代」，荷蘭的文學也曾十分繁榮，產生了約斯特·范·登·馮德爾和彼得·孔奈路思·霍夫特（Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft）兩位著名作家。二十世紀的主要作家包括哈里·穆里施、楊·沃爾克斯（Jan Wolkers）、西蒙·費斯特代克（Simon Vestdijk）、塞斯·諾特博姆（）、赫拉德·雷夫（Gerard Reve）和威廉·弗雷德里克·赫爾曼斯（Willem Frederik Hermans）。《安妮日記》也是作于荷蘭。

體育

與其他歐洲國家一樣，足球是荷蘭的第一運動，荷蘭國家足球隊是歐洲的一線強隊，有「橙衣兵團」以及「無冕之王」的稱號，曾經三次獲得世界盃亞軍，並於1988年荷蘭三劍客時期奪得歐洲國家盃的冠軍。荷蘭同時亦誕生出zh-tw:告魯夫;zh-cn:克鲁伊夫、zh-tw:朗奴·高文;zh-cn:罗纳德·科曼、zh-tw:雲達沙;zh-cn:范德萨、zh-tw:雲尼斯達萊;zh-cn:范尼斯特鲁伊、zh-tw:雲佩斯;zh-cn:范佩西等眾多著名足球員。荷蘭甲組足球聯賽是荷蘭最高級別足球聯賽，較知名的球隊包括阿積士、PSV燕豪芬及飛燕諾。

荷蘭國家女子足球隊為歐洲進步最快的女子國家足球隊之一，先於2017年歐洲女子足球錦標賽贏得首個重大國際比賽冠軍，後於2019年國際足協女子世界盃獲得亞軍。

棒球在荷蘭本土雖不普及，但在其海外屬地庫拉索及阿魯巴非常盛行，荷蘭棒球代表隊亦常在各大國際賽事中奪下佳績，曾於2013年、2017年連兩屆於世界棒球經典賽進入四強，是歐洲最具代表性的棒球勁旅。

荷蘭擁有一些獨特的傳統體育競賽，如十一個城市巡迴賽是菲仕蘭省的一項傳統長途巡迴溜冰比賽，這項競賽需沿著結冰的河面，河流和湖泊穿越該省所有11個歷史名城，因此得名。

荷蘭迄今為止已經在夏季奧運會獲得230塊金牌，在冬季奧運會獲得76塊獎牌。

飲食

荷蘭傳統飲食文化比較簡單。早餐和午餐通常是麵包和配菜。晚餐則主要是肉和馬鈴薯。荷蘭人的碳水化合物和脂肪攝取量較高，顯示出體力勞動者的飲食需要，並且荷蘭人的奶製品消費量也很高。傳統荷蘭食物因地區各有不同。東部、北部受德國影響較濃，較多食用香腸；西部屬平原，畜牧業發達，盛產不同種類奶酪；南部則毗鄰比利時，飲食較類似於法國菜。20世紀後，荷蘭的飲食文化變得更加國際化。在荷蘭的大城市可以品嚐到來自世界各地的食物。

世界遺產

，荷蘭王國共有十項遺產入選為世界遺產，包括九項文化遺產和一項自然遺產。其中九項位於荷蘭本土，一項位於加勒比地區的荷蘭王國的構成國庫拉索。

教育

荷蘭教育是分級、分年齡的，並依據學生的需求進行個人化調整。在荷蘭，學校被分為一般公立學校、宗教學校、中立學校等，私立學校較少。法律上，荷蘭的義務教育從五歲開始；但是大多數的學校會接受四歲的小童。義務教育在十六歲時結束；在十六歲之後，是部分義務教育，學生每周最少須上兩天的學。在學生達到十八歲年紀時，他們會拿到VWO、HAVO或MBO證書，義務教育始結束。

在2008年經濟合作與發展組織所舉辦的國際學生能力評估計劃中，荷蘭在全世界排名第九，遠高於世界平均。

著名大學

荷蘭在國際上享有很高學術榮譽，下為世界大學學術排名中排名較高的大學。

國定節日

注釋