• Capital -- Amsterdam
• Population -- 16,491,461
• Language -- Dutch
• GDP per capita($) -- 30,500
• Currency -- euro (EUR)
• Year Joined EU -- 1958

• GDP($) -- 512,000,000,000
• GDP per capita($) -- 30,500
• GDP growth rate(%) -- 1.10
• Inflation(%) -- 1.70
• Unemployment(%) -- 6.60
• Imports($) -- 326,600,000,000
• Exports($) -- 365,100,000,000
• Military Spending($) -- 9,408,000,000
• Military Spending (% of GDP) -- 1.60

• Land Area (sq. km) -- 41,526
• slightly less than twice the size of New Jersey
• Population growth rate(%) -- 0.49
• Infant Mortality (deaths per 1,000 live births) -- 4.96
• Life Expectancy -- 78.96
• Poverty --
• Migration -- 2.72 migrant(s)/1,000 pop

• ---

  * all data/material from the CIA World Fact Book 2006

Netherlands

Select Different Country Andorra Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom

The Dutch United Provinces declared their independence from Spain in 1579; during the 17th century, they became a leading seafaring and commercial power, with settlements and colonies around the world. After a 20-year French occupation, a Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed in 1815. In 1830 Belgium seceded and formed a separate kingdom. The Netherlands remained neutral in World War I, but suffered invasion and occupation by Germany in World War II. A modern, industrialized nation, the Netherlands is also a large exporter of agricultural products. The country was a founding member of NATO and the EEC (now the EU), and participated in the introduction of the euro in 1999.

The Netherlands has a prosperous and open economy, which depends heavily on foreign trade. The economy is noted for stable industrial relations, moderate unemployment and inflation, a sizable current account surplus, and an important role as a European transportation hub. Industrial activity is predominantly in food processing, chemicals, petroleum refining, and electrical machinery. A highly mechanized agricultural sector employs no more than 2% of the labor force but provides large surpluses for the food-processing industry and for exports. The Netherlands, along with 11 of its EU partners, began circulating the euro currency on 1 January 2002. The country continues to be one of the leading European nations for attracting foreign direct investment. Economic growth slowed considerably in 2001-06, as part of the global economic slowdown, but for the four years before that, annual growth averaged nearly 4%, well above the EU average.