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The Netherlands

The Netherlands

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Ziannah Luxx
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23 views2 pages

The Netherlands

The Netherlands

Uploaded by

Ziannah Luxx
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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THE NETHERLANDS

The Netherlands is a country located in


northwestern Europe which is also known as
Holland. “Netherlands” means low-lying country;
the name Holland (from Houtland, or “Wooded
Land”) was originally given to one of the medieval
cores of what later became the modern state and
is still used for 2 of its 12 provinces (Noord-Holland and Zuid-Holland). The kingdom
includes its former colonies in the Lesser Antilles: Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba,
Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten.

>Head Of Government - Prime Minister: Mark Rutte


>Capital - Amsterdam
>Population - (2023 est.) 17,975,000
>Currency Exchange Rate - 1 USD equals 0.901 euro
>Seat Of Government - The Hague
>Head Of State - Monarch: King Willem-Alexander
>Form Of Government - constitutional monarchy with a parliament (States General)
comprising two houses (Senate; House of Representatives)
>Official Language - Dutch, Frisian

Economy of The Netherlands

The Netherlands has been a highly industrialized country which occupies the central
position in the economy of western Europe. Because of the scarcity of mineral
resources—with the important exception of natural gas—the country is dependent on
large imports of basic materials.

The Netherlands has a market economy. However, the state traditionally has been a
significant participant in such fields as transportation, resource extraction, and heavy
industry. The government also employs a substantial percentage of the total labor
force and effects investment policy.

Nonetheless, during the 1980s, when the ideological climate favored market
economics, considerable privatization was initiated, government economic
intervention was reduced, and the welfare state was restructured. The Netherlands
has, relatively speaking, a highly regulated mixed economy.

Additionally, the economic development of the country has been consciously


stimulated by government policy. The state subsidies have been granted to attract
industry and services toward the relatively underdeveloped north and certain other
pockets of economic stagnation. Despite these subsidies, the western part of the
country remains the center of new activity, especially in the service sector.

The country’s agricultural land is divided into grassland, arable farmland, and
horticultural land. Dutch dairy farming is highly developed; the milk yield per acre of
grassland and the yield per cow are among the highest in the world. The Dutch
fishing industry, while not large, is nevertheless significant.

The Netherlands imports several million tons of coal annually to meet domestic and
industrial needs. The production of crude oil, of which there are minimal deposits,
covers only a small part of Dutch requirements. Large amounts of crude oil are
imported for refining in the Netherlands, and much of the refined petroleum is
exported.

The discovery of natural gas in 1959 had a tremendous influence on the


development of the Dutch economy. One-third of the natural gas produced is
exported, primarily to countries of the European Union (EU), helping to improve the
balance of payments in the economic sector—in which the Netherlands has usually
had its largest deficit. One of the results of the reliance on gas is that nuclear power
is very limited in the Netherlands.

Modern Dutch industrial development began relatively late, about 1870, and
production rose even during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Manufacturing
industries accounted for about one-fifth of the labor force in the early 21st century
but only about one-eighth of production value. Food and beverages, metal, chemical,
petroleum products, and electrical and electronics industries are the important
components of the manufacturing sector. The government has encouraged new
industrial development in the fields of microelectronics, biotechnology, and the
so-called digital economy.

Reference:
Rowen, H., Wintle, M., Meijer, H., & Heslinga, M.W. (2023, April 21). Netherlands.
Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from
https://www.britannica.com/place/Netherlands

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