Netherlands Country Overview
Where is Netherlands located? The Netherlands is a small country in western Europe. The parliamentary monarchy is part of the Benelux countries alongside Belgium and Luxembourg. Some Caribbean islands still belong to Dutch territory today. On the time zone map, Holland is located in a world time zone called “Central European Time”. Here the standard time shift to the coordinated world clock is 1 hour (UTC+1). In the summer, this standard difference increases to 2 hours, as the clock then changes to daylight saving time.
Bordering Countries of Netherlands
According to abbreviationfinder, Netherlands is a small country located in Western Europe, it is bordered by Germany to the east, Belgium to the south and the North Sea to the west. The total area of Netherlands is 41,526 square kilometers with a population of around 17 million people. The official language of Netherlands is Dutch and English is widely spoken as well.
The bordering countries of Netherlands are Germany and Belgium. Germany borders Netherlands on its eastern side and this border has been in place since the end of World War II. In terms of economic ties, Germany is one of the top trading partners for Netherlands since it exports machinery, chemicals and manufactured goods to them while also importing food products from them.
Belgium borders Netherlands on its southern side. This border has been in place since 1839 after Belgium declared independence from Dutch rule. There are strong cultural ties between both countries due to their shared history as well as close economic links due to their proximity. In terms of trade, Belgium imports dairy products from Netherlands while also exporting machinery and manufactured goods back to them.
Netherlands has strong diplomatic ties with both its bordering countries which have helped maintain peace in the region for many years now. Both countries have also signed several agreements such as those related to transportation, environment protection and investment promotion which have helped strengthen their relationship even further.
In conclusion, both Germany and Belgium are important bordering countries for Netherlands due to their close economic ties as well as shared culture and history which helps maintain peace in this region of Europe.
Population Distribution
As of 2023, the latest population of Netherlands is 17,280,397, based on our calculation of the current data from UN (United Nations).
| Total population | 17,280,397 |
| Population growth rate | 0.37% |
| Birth rate | 10.90 births per 1,000 people |
| Life expectancy | |
| Overall life expectancy | 81.01 years |
| Men life expectancy | 78.93 years |
| Women life expectancy | 83.21 years |
| Age structure | |
| 0-14 years | 16.28% |
| 15-64 years | 64.62% |
| 65 years and above | 19.10% |
| Median age | 42.30 years |
| Gender ratio (Male to Female) | 0.98 |
| Population density | 415.96 residents per km² |
| Urbanization | 65.80% |
| Ethnicities | |
| 78.6% Dutch, 2.4% Turks, 2.2% Indonesians, 2.2% Moroccans, 2.1 Surinamese, 0.8% Bonairian, Saba Islander, Sint Eustatian, others 5.9%; Proportion of foreigners 2015: 4.6% | |
| Religions | |
| Catholics (Roman Catholic) 31%, Protestants 21%, Muslims 4.4%, Others 3.6%, Without religious affiliation 40% | |
| Human Development Index (HDI) | 0.934 |
| HDI ranking | 10th out of 194 |
People in Netherlands
The Netherlands is one of the most densely populated countries in the world with around 400 residents per square kilometer. For comparison: In Germany there are 231 residents per square kilometer. In the course of history, various groups of people from all over the world have immigrated to the Netherlands.
Some come from neighboring or nearby countries such as Germany, Belgium or England. In addition, people from Indonesia, Morocco and Suriname also live in the Netherlands. Many immigrants come from former crown colonies in the Netherlands, for example from the Caribbean.
Languages in Netherlands
The country’s official language is Dutch. This language belongs to the West Germanic languages. There are many similarities to Low German and English. There are also dialects in the various regions of the country, for example South Dutch.
Dutch is also an official language on the Dutch islands in the Caribbean. Papiamento and English are also spoken there. Many people on the Dutch mainland also speak English, especially in international cities like Amsterdam or The Hague.
Religions in Netherlands
The residents of the Netherlands are not very religious and hardly attached to a church. More than half of the entire population do not belong to any religious community. Most of the other half are Christian. Within Christianity, the Roman Catholic Church is the denomination with the greatest popularity. Out of 100 Dutch people, 27 are Catholics and just under 17 are Protestants. Six out of 100 are Muslims, one Hindu and one Buddhist.