Flag of Netherlands

National Anthem of Netherlands

Neighbours of Netherlands

• Belgium
• Germany

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Netherlands description

The Netherlands [ˈnɛðɚləndz] (Dutch: Nederland (help·info), IPA: [ˈne:dərlɑnt]) is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba in the Caribbean. The Netherlands is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy, located in Western Europe. It is bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east. The Netherlands is often called Holland, which is formally incorrect as North and South Holland are merely two of its twelve provinces. For more on this issue see terminology of the Netherlands. The word Dutch is used to refer to the people, the language, and anything indigenous to the Netherlands. The Netherlands is a geographically low-lying country, with about 27% of its area and 60% of its population located below sea level. Significant areas have been gained through land reclamation and preserved through an elaborate systems of polders and dikes. Much of the Netherlands is formed by the estuary of three important European rivers, which together with their distributaries form the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta. Most of the country is very flat, with the exception of foothills of the Ardennes in the far south–east and several low-hill ranges in the central parts created by ice-age glaciers. The Netherlands is a densely populated country. It is popular for its traditional windmills, tulips, cheese, clogs (wooden shoes), delftware and gouda pottery, for its bicycles, and in addition, traditional values and civil virtues such as its classic social tolerance. Being an old parliamentary democracy, the country is more recently known for its rather modern, liberal policies toward drugs, prostitution, homosexuality, and euthanasia. The predominant wind direction in the Netherlands is south-west, which causes a moderate maritime climate, with cool summers and mild winters. The predominant wind direction in the Netherlands is south-west, which causes a moderate maritime climate, with cool summers and mild winters.