Location

The Netherlands is located in Western Europe between Belgium and Germany, and borders the North Sea. How far is the Netherlands from your place? Its size is 41,160 square kilometers. The land is mostly coastal lowland, bog, and reclaimed land, with some hills in the southeast.

Climate

The weather is temperate, marine, with cool summers and mild winters. The resources are natural gas, petroleum and arable land. The bodies of water it is near are three major European rivers Rhine, Maas or Meuse and Schelde.

People

The population in the Netherlands is about 15,981,472 people. The homes they live in are like yours and mine in Canada, but they usually have solar panels on their homes. Agriculture in the Netherlands is highly productive and a major generator of exports suchas meat, flowers, and dairy products. They raise cattle, pigs, and chickens. Their jobs are usually involved in growing tulips, fishing, and farming.
Canals and rivers form an extensive transportation network across most of the Netherlands. The Dutch economy relies heavily on the international shipping industry . Some of their means of transportation are train services, bridges, tunnels and ferries which help speed the flow of motor traffic; bicycles are also an important means of travel. Royal DutchAirlines is the leading air carrier. There are many dozens of regional and local newspapers, each associated with a particular political or social position.

Life

The languages people speak in the Netherlands are Dutch, German, and Frisian, their first language. Roman Catholics are 33% and Protestants are 23% of the Dutch population. 3% are adherents of Islam; Netherlands also has a Jewish community. About 39% of the people do not belong to a religious body. The Roman Catholics are in the southern part of the country. The Protestants have several denominations, the largest being the Dutch Reformed Church. From the time of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, the Netherlands has enjoyed a high level of basic education, and comparatively high literacy rates. As the state became more involved in education, disputes arose concerning the faith of nonpublic schools.

Government

he Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government. The state of the Netherlands is hereditary monarch who has little power in running since the constitution was revised in 1848. The capital city of the Netherlands is Amsterdam. The locals call the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Koninkrijk der Nederlanden, and call the Netherlands, Nederland.
Some of the holidays are a costume carnival in February, Coninginnedag (Queen"s Day ), and Holland Festival. Some of their recreations are biking, boating, fishing, gliding, golfing, hiking, scuba diving, and sky diving.

By Felicia Matheson