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Netherlands

Kingdom of the Netherlands · Western Europe

Position of Netherlands on a world map

At a glance

CapitalAmsterdam
Most common first languageDutch90% speak it as a mother tongue
Official languageDutch
Currencyeuro
Drives on theright
Highest pointMount Scenery870 m
Biggest category of goods exportedmanufactured goods63% of goods exports, 2024
Services share of exports30.8%of everything sold abroad, 2024
Internet domain.nl

Facts about Netherlands

About a quarter of its land sits below sea level.

Source: Statistics Netherlands, ~26% · checked 2026-08-08

Netherlands was home to the world's first publicly traded company.

Source: britannica.com · checked 2026-08-08

Netherlands is home to the sole manufacturer of the extreme ultraviolet lithography machines needed to make the most advanced computer chips.

Source: cnbc.com · checked 2026-08-08

Netherlands by the numbers

Rank is out of the countries with data for that measure. Every figure is the latest year the source publishes.

MeasureValueRank
PopulationEveryone living in the country, all ages, counted mid-year.18.1m (2025)71st
of 209
GDPThe total value of everything the country produces in a year, at current prices.$1.33tn (2025)18th
of 203
Land areaTotal land area, excluding inland water and offshore territory.33.7k km² (2023)134th
of 209
Military spending, totalWhat the government spends on its armed forces in a year — pay, equipment and operations.$23.2bn (2024)19th
of 151
Exports of goods & servicesThe value of everything the country sells abroad in a year, goods and services combined.$1.08tn (2025)6th
of 180
Mobile subscriptionsActive mobile phone subscriptions — NOT the same as people. Many people hold two, so a country can have more subscriptions than residents.23.4m (2024)58th
of 205
Forest areaLand under natural or planted trees, whether or not it is productive.3.72k km² (2023)146th
of 203
Agricultural landCropland, land under permanent crops, and permanent pasture.18.0k km² (2023)122nd
of 206
COâ‚‚ emissionsCarbon dioxide released in a year, in millions of tonnes.119 Mt (2024)37th
of 198
Urban populationThe number of people living in urban areas, as each country defines them.17.4m (2025)50th
of 209
Life expectancyHow long a baby born today would live if death rates never changed.82.0 years (2024)37th
of 209
GDP per personEverything the country produces in a year, divided by its population.$73,684 (2025)16th
of 205
Internet useThe share of people who have used the internet in the last three months.97.0% (2024)17th
of 191
InflationHow much prices rose over the year, measured on a basket of consumer goods.3.3% (2025)88th
of 182
UnemploymentThe share of people who want a job and are looking for one but do not have one.3.9% (2025)119th
of 185
Urban shareThe share of the population living in urban areas.95.9% (2025)13th
of 209
Births per womanHow many children a woman would have across her life at current birth rates.1.43 (2024)165th
of 209
Military spending, share of GDPWhat the country spends on its armed forces, as a share of everything it produces.1.92% of GDP (2024)67th
of 155
Trade opennessImports plus exports as a share of GDP. Above 100% is normal for small trading economies.150.1% of GDP (2025)21st
of 183
COâ‚‚ per personCarbon dioxide from fuel and industry, divided by the population.6.57 t (2024)37th
of 198
Human Development IndexThe UN’s combined measure of health, education and income, on a scale from 0 to 1.0.955 (2023)9th
of 193

Land borders

🇧🇪 Belgium🇩🇪 Germany

Across the water

Close by sea, with no shared land border.

🇫🇷 France

Netherlands shares these with other countries

Drives on the right 149Has a coast and land neighbours 115Has dutch as its most common first language 3Has dutch as an official language 4Uses the euro 20Is a constitutional monarchy 40Mainly exports manufactured goods 83Is in western europe 8

Netherlands in the Daily Ceteris

Questions from the daily puzzle where the answer is Netherlands.

Which country was home to the world's first publicly traded company?

The Dutch East India Company sold shares to ordinary investors in 1602, and the Amsterdam market that grew up to trade them is widely treated as the first modern stock exchange. It still runs today as Euronext Amsterdam. source

Which country is home to the sole manufacturer of the extreme ultraviolet lithography machines needed to make the most advanced computer chips?

A multi-decade head start in EUV lithography gave one Dutch firm an effective monopoly on a machine costing around $200 million, which every leading-edge chipmaker in the world must buy from it. source

Keep going

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Country data from the World Bank (CC BY 4.0) and the UNDP Human Development Report (CC BY 3.0 IGO)
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