Brief Introduction Capital: Amsterdam Area: total: 41,526 sq km National Flower: Tulip The important Festival: National day: 30 April Population: 16,340,000 Language: Dutch (official), Frisian (official) Currency: euro

Holland

Geography

Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between Belgium and Germany.

Administrative divisions

12 provinces (provincies, singular - provincie); Drenthe, Flevoland, Friesland (Fryslan), Gelderland, Groningen, Limburg, Noord-Brabant, Noord-Holland, Overijssel, Utrecht, Zeeland, Zuid-Holland.

Economy – overview

The Netherlands has a prosperous and open economy, which depends heavily on foreign trade. The economy is noted for stable industrial relations, moderate unemployment and inflation, a sizable current account surplus, and an important role as a European transportation hub. Industrial activity is predominantly in food processing, chemicals, petroleum refining, and electrical machinery. A highly mechanized agricultural sector employs no more than 4% of the labor force but provides large surpluses for the food-processing industry and for exports. The Netherlands, along with 11 of its EU partners, began circulating the euro currency on 1 January 2002. The country continues to be one of the leading European nations for attracting foreign direct investment. Economic growth slowed considerably in 2001-04, as part of the global economic slowdown, but for the four years before that, annual growth averaged nearly 4%, well above the EU average.

Culture and media

Newspaper:

Agrarisch Dagblad , Algemeen Dagblad , Financieele Dagblad, Het, Gay Krant, De, Intermediair, Katholiek Nieuwsblad, Nederlands Dagblad , NRC Handelsblad, Parool, Het , Resumen, Trouw .

Broadcast:

BNR Nieuwsradio , Radio Netherlands / Wereldomroep, Radio 1.

TV Stations:

NOS Jeugdjournaal, NOS Nieuws , RTL Nieuws