Geography and Climate
Planning to live in the Netherlands requires advance preparation and organization. Before you move, start with our move abroad checklists, a fast and easy way to get the big picture.
Facing the North Sea to its west and north, Belgium to its south and Germany to its east, the Netherlands (meaning lowlands in Dutch) has battled the sea for centuries along its 280-mile coastline. Without its famous dykes and protective systems, almost half of the country would be under water. Today, about 26 percent of the Netherlands is below sea level.
About twice the size of the state of New Jersey, the Netherlands continues to grow through reclaimed land from the sea, using a system of canals and pumps. The Netherlands also includes three special island municipalities in the Caribbean: Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba. The broader entity, known as the Kingdom of the Netherlands, also includes the constituent Caribbean island countries of Aruba, Curacao and Sint Maarten, all former colonies.
Much of the country’s land area is in the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta, formed by the estuary of those three major rivers. As you would expect from a country whose name means lowlands, the Netherlands is very flat, with the exception of foothills in the far southeast and several low hill ranges in the center of the country. Over 20 percent of the population lives in areas below sea level.
The Netherlands has a temperate northern maritime climate influenced by the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean, with cool summers and moderate winters. Since the country is small, there is little variation in climate from region to region. The coldest months, also known as ice days, occur from December to February. The warmer months are April to October. Rainfall generally occurs throughout the year, with a dryer period from April to September.
The Netherlands is in the Central European time zone, which is six hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Standard Time. The country observes Summer Time with the rest of Europe by moving its clocks one hour ahead.
With so much of its land under sea level, the Netherlands has battled flooding for centuries. The last major flood to hit the country was in February 1953. A storm caused the collapse of several dikes in the southwest, drowning nearly 2,000. The disaster led to the creation of the Delta Works, a large-scale flood control program to protect the country from future flood damage.
People and Culture
The Netherlands is often referred to as Holland, although North and South Holland are only two of the twelve provinces that make up the country. The nearly 17 million people who live in the Netherlands are called Dutch and the official language of the country is Dutch, although most Dutch people speak at least one foreign language, mostly English because it is taught as part of basic education. About 80 percent claim Dutch heritage, but Moroccans, Turks and Surinamese represent large ethnic groups within the country.
People live in close proximity in the Netherlands, with nearly 500 residents per square kilometer. Amsterdam is the capital city of the Netherlands and has a population of over 2 million within its metropolitan area. The Hague is the seat of government for the country and is the third-largest city with a metropolitan population of over 1 million people. Rotterdam, with more than 1.3 million people, is the country’s second largest city and one of the world’s largest ports.
In 1555, Charles of the Habsburg dynasty granted the Netherlands region to his son, who was the king of Spain. The Dutch resisted not only the new taxation, but also the intolerance and oppressive methods of administration of the Spanish rule. This sparked the long eighty years war. The new nation suffered a series of reverses in the war, but finally in 1648 the Spanish recognized the sovereignty of the Republic. The Dutch Republic remained until 1794, at least nominally, under the power of the Austrian throne of Habsburg. By the mid-seventeenth century, the Republic was the biggest maritime power of Europe, and Amsterdam was the most important financial center on the European continent. After a 20-year French occupation, the Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed in 1815.
In 1830, Belgium seceded and formed a separate kingdom. The Netherlands remained neutral in World War I, but suffered invasion and occupation by Germany in World War II. A modern, industrialized nation, the Netherlands now is a large exporter of agricultural products. The country was a founding member of NATO and the EEC (now the EU) and participated in the introduction of the euro in 1999. In October 2010, the former Netherlands Antilles was dissolved and the three smallest islands – Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba – became special municipalities in the Netherlands administrative structure. The larger islands of Sint Maarten and Curacao joined the Netherlands and Aruba as constituent countries forming the Kingdom of the Netherlands.