The Netherlands, informally known as Holland, is a country located in Northwestern Europe with abroad areas in the Caribbean. It is the biggest of 4 constituent nations of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (the others being Aruba, Curaçao as well as Sint Maarten). In Europe, the Netherlands contains twelve provinces, and also borders Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, with a North Sea coast-line to the north and also west.

It likewise shares naval borders with both nations as well as with the United Kingdom in the North Sea. The Caribbean overseas regions– Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba– came to be unique districts of the country of the Netherlands in 2010. The nation’s main language is Dutch, with West Frisian as an additional main language in the province of Friesland, and also English and Papiamento as second official languages in the Caribbean Netherlands.

Dutch Reduced Saxon and also Limburgish are acknowledged regional languages (spoken in the eastern and also southeast respectively), while Dutch Sign Language, Sinte Romani, and also Yiddish are acknowledged non-territorial languages.

The 4 largest cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht. Amsterdam is the nation’s most populous city as well as nominal funding, while The Hague holds the seat of the States General, Cabinet and also Supreme Court. The Port of Rotterdam is the busiest seaport in Europe. Amsterdam Flight Terminal Schiphol is the busiest airport terminal in the Netherlands, and also the 3rd busiest in Europe.

The nation is a starting member of the European Union, Eurozone, G10, NATO, OECD, and WTO, along with a part of the Schengen Location and also the trilateral Benelux Union. It organizes a number of intergovernmental organisations as well as global courts, a lot of which are centred in The Hague, which is subsequently referred to as ‘the globe’s legal capital’.

Netherlands essentially means “lower countries” due to its reduced elevation and also flat topography, with just about 50% of its land exceeding 1 m (3.3 feet) above water level, as well as nearly 26% dropping listed below sea level. Most of the locations below water level, referred to as polders, are the result of land improvement that started in the 14th century. Colloquially or informally the Netherlands is periodically described by the pars pro toto Holland.

In the Republican Period, which began in 1588, the Netherlands entered an one-of-a-kind era of political, economic, and social achievement, ranked among one of the most effective as well as influential in Europe and the world; this period is known as the Dutch Golden Age. Throughout this time, its trading firms, the Dutch East India Firm as well as the Dutch West India Firm, developed colonies and also trading posts all over the world.