Country · Europe
Netherlands
Kingdom of the Netherlands
The Netherlands is a country in Western Europe. About 17.2 million people live there, in an area of 41 850 square kilometres. Its capital city is Amsterdam.
Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands, but the government and parliament sit in The Hague.
Picture credit: Dominicus Johannes Bergsma (CC BY-SA 3.0 nl) · CEphoto, Uwe Aranas (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Nicolas Völcker (CC BY 3.0) · DimiTalen (CC0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is the Netherlands?
The Netherlands lies in Western Europe, on the continent of Europe.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 5 844 km from the equator.
Its coastline is about 451 km long.
It shares a border with 2 countries: Belgium and Germany.
How big is the Netherlands?
The Netherlands covers 41 850 square kilometres.
That is about 16 times the size of Luxembourg.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 131st largest.
If everybody spread out evenly, there would be about 411.7 people on every square kilometre.
That is busier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in the Netherlands?
About 17.2 million people live in the Netherlands.
That is the 66th biggest population in the world.
People here speak Dutch.
They pay with the Euro (€).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 78 years.
The land of the Netherlands
The land of the Netherlands sits on average 30 metres above sea level, which makes it one of the flatter countries on Earth.
Its coast runs for about 451 km. Walking it end to end, at twenty kilometres a day, would take roughly 23 days.
It lies between the tropics and the poles, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes the Netherlands different?
Dishes the country is known for: Stamppot and hutspot.
Websites from here often end in .nl.
The Netherlands and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about 2 live in the Netherlands.
It takes up about 0.03 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Europe the country ranks 30th of 45 by size, and 10th by population.
The Netherlands and its neighbours
Germany, its largest neighbour, is about 8.5 times bigger.
Germany has more people: 82.9 million against 17.2 million.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, 35 live wild in the Netherlands: European badger, European hedgehog, Common pipistrelle bat, Mute swan, Harbour seal, Common earthworm and more. The highest mountain in the country is Vaalserberg, at 322 metres. The longest river in the country is the Meuse. The country has no large natural lake; its largest body of water, IJsselmeer, is a reservoir.
European badger
European hedgehog
Common pipistrelle bat
Mute swan
Harbour seal
Common earthworm
European mole
Carrion crow
Muskrat
Mallard
Sand lizard
Seven-spot ladybird
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
Where this country lands in the record lists
How big is the Netherlands compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 224 times as big as the Netherlands: 9 372 610 km² against 41 850 km². See both on one map
- The United Kingdom is about 5.8 times as big as the Netherlands: 242 900 km² against 41 850 km².
Questions children ask
What is the capital of the Netherlands?
The capital of the Netherlands is Amsterdam.
How many people live in the Netherlands?
About 17.2 million people live in the Netherlands, which makes it the 66th most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border the Netherlands?
How big is the Netherlands?
The Netherlands covers 41 850 square kilometres, making it the 131st largest country in the world. That is about 16 times the size of Luxembourg.
What is the highest mountain in the Netherlands?
The highest mountain in the Netherlands is Vaalserberg, 322 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in the Netherlands?
The longest river in the Netherlands is the Meuse. Of its 925 kilometres, about 196 run through the country.
What is the largest lake in the Netherlands?
The largest body of water in the Netherlands is IJsselmeer, a reservoir of about 1 100 km²; there is no large natural lake in the country.
Which continent is the Netherlands in?
The Netherlands is in Europe, in the part called Western Europe.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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