The Netherlands

 

The Netherlands is a small country sandwiched between Belgium a

nd Germany in Western Europe.

The official name of the country is Kingdom of Netherlands. The Netherlands is also known as Holland.

Queen Beatrix is the Queen of the Netherlands.

Orange is Holland’s royal color.

The country is washed by the North Sea.  The Dutch have a saying: “God made the Earth, but the Dutch made Holland.” The North Sea would have washed away the Netherlands if the Dutch had not erected defenses to protect their land. Over the centuries, the Dutch have built series of canals, dams, dikes, and pumping stations to keep the sea and rivers back. Wooden windmills helped to drain water from the land for over 600 years. Today there are other sources of flood control and sources of power.

The Netherlands is a very flat country. It is as flat as a pancake.

The capital and the largest city in the Netherlands is Amsterdam.

The Netherlands is a member of the European Union and uses the Euro as its currency.

The population of the country is about 17 million people. The Netherlands is the most densely populated country in the European Union.

The main language in the Netherlands is Dutch.

86% of Dutchies speak English as a second language.

Many of the world’s tomatoes, cucumbers and flowers are exported from the Netherlands.

Tulips are a major industry, and the Dutch produce billions of bulbs a year—more than any other country.

Amsterdam is a diamond polishing centre.

Tourism is important to the country, and many visitors come to see Dutch art, architecture and the flowers.

Rembrandt and Vincent van Gogh are the most famous Dutch artists.

Many of the residents ride bicycles for transportation in big cities. There are three times as many bicycles as there are cars in the Netherlands.

There are around 20 national parks in the Netherlands.

The Dutch are the tallest people in the world. Men are 182.5 cm tall and women are 170.5 cm.

Dutch people enjoy sports. The most popular are football (soccer), swimming, volleyball, golf, tennis and hockey.