Netherlands

The Netherlands (Dutch: Nederland; IPA pronunciation: /"ne:d?rlant/) is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands that is formed by the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba.(Dutch: Koninkrijk der Nederlanden). The Netherlands is a parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarch, located in northwestern Europe. It borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east.

Economy

The Netherlands has a prosperous and open economy in which the government has reduced its role since the 1980s. Industrial activity is predominantly in food-processing (for example Unilever and Heineken), chemicals (for example DSM), petroleum refining (for example Shell), and electrical machinery (for example Philips). A highly mechanised agricultural sector employs no more than 4% of the labour force but provides large surpluses for the food-processing industry and for exports. The Dutch rank third worldwide in value of agricultural exports, behind the US and France. Other important parts of the economy are international trade (Dutch colonialism started with cooperative private enterprises such as the VOC), banking and transport (for example the Rotterdam harbour). The Netherlands successfully addressed the issue of public finances and stagnating job growth long before its European partners.

Related Topics:
Open economy - 1980s - Unilever - Heineken - DSM - Petroleum - Shell - Philips - Agricultural - US - France - International trade - VOC - Banking - Transport - Rotterdam

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As a founding member of the Euro, the Netherlands replaced its former currency, the guilder, on January 1 1999 along with the other adopters of the single European currency, with the actual Euro coins and banknotes following on January 1, 2002. However, in the first years of the third millennium, economic and employment growth came to a standstill, which the government tried to resolve by cutting into its expenses.

Related Topics:
Euro - Currency - Guilder - January 1 - 1999 - Euro coins - Banknotes - 2002

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 2003 the economy shrunk 0.9%http://statline.cbs.nl/StatWeb/table.asp?TT=2&LA=nl&DM=SLNL&PA=7343nr&D1=0&D2=1&D3=a,!0-79http://statline.cbs.nl/StatWeb/table.asp?TT=2&LA=nl&DM=SLNL&PA=03751&D1=50&D2=0-1&D3=a. In 2004, the recession was over and the economy began its slow recovery with a meagre 1.3% growth. The CPB ("Centraal Plan Bureau", Central Planning Bureau), a think tank of leading Dutch economists linked with the government, expects a recovery of the economy in 2005, with a growth of 2.25%. In 2004, inflation was 1.2%http://statline.cbs.nl/StatWeb/table.aspTT=2&LA=nl&DM=SLNL&PA=70145ned&D1=4&D2=0&D3=25,38,51,64, the lowest level since 1989.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• List of Dutch companies