The Netherlands is a country situated in the North-West of Europe bordering with the North Sea, Belgium and Germany. The country is officially the Kingdom of the Netherlands with its capital in Amsterdam. The seat of the parliamentary constitutional monarchy government is in The Hague. The country is one of the richest European countries with a rather small territory. It has 16 million inhabitants that are among the most densely populated in Europe.

Name

There is a lot of misunderstanding when it comes to the name of the Netherlands. Historically, the Netherlands or low lands included the territories of modern Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg as well as some territories of Germany and France. Another very popular name of the country is Holland. Actually, Holland is the name of two provinces- North and South Holland.

Geography

The existence of the state of the Netherlands is a constant battle with the sea. 20% of the land and 21% the population of the country lives beneath the sea level and the great majority near one meter above the sea. Holland has grown by reclaiming land from the sea through state of the art polders and dykes. The country is green and flat with the exception of the hills in the southeast part of the country.

Climate

The climate in the Netherlands is characterized as moderate, maritime climate. The summers are warm and mild and the winters soft and rainy. Snowfall is a rare occurrence. The temperatures rarely exceed 30 degree and even less rarely go beneath zero. The rainiest part of the year is the autumn and the beginning of the winter when sporadic rain falls daily.

Language

The Dutch language is part of the Germanic group of languages. It is spoken of about 22 million people in the Netherlands, Flanders Belgium, and the ex Dutch colonies in Suriname, the Caribbean, and North America. Dutch is the parent language of Afrikaans- a language spoken in South Africa. Other languages that are spoken in the country are Frisian in the province of Friesland and Gronings dialect in the province of Groningen.
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