Ethnicity: Dutch 83%, other Europeans 6%, non-European migrants (mainly Turks, Moroccans, Antilleans, Surinamese and Indonesians) 9%
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Capital: Amsterdam is the royal capital, The Hague (Den Haag) is the seat of government.
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Electoral authority: Elections in the Netherlands are conducted by the Elections Council of the Interior Ministry.
Freedom House rating:
Political Rights 1, Civil Liberties 1
Political history
The Netherlands has been an independent state since 1572, when the Protestant cities of Holland rebelled against Spain, which had ruled the area since the early 16th century. The independence of the Dutch Republic was finally recognised in 1609. The Republic was a federation of provinces, each with its own Estate-General but recognising the sovereignty of the hereditary Stateholder. The Netherlands was absorbed into Napoleon's empire in 1795, first as the Batavian Republic and then as the Kingdom of Holland. In 1815 the Congress of Vienna created the Kingdom of the Netherlands under the House of Orange-Nassau.
The kingdom originally included Belgium and Luxembourg, but Catholic Belgium rebelled against Dutch rule in 1830. This debacle discredited the royal government and in 1847 King Willem I was forced to agree to a constitution which established parliamentary government. Full democratic government followed in 1877. Luxembourg became independent in 1890.
For most its history Dutch politics revolved around the conflict between Catholics and Protestants, and also between liberals and conservatives. From the 1890s, however, the rise of socialist parties reshaped party conflicts. The Netherlands was under German occupation from 1940 to 1945. After the war rapid secularisation led to the end of old sectarian conflicts and the Netherlands developed a reputation as one of Europe's most liberal countries.
The current government is a conservative coalition led by the Christian-Democratic Appeal, a moderate Christian democrat party formed in 1980 from the union of older Catholic and Protestant parties, and the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy, an orthodox conservative party. Other parties on the right include the List Pim Fortuyn, a populist anti-immigration party, and two small religious parties, the Christian Union and the Political Reformed Party.
The largest opposition party is the Labour Party, a moderate social-democratic party. But Labour's domination of the left has been weakened by the rise of the Socialist Party and the Green Left. Also on the left is the Democrats 66, a party of the middle-class left.
The kingdom originally included Belgium and Luxembourg, but Catholic Belgium rebelled against Dutch rule in 1830. This debacle discredited the royal government and in 1847 King Willem I was forced to agree to a constitution which established parliamentary government. Full democratic government followed in 1877. Luxembourg became independent in 1890.
For most its history Dutch politics revolved around the conflict between Catholics and Protestants, and also between liberals and conservatives. From the 1890s, however, the rise of socialist parties reshaped party conflicts. The Netherlands was under German occupation from 1940 to 1945. After the war rapid secularisation led to the end of old sectarian conflicts and the Netherlands developed a reputation as one of Europe's most liberal countries.
The current government is a conservative coalition led by the Christian-Democratic Appeal, a moderate Christian democrat party formed in 1980 from the union of older Catholic and Protestant parties, and the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy, an orthodox conservative party. Other parties on the right include the List Pim Fortuyn, a populist anti-immigration party, and two small religious parties, the Christian Union and the Political Reformed Party.
The largest opposition party is the Labour Party, a moderate social-democratic party. But Labour's domination of the left has been weakened by the rise of the Socialist Party and the Green Left. Also on the left is the Democrats 66, a party of the middle-class left.