Economy overview: The Netherlands is a thriving and open economy heavily dependent on international trade. The economy is characterized by stable industrial ties, moderate inflation, a significant foreign trade surplus, and plays an important role as a European transport hub. Industrial production is dominated by the food and chemical industries, oil refining, and electrical engineering. The highly mechanized agricultural sector employs no more than 4% of the labor force, but provides a significant surplus for the food industry and exports. The Dutch hold the third place in the world in terms of exports of agricultural products after the US and France. For the last 4 years the Dutch economy has grown by 3% or more annually, in 2001 real GDP growth will probably be 3.6%. Government in 2001 will undertake the most comprehensive tax reform since the Second World War, designed to reduce the high level of taxes on income and shift the focus of taxation to indirect taxes. The Netherlands was among the first 11 EU countries to join the Eurozone on January 1, 1999. GDP: at purchasing power parity – $388.4 billion (2000 est.). Real GDP growth rate: 4% (2000 est.). GDP per capita: Purchasing power parity? – $24,400 (2000 est.). GDP, structure by sectors: agriculture: 3.3%; industry: 26.3%; services: 70.4% (2000 est.). Composition of GDP by sector of the economy: Proportion of the population below the poverty line: no data. Percent distribution of household income or consumption: bottom 10%: 2.8%; 10% of the wealthiest families: 25.1% (1994). Inflation rate at consumer prices: 2.6% (2000 est.). Labor force: 7.2 million people (2000 est.). Employment structure: services 73%, industry 23%, agriculture 4% (1998 est.). Unemployment rate: 2.6% (2000 est.). Budget: revenues: $134 billion; expenditures: $134 billion, including capital expenditures – NA (2001 est.). Spheres of economy: agro-industrial complex, metallurgy, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and equipment, chemical industry, oil industry, construction, microelectronics, fisheries. Growth in industrial production: 3.2% (2000). Electricity generation: 85.294 billion kWh (1999) Electricity generation: Sources of electricity generation: fossil fuels: 90.25%; hydropower: 0.11%; nuclear fuel: 4.27%; others: 5.37% (1999). Electricity consumption: 97.76 billion kWh (1999) Electricity export: 3.97 billion kWh (1999) Electricity import: 22.407 billion kWh (1999). Agricultural products: grain, karta fel, sugar beets, fruits, vegetables, livestock. Export: $210.3 billion (free on board, 2000) Exports: machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs. Export partners: EU 78% (Germany 26%, Belgium and Luxembourg 12%, France 12%, UK 11%, Italy 6%), Central and Eastern Europe, USA (2000). Import: $201.2 billion (S.I.F., 2000). Import articles: machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs, clothing. Import partners: EU 56% (Germany 18%, Belgium and Luxembourg 10%, UK 5%, France 6%), US 9%, Central and Eastern Europe (2000). External debt: $0. Economic aid donor: official development support $3.5 billion (2000 est.). Currency: Dutch guilder; Euro; note: on January 1, 1999, the EU introduced a common currency used by financial institutions in some countries; fixed rate – 2.20371 guilders per euro; the euro in 2002 will replace the local currencies in the eurozone countries. Currency code: NLG; EUR. Exchange rate: EUR/USD – 1.0659 (January 2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); NLG/USD-1.9837 (1998), 1.9513 (1997), 1.6859 (1996). Fiscal year: calendar year.
Telecommunications
Telecommunications Telephone lines: 9.132 million (1999). Mobile cell phones: 4.082 million (April 1999) Telephone system: highly developed and well maintained; intercom: existing multi-core cable system is gradually being replaced by fiber optic cables, cell phone traffic density is growing rapidly, system upgrade is expected in 2001 with the transition to the third generation of the GSM standard; international: 5 submarine cables; satellite earth stations: 3 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Eutelsat and 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions) (1996). Broadcast stations: AM – 4, FM -58, shortwave – 3 (1998). Radio receivers: 15.3 million (1996) Television broadcast stations: 21 (and 26 repeaters) (1995). Televisions: 8.1 million (1997) Internet country code: nl Internet service providers: 52 (2000). Number of users: 6.8 million (2000).
Transport
Transport Railways: total length: 2,739 km; length of roads with standard gauge: 2,739 km; (1991 km electrified) (1998). Roads: total length: 125,575 km; paved: 113,018 km (including 2,235 km of expressways); unpaved: 12,557 km (1998 est.) Waterways: 5,046 km, of which 47% are used by ships of 1,000 tons or more. Pipelines: for crude oil – 418 km; for oil products – 965 km; for natural gas – 10,230 km. Ports and harbours: Amsterdam, Groningen, Delfzijl, Dordrecht, Imuiden, Maastricht, Rotterdam, Terneuzen, Utrecht, Vlissingen, Haarlem, Eimshaven. Merchant navy: in total: 596 vessels (of 1,000 tons displacement and over) with a total displacement of 4,321,500 gross register tons / 4,877,632 long tons of gross tonnage; ship types: bulk carriers -3, cargo ships -371, chemical tankers – 43, container ships – 59, LPG carriers – 21, livestock carriers – 1, multifunctional heavy cargo ships – 9, passenger – 8, oil tankers – 26, refrigerators – 29, ferries – 18, coastal passenger ships – 3, specialized tankers – 5 (2000 est.). Airports: 28 (2000 est.). Airports with paved runways: Airports with paved runways: total: 19; over 3,047 m: 2; from 2438 to 3047 m: 7; from 1524 to 2437 m:6; from 914 to 1523 m: 3; less than 914 m: 1 (2000 est.). Airports with unpaved runways: Airports with unpaved runways: total: 9; from 914 to 1523 m: 3; less than 914 m: 6 (2000 est.). Helipads: 1 (2000 est.).
Armed forces
Branches of the armed forces: Royal Netherlands Army, Royal Netherlands Navy (including naval aviation and marine corps), Royal Netherlands Air Force, Royal Police. See militarynous.com to know more about Netherlands Military. Enlistment age: 20 years old. Total military manpower: men aged 15 to 49: 4,083,349 (2001 est.). Eligible for military service: males aged 15 to 49: 3,555,501 (2001 est.). Number of persons reaching military age each year: males: 96,082 per year (2001 est.). Military spending: $6.5 billion (2001 est.) Military spending as a percentage of GDP: 1.5% (2001 est.).
International Issues
International issues International disputes: no. Illicit drugs: major European producer of illicit amphetamines and other synthetic drugs, an important transit point for cocaine, heroin and hashish entering Europe; major supplier of ecstasy in the US.
