Overview of the Netherlands

About the Netherlands

The official name is Kingdom of the Netherlands. The dutch have a Parliamentary democracy within a constitutional monarchy. King Willem-Alexander is the official Head of State. The official capital of the Netherlands is Amsterdam and the seat of the government is The Hague.

The kingdom consists of the Netherlands and three territories in the Caribbean: Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten. The Netherlands consist of 12 provinces: Noord-Holland, Zuid-Holland, Zeeland, Noord-Brabant, Limburg, Utrecht, Gelderland, Flevoland, Overijssel, Drenthe and Groningen. The Caribbean Islands Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius are special municipalities of the Netherlands.

Total surface area is 41,543 km2 (16,041 sq mi) and is inhabited by 17,974,786 inhabitants (April 2024). The currency in the Netherlands is the euro.

Economy and Finance

The Netherlands is one of the countries with the largest foreign direct investment (FDI) in the world (source: CBS).
The Netherlands ranks 4th worldwide by Forbes Best Countries of doing business and ranks 7th on the 2023 Global Startup Index.
According OECD Data, the Netherlands has the 8th highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world.
The Netherlands ranks 5th on the IMD World Competitiveness Ranking 2023.

Health

The Netherlands is the only country consistently in the top 3 in total ranking of any European Index published by the Health Consumer Powerhouse since 2005 (source: Euro Health Consumer Index 2018).
Life expectancy in the Netherlands is 81.4 years (2023). This is 1.1 years above the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) average.
83% of the people in the Netherlands are satisfied with the availability of quality healthcare. The OECD average is 67% (source: OECD Health at a Glance 2023 Country Note).

Innovation and Technology

The Netherlands ranks 7th worldwide on the 2023 Global Innovation Index.
About 60% of all Forbes 2000 Companies active in the IT industry have established an office in the Netherlands.
The Netherlands is ranked 5th in the Global Talent Competitive Index 2023 of countries that are best in attracting, developing and retaining talent.
70% of all Dutch Innovation is IT related.
The Netherlands is the most connected country in the world, according the DHL Global Connectedness Index 2022).
As of April 2024, the Netherlands has the highest internet penetration rate worldwide.
11 universities in the Netherlands are in the top 200 of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024.

Mobilizing Global Talent in the Netherlands

Join Our Talent Pool

Upload your CV

Find the Right Job

Search jobs

Safety

The Netherlands ranks 16th worldwide in safety and peacefulness on the Global Peace Index 2023.

Happiness

The Netherlands is the 6th happiest country in the world, according the latest World Happiness Report 2024.

Unemployment rate

As of April 2024, the Netherlands has an unemployment rate of 3,7% (source: CBS).

Work-life balance

According to the OECD work-life balance index, the Netherlands scores 5th in work-life balance.

English Proficiency

Dutch is the official language in the Netherlands. West Frisian (or simply Frisian) is a co-official language in the province Friesland.
Between 90% and 93% of the total population in the Netherlands are able to converse in English.
The Netherlands ranks 1st on the EF English Proficiency Index (EPI) 2023 edition. This is for the fifth year in a row.

Society

In the The Netherlands 200 different kind of nationalities are living.

Social Security in the Netherlands
Expat guide to festive Dutch Holidays

Social Security in the Netherlands
Expat guide to festive Dutch Holidays