Netherlands-GENERAL INFORMATION

Population

Main Cities Population Amsterdam   1,100,764   Rotterdam   1,076,442   Hague   695   Utrecht   545   Eindhoven   393   Arnhem   311   Total population (millions): 16.3 Source: World Bank 2004 Urban population: 66% Source: World Bank 2004 Average annual population growth: 0.2% Source: World Bank 2004 Surface area (km²) : 41,53 Population origin Origin of the population % Of the population Dutch 95.4 Turkish 1.3 Moroccan 1.2 German 0.2 Other 1.9

Local time

It is %T:%M %A in Amsterdam

GMT+1 in winter, GMT+2 in summer

Languages Official language: Dutch The majority of the population speaks English, which is the most used language in trade. Free translation tools in Netherlands : Eurodicautom The European Union Dictionary (12 languages avalaible) Systran Free English-Dutch-English translator of texts and web pages Tranexp Free English-Dutch-English translator of texts and web pages Freedict.com Dutch-English-Dutch dictionary

Religion Religious practises : Catholics 34.1% Protestants 25.2% No religion 8.9% Muslims 2.9% Others 28.9%.

Political system The political system is a parliamentary monarchy. The Parliament is composed of two Chambers. The first Chamber (Eerste Kamer) is made up of 75 members elected for 4 years by the twelve regional Parliaments; the second Chamber (Tweede Kamer) is made up of 150 members elected by direct suffrage every four years Capital City: Amsterdam Head of State: Queen Beatrix, since April 30, 1980 Prime Minister: Jan Peter Balkenende (CDA - Christian democratic),appointed in 2002.

Climate

 

Tourism

Number of visitors in Netherlands 2002 2003 2004 World rank Number of visitors (1000) 9595   9181   9646   20 Source : World Tourisme Organization, data available in November 2005

 

Tourist sites -Rijks's museum ( Amsterdam ), -Anne Frank's house (Amsterdam), -Kroller-Muller museum ( Otterlo ), -Zuiderzee museum ( Enkhuizen ), -Mauritshuis museum ( The Hague ), -Bonnefanten museum ( Maastricht ), -Boymans Van Beuningen museum ( Rotterdam ), -Groninger museum ( Groningen ), -Dutch museum outdoors ( Arnhem) . For more information about tourism in Netherlands , check out the following web site(s) : Netherlands Tourism Board

Food Traditional dishes The present Dutch cooking is the result of a long tradition, not only at recipes level, but also regarding the composition of the menus. The Dutch food has been widely influenced by recipes and ingredients of the former colonies, notably by the Indonesian food habits. Dutch have generally three meals a day, of which only one is actually properly cooked: the breakfast is hearty, the lunch is mostly buffet-like and the dinner, which is served quite early, at about 6 pm. Among others, the Dutch specialities are: Boerenkool: curled cabbage with smoked sausage Hutspot: Dutch stew Haagse Bluf: whipped eggs Speculoos: traditional Saint Nicolas cake Borstplaat or the fondant: titbit, mainly eaten between Saint Nicolas and New Year's day. Anijsmelk: aniseed milk: one of the favourite drinks of the Dutch just as hot chocolate. Bisschopswijn: heated wine Boerenmeisjes: apricot brandy.