The Netherlands is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. It has a population of 16,491,461(2006) people and covers an area of 41,526 square kilometers. A century ago, the population was around 5million. The Netherlands is partly below sea level, which is why many areas in the Netherlands are covered with water. In fact, the name Netherlands(nether means low) refers to the low lying nature of the country.This gives an average accommodation of 450 people per square kilometer. The most densely populate areas fall on the west part of the Netherlands. This is due to the fact that this area accommodates some of the most busiest and populated cities: Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht. The Netherlands is divided into 12 provinces; Drenthe, Flevoland, Gelderland, Groningen, Limburg, Noord-Brabant, Noord-Holland, Overijssel, Utrecht, Zeeland and Zuid-Holland. Each and every Province has it's own capital city but the main capital city of the Netherlands is Amsterdam. The Hague is an important political city with the seat of government and the International Court of Justice. Rotterdam is the biggest port in the world whilst Schiphol is one of the most modern and biggest airports in Europe.

The Netherlands is very famous for flowers (especially tulips), windmills and clogs (wooden shoes which in the past used to be wore by the farmers while working in the fields). The Netherlands is also one of the top countries in the export of goods (world's third largest exporter of food) and capital. Little known is that the Dutch have won 15 Nobel prices for achievements in chemistry, physics, economics, peace and medicine. The Netherlands is a kingdom: itself and six other islands in the Caribbean sea (Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles). The Netherlands is also known as Holland. This name originated from the two major western coastal provinces, North and South Holland, which have played an important role in the country's history. These provinces are situated in key areas of the country itself and Europe as a whole. They are located on the estuaries of the two major west European rivers, the Rhine and the Maas.