Timelines:
Dutch history |
Dutch art history
Dutch art and literature
Political Map, Netherlands
12 Provinces
The Netherlands
The Little Country that Stands Tall
The Netherlands is a small, prosperous country in Northern Europe that outperforms many larger countries on a variety of social and economic indicators. Of the more than two dozen countries in our study, the Netherlands is one of the smallest, about twice the size of the US state of New Jersey. Its 17 million people make it the most densely populated of those countries, with only Japan even close. The
Randstad
, the area bounded by Amsterdam, Utrecht, Rotterdam, and Den Haag, the four largest cities, is the most densely populated part of the Netherlands. I lived in the center of the Randstad, in Leiden, yet it is full of parks like the one below on the right. I took that picture in March 2008 at
Keukenhof, a park near Leiden.
Yet the Netherlands has enough farm land, especially in the north and east, to make it the world's third largest agricultural exporting nation behind only the U.S. and France. For example, it is the world's largest flower-exporting nation; every year a billion tulip bulbs are flown out of Schiphol, the largest airport. Until recently, when it was overtaken by Singapore and Shanghai, Rotterdam was the world's busiest port in terms of tonnage and value.
Koninginnedag 2008
Amsterdam |
Worldwide, only fifteen economies are larger than the Netherlands', including half a dozen in our study. However, per capita, it ranks 9th in the world, behind the U.S. at 6th and well ahead of Japan at 24th. It combines a relatively open market economy with a strong social safety net. Of the countries in our study, it ranked second according to
The Heritage Foundation's
Index of Economic Freedom, behind only the U.S.
According to the The
Human Development Index, which combines three other indices, life expectancy, education, and wealth, the Netherlands is 6th worldwide and the highest-ranking of the countries in our study. A prosperous, educated society where people live long, healthy lives. For example, the Dutch are the tallest people in the world due to a combination of excellent pre-natal care, a high-protein diet, and lots of bicycle riding and other exercise that lets more people reach their genetic potential than in less healthy countries. For another example, the Dutch men's national football (soccer) team is ranked 3rd in the world, and was in the finals of the World Cup this past June, up among countries that have far larger populations from which to draw their teams.
As a result, the Netherlands' standard of living according to the Human Poverty Index is the 3rd highest in the world, behind only Sweden and Norway, and ahead of other countries in our study: Japan 12th, Spain 15th, the U.S. 17th.
In terms of Hofstede's
five dimensions of culture the Netherlands has an extreme score on individuality, about the same as Canada's, fourth highest worldwide behind the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom. The people are self-reliant and proud. They value privacy and self-respect, and they show great respect for other people, leading to their reputation for tolerance in matters of lifestyle. For example, the Netherlands has a large, politically powerful homosexual community and soft drugs (weed, hash) are sold legally in coffee shops. They also drink a lot of beer and throw some world-class parties, especially the annual Queen's Day (Koninginnedag) celebration pictured above.
The other extreme score on Hofstede's dimensions is for masculinity, where the Netherlands scores among the lowest of all nations, and the lowest of the countries in our study. Americans tend to think that individuality and masculinity go together. However, in the Netherlands, there is relatively little gender differentiation and discrimination. It is an openly nurturing society where individuality and femininity go together. Among European countries, according to
EU studies, Dutch children and teenagers are the happiest and most confident. Among the countries in our study, only Spain exceeds the Netherlands as a
good place for mothers and children.
Alas, all is not perfect in the Netherlands. If you don't like very tall, thin, blond-haired, blue-eyed people with big smiles, you won't have much fun. The pollution is bad, the prices are high, the taxes are higher, and as you can see in the picture above left, sometimes the wind can muss your hair.
