Environment:
current issues: water pollution in the form of heavy metals, organic
compounds, and nutrients such as nitrates and phosphates; air
pollution from vehicles and refining activities; acid rain
natural hazards: the extensive system of dikes and dams, protects
nearly one-half of the total area from being flooded
international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air
Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air
Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental
Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered
Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping,
Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection,
Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not
ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Biodiversity, Desertification,
Law of the Sea

Note: located at mouths of three major European rivers (Rhine, Maas or
Meuse, and Schelde)

@Netherlands:People

Population: 15,452,903 (July 1995 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 18% (female 1,382,057; male 1,445,451)
15-64 years: 68% (female 5,184,224; male 5,369,018)
65 years and over: 14% (female 1,238,336; male 833,817) (July 1995
est.)

Population growth rate: 0.52% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 12.42 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 8.48 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net migration rate: 1.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 77.95 years
male: 74.9 years
female: 81.17 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.56 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Dutchman(men), Dutchwoman(women)
adjective: Dutch

Ethnic divisions: Dutch 96%, Moroccans, Turks, and other 4% (1988)

Religions: Roman Catholic 34%, Protestant 25%, Muslim 3%, other 2%,
unaffiliated 36% (1991)

Languages: Dutch

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1979 est.)
total population: 99%

Labor force: 6.4 million (1993)
by occupation: services 71.4%, manufacturing and construction 24.6%,
agriculture 4.0% (1992)

@Netherlands:Government

Names:
conventional long form: Kingdom of the Netherlands
conventional short form: Netherlands
local long form: Koninkrijk de Nederlanden
local short form: Nederland

Digraph: NL

Type: constitutional monarchy

Capital: Amsterdam; The Ha