Administrative divisions of the Netherlands

In 20 14, there were 12 provinces and 443 towns in the Netherlands.

The northern Netherlands includes Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe provinces, with Vadenze in the north and the German border in the east. Frisian province is adjacent to Lake Ethel in the west and Groningen in the east, which is the main producing area of dairy products. Groningen province borders Germany in the east and the North Sea in the north. Groningen, the provincial capital, is a famous university town. Drenthe province is located in the south of Groningen province, bordering Germany in the east. Emmen is the main industrial center of the province.

The provinces of North Holland and South Holland in the west of the Netherlands are the most densely populated and economically developed provinces in the Netherlands. North Holland is a peninsula between the North Sea in the west and Lake Ethel in the east, and Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, is located in this province. The west of South Holland is surrounded by the North Sea. The Hague is the capital and the seat of the palace. Rotterdam, the largest port in Europe, is located in the delta of the province.

The central Netherlands includes Frevoland and Utrecht provinces. It is the youngest province in the Netherlands, founded in 1986 65438+ 10/. Frevoland province has a low population density, mainly concentrated in agricultural and pastoral areas. Utrecht is the geographical center of the Netherlands, and Utrecht is its capital.

The eastern Netherlands lies between Germany and Lake Ethel. Upper Ethel and Heidland provinces form this part of the Netherlands. Upper Ethel lies between Lake Ethel in the west and Germany in the east. aysel and several canals flow through the province. Heidland Province is adjacent to Germany in the east, and Heidland Province has the famous De Hogweluwe National Park (the first and largest national park in the Netherlands).

The southern Netherlands includes the provinces of Zeeland, North Brabyn and Limburg. Zelan province is adjacent to the North Sea in the west and Belgium in the south, which is an important sea passage. North Brabana is bordered by Belgian in the south, German in the east and Oster Kald in the west, which is almost close to Beihai, the birthplace of Van Gogh. Limburg province borders Belgium to the west and south and Germany to the east. Maastricht is the capital of this province. 199 1 year, EU leaders signed the famous EU treaty Maastricht Treaty here. The total land area of the Netherlands is 465,438+0,864 square kilometers.

Motherland/land

The farthest distance from north to south in the Netherlands is about 300 kilometers, and the farthest distance from east to west is about 200 kilometers, with a total area of 4 1864 square kilometers. There are seawalls along the coast, seawalls 1800 kilometers, and the coastline is long 1075 kilometers. Since13rd century, * * * has cultivated about 765,438+000 square kilometers of land, which is equivalent to one fifth of the land area of the Netherlands. Today, 65,438+08% of the land in the Netherlands is artificially reclaimed from the sea.

overseas

In addition to the mainland, the Netherlands also administers two overseas territories, Aruba and Antilles, covering an area of 980 square kilometers.

Aruba is an island in the Caribbean, located near the Gulf of Venezuela in the north of Venezuela, a South American country, about 25 kilometers away from Paraguana Pensula. 1986 became an independent political entity of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the Netherlands continued to be responsible for the island's national defense and foreign affairs.

The Netherlands Antilles consists of two groups of islands in the Caribbean Sea, which are more than 800 kilometers apart from the north and south. On June 65438+1 October1day, 2007, Cura? ao and Sint Maarten became separate Dutch territories, and the other three islands formed the "Kingdom Islands", whose status is to be determined. Low level is the most prominent feature of Dutch terrain. The whole territory is low-lying, with a quarter of the land below the altitude 1 m and a quarter below the altitude. Except for some hills in the south and east, most of the terrain is very low. The south is connected by the Rhine, Maas and Guerder River Delta. "Holland" is called Holland in Germanic language, which means "the land of lowlands". It got its name because more than half of its land is below or almost at sea level, and some areas are even formed by reclamation, such as most parts of Frevoland Province.

The highest point in the Netherlands is Vaalserberg, which is located in the southeast corner of Limburg province in the south, with an altitude of 32 1 m. The lowest point in the Netherlands is near Rotterdam, 6.7 meters below sea level. The Netherlands is one of the countries with the highest population density in the world, with the population density exceeding 407.5 people per square kilometer.

According to the statistics of 20 13, the total population of the Netherlands is 16803700, which is mainly distributed in large and medium-sized cities and surrounding areas. The most populous 10 cities in the Netherlands and their population are: Amsterdam 790 1000, Rotterdam 6 16300, The Hague 502 10000, Utrecht 3 16300 and Eindhoven 2/kloc. Groningen 193 10000, Brayda 176400, Nijmegen 165200. Holland (Dutch: Nederland) literally means "lowland", which means a lowland country.

The name Netherlands has been used as a country name since15th century. But unlike Britain or France, this name is not derived from the country name, but is transformed from the place name. Strictly speaking, the Netherlands refers to the name of a region in the Netherlands, which is a general term for North Holland and South Holland. In the Republic of China era when seven provinces were unified, the Netherlands was used as a metonymy to refer to the whole Netherlands. Another common name is Dutch, which is used to address the main ethnic group in the Netherlands, that is, the Dutch. This word comes from English, which is differentiated from the word Deutsch. It originally comes from Latin: Theodiscus, which means tribe or people. The Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy with parliamentary system. The official country name is KingdomofNetherlands The capital is Amsterdam and the seat of government is The Hague.

The head of state of the Netherlands is the hereditary monarch of the members of the Orange-Nassau family, and is usually called the "king", but the only person who can really be called "NedKing" in Dutch history is willem van oranje, the founding father of the country. However, because the title of its monarch is too long, even in formal legal documents, the head of state calls it Koing.

The highest administrative organ in the Netherlands is the Cabinet, and the Prime Minister is the head of the Cabinet, which governs all ministries.

It should be pointed out that the official title of the head of government of the Dutch government is "Minister-President", which comes from the 1945 Constitution adopted by the Dutch Parliament. The correct translation method is "Chairman of the Council of Ministers", and it can also be translated into "Prime Minister of the Government" by referring to the translation method of Italian heads of government, but it is actually a very common mistake to translate into "Prime Minister". Because the post of Dutch Prime Minister was cancelled as early as 1848.

The highest legislative body in the Netherlands is a bicameral parliament. The upper house has 75 senators elected by the provinces, and the lower house has 65,438+050 members directly elected by the people for a term of four years.

In the Netherlands, 18 is the legal age of citizens who have the right to vote, but the election target is political parties rather than individual candidates.

Since no political party in the Netherlands is big enough to win more than half of the seats in the National Assembly alone, it is quite common for small parties to form a cabinet together, which makes the government's policies consistent for a long time.

For foreign investors who are not familiar with the local business environment, the stable political environment in the Netherlands is indeed conducive to the formulation of long-term business goals. This multi-party democratic political system in the Netherlands, coupled with the consensus-based legislative system, is quite beneficial to investment, enterprise management and innovation activities. There are 62 grass-roots courts (municipal courts), 65,438+09 intermediate courts (district courts), 5 appeal courts and 65,438+0 supreme courts in the Netherlands. In addition, there are several special courts, such as military courts and administrative courts.

Grassroots courts are responsible for hearing general civil and criminal cases, and intermediate courts are responsible for hearing more important civil and criminal cases (the above two courts are courts of first instance). The Court of Appeal is specially responsible for hearing appeals and protest cases. There are eight main political parties: Liberal Democratic People's Party, Christian Democratic Union, Labour Party, Socialist Party, New Liberal Party, Christian Union, Green Left Alliance and June 6th Democratic Party. Dutch political parties implement the leadership responsibility system, and the party chairman is responsible for daily party affairs.

The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) was founded in 1948, and now there are 49,000 people in party member. Participated in politics many times and became an opposition party after the 2006 general election. He was the largest party in the parliamentary elections of 20 10 and 20 12, and was in power. Advocate liberalism, advocate full respect for individual freedom, promote economic liberalization and marketization, and represent the interests of business owners. The current party leader Mark Rutte is the prime minister of the Dutch government, and the party chairman is BenkKorthals.

The Labour Party (PVDA) was founded in 1946, and its predecessor was the Social Democratic Party founded in 1894. At present, party member has about 62,000 people and has been in power for many times in history. In the 20 12 parliamentary elections, it was the second largest party and formed a cabinet jointly with the Liberal Party. It advocates maintaining a balance between economic development and social justice, and rationally distributing power, income and intellectual wealth. At present, the party leader is samson and the party chairman is Hans Pekman.

CDA (Christian-Democratic Schappel) was formed by the merger of the Catholic People's Party, the Christian Historical Union and the Counter-revolutionary Party in 1980. Oppose overemphasis on the role of the government or the market, and advocate the maintenance of traditional values and ethics. There are about 68,000 people in party member. In the 2002 general election, it defeated the Labour Party and became the largest party. Ranked fourth in the 20 10 general election, and formed a minority Coalition government with the Liberal Democratic People's Party. In the 20 12 parliamentary election, it retreated to the fifth largest party and gradually lost its political influence. At present, the leader of the party is Van Geel Van hals Mao and the chairman is Ruspi Toum.

The SocialistischePartij (SP) was founded in 1972, and now there are about 43,000 people in party member. It advocates the realization of a truth-seeking, equality and mutual assistance human society, and emphasizes that everyone has good rights to work, income, welfare, education and health. The current party leader is Mr. E.G.M.Roemer, and the party chairman is Mr. aijnissen.

PVV (Partijvoorvrijheid), founded in 2005, is a far-right party, split from the Liberal Democratic People's Party. In 2006, he won nine seats in the election of the second house of parliament for the first time, and was known as the "dark horse" in Dutch politics. He ranked third in the 20 10 general election and gave tacit support to the minority Coalition government in parliament. 20 12 general election won 10 seats. Advocate tax cuts, improve the quality of education, and not accept immigrants. The current party leader and chairman is GeertWilders.

Christian Union (ChristenUnie) was founded in 2000. In 2006, he won six seats in the election of the second house of parliament and got the opportunity to participate in politics for the first time. 20 10 general election, won 5 seats, ranking eighth. Only two seats were obtained in the 20 12 general election. Advocate harmonious labor relations, postpone retirement age and oppose induced abortion. The current party leader is Slob, and the party chairman is JannekeLouisa.

GL (GroenLinks) was founded in 1990, and now there are about 20,000 people in party member. The opposition party. In the 20 10 general election, it won the second house of parliament 10 seats, ranking sixth. Only five seats were obtained in the 20 12 general election. Advocate social justice, safeguard the interests of the middle and lower classes, with special emphasis on environmental protection. The current leader of the party is (to be updated).

The 666 Democratic Party (D66, Democrat 66) 1966 is composed of left-wing radicals split from the Labour Party and the Liberal Party. There are about 65,438+3,000 people in party member. The opposition party. The 2006 general election was a fiasco, with only three seats; 20 10 achieved good results in the general election, and won 10 seats in the second house of parliament, ranking sixth. Only five seats were obtained in the 20 12 general election. It advocates reforming the existing democratic model, establishing an open democratic system and protecting citizens' individual rights. The current party leader is Mr. Alexander Pacey, and the party chairman is Mrs. Hu Fen. Head of State: King William-Alexander Klaus George Ferdinand, whose full name is "Ruler and lifelong consul of the Netherlands, His Majesty william alexander Klaus George Ferdinand, Lord of the Netherlands Antilles, Lord Aruba, Lord Cura? ao and Lord Saint Martin".

Prime Minister: Makrut.