Netherlands — Capital, Flag and Country Facts

Explore Netherlands: capital Amsterdam, population, flag, geography, languages, history and culture.

Netherlands is in Europe. Its capital is Amsterdam.

Climate

Temperate maritime; cool summers and mild winters with frequent rainfall throughout the year

Mostly flat coastal lowland and reclaimed land (polders); some hills in the southeast

About 26% of the Netherlands is below sea level, protected by dikes and dunes.

The Netherlands has more bicycles than people — roughly 23 million bikes for 17.5 million residents.

The Dutch are statistically the tallest people in the world, with an average male height of 183 cm.

1568: Beginning of the Eighty Years' War for independence from Spain

1602: Dutch East India Company (VOC) founded, pioneering joint-stock enterprises

1648: Peace of Westphalia formally recognizes Dutch independence

1815: Kingdom of the Netherlands established after the Congress of Vienna

1953: North Sea flood devastates the southwest, leading to the Delta Works project

2001: Netherlands becomes the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage