Economy - overview: This highly developed and affluent economy is based on private enterprise. The government makes its presence felt, however, through many regulations, permit requirements, and welfare programs affecting most aspects of economic activity. Industrial activity features food-processing, oil-refining, and metalworking. The highly mechanized agricultural sector employs only 4% of the labor force but provides large surpluses for export and the domestic food-processing industry. Indeed, the Netherlands ranks third worldwide in value of agricultural exports, behind the US and France. Sharp cuts in subsidy and social security spending have been accompanied by sustained growth in output and employment. The Dutch will almost certainly qualify for the first wave of countries entering the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) in 1999.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $317.8 billion (1996 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 2.7% (1996 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $20,500 (1996 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 3% industry: 26% services: 71% (1993)
Inflation rate - consumer price index: 2% (1996 est.)
Labor force: total: 6.4 million (1993) by occupation: services 73%, manufacturing and construction 23%, agriculture 4% (1994)
Unemployment rate: 6.5% (November 1996)
Budget: revenues: $107.2 billion expenditures: $118.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1996 est.)
Industries: agroindustries, metal and engineering products, electrical machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum, fishing, construction, microelectronics