Natural resources:
natural gas, petroleum, arable land
Land use:
arable land: 26.53%
other: 72.44% (1998 est.)
permanent crops: 1.03%
Irrigated land:
5,650 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
flooding
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
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85,
Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds,
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources,
Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes,
Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life
Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
Geography - note:
located at mouths of three major European rivers (Rhine, Maas or
Meuse, and Schelde)
People Netherlands
Population:
16,150,511 (July 2003 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 18.2% (male 1,501,127; female 1,436,453)
15-64 years: 67.9% (male 5,576,141; female 5,389,764)
65 years and over: 13.9% (male 929,087; female 1,317,939) (2003 est.)