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-Sulfur 85,
Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds,
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources,
Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental
Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea,
Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, 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:
16,407,491 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 18.1% (male 1,523,316/female 1,453,232)
15-64 years: 67.8% (male 5,627,007/female 5,491,802)
65 years and over: 14.1% (male 974,037/female 1,338,097) (2005 est.)
Median age:
total: 39.04 years
male: 38.22 years
female: 39.9 years (2005 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.53% (2005 est.)
Birth rate:
11.14 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate:
8.68 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)