ces:
natural gas, petroleum, peat, limestone, salt, sand and gravel,
arable land

Land use:
arable land: 26.71%
other: 72.32% (2001)
permanent crops: 0.97%

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-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:
16,318,199 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 18.3% (male 1,527,316; female 1,457,192)
15-64 years: 67.8% (male 5,598,706; female 5,459,936)
65 years and over: 13.9% (male 953,370; female 1,321,679) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 38.7 years
male: 37.9 years
female: 39.6 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.57% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
11.41 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
8.67 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
2.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 5.11 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4.51 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 5.68 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 78.68 years
male: 76.15 years
female: 81.34 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.66 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.2% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HI