rmanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures
34%; forest and woodland 9%; other 31%; includes irrigated 15%

_#_Environment: 27% of the land area is below sea level and protected
from the North Sea by dikes

_#_Note: located at mouths of three major European rivers (Rhine,
Maas or Meuse, Schelde)

_*_People
_#_Population: 15,022,393 (July 1991), growth rate 0.6% (1991)

_#_Birth rate: 13 births/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Death rate: 8 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Net migration rate: 1 migrant/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Infant mortality rate: 7 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

_#_Life expectancy at birth: 74 years male, 81 years female (1991)

_#_Total fertility rate: 1.6 children born/woman (1991)

_#_Nationality: noun--Dutchman(men), Dutchwoman(women);
adjective--Dutch

_#_Ethnic divisions: Dutch 96%, Moroccans, Turks, and other 4% (1988)

_#_Religion: Roman Catholic 36%, Protestant 27%, other 6%,
unaffiliated 31% (1988)

_#_Language: Dutch

_#_Literacy: 99% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1979 est.)

_#_Labor force: 5,300,000; services 50.1%, manufacturing and
construction 28.2%, government 15.9%, agriculture 5.8% (1986)

_#_Organized labor: 29% of labor force

_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Kingdom of the Netherlands

_#_Type: constitutional monarchy

_#_Capital: Amsterdam, but government resides at The Hague

_#_Administrative divisions: 12 provinces (provincien,
singular--provincie); Drenthe, Flevoland, Friesland, Gelderland,
Groningen, Limburg, Noord-Brabant, Noord-Holland, Overijssel, Utrecht,
Zeeland, Zuid-Holland

_#_Dependent areas: Aruba, Netherlands Antilles

_#_Independence: 1579 (from Spain)

_#_Constitution: 17 February 1983

_#_Legal system: civil law system incorporating French penal theory;
judicial review in the Supreme Court of legislation of lower order rather
than Acts of the States General; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction,
with reservations

_#_National holiday: Queen's Day, 30 April (1938)

_#_Executive branch: monarch, prime minister, vice prime minister,
Cabinet, Cabinet of Ministers

_#_Legislative branch: bicameral legislature (Staten Generaal)
consists of an upper chamber or First Chamber (Eerste Kamer) and a lower
chamber or Second Chamber (Tweede Kamer)

_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court (De Hoge Raad)

_#_Leaders:

Chief of State--Queen BEATRIX Wilhelmina A