year

Communications Netherlands

Telephones - main lines in use: 9,132,400 (1999)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 4,081,891 (April 1999)

Telephone system: general assessment: highly developed and well
maintained domestic: the existing system of multi-conductor cables is
gradually being replaced by fiber-optic cables; the density of cellular
telephone traffic is rapidly increasing and further modernization of the
system is expected in 2001, with the introduction of the third generation
of the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) international: 5
submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean
and 2 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Eutelsat, and 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian
Ocean regions) (1996)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 58, shortwave 3 (1998)

Radios: 15.3 million (1996)

Television broadcast stations: 21 (plus 26 repeaters) (1995)

Televisions: 8.1 million (1997)

Internet country code: .nl

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 52 (2000)

Internet users: 8.7 million (2001)

Transportation Netherlands

Railways: total: 2,808 km standard gauge: 2,808 km 1.435-m gauge (2,061
km electrified) (2001)

Highways: total: 116,500 km paved: 104,850 km (including 2,235 km of
expressways) unpaved: 11,650 km (1999)

Waterways: 5,046 km (of which 3,745 km are canals) note: 47% of total
route length is usable by craft of 1,000-metric-ton capacity or larger

Pipelines: crude oil 418 km; petroleum products 965 km; natural gas
10,230 km

Ports and harbors: Amsterdam, Delfzijl, Dordrecht, Eemshaven, Groningen,
Haarlem, Ijmuiden, Maastricht, Rotterdam, Terneuzen, Utrecht, Vlissingen

Merchant marine: total: 622 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,587,662
GRT/5,251,529 DWT note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered
here as a flag of convenience: Belgium 1, Canada 1, Denmark 5, Finland 5,
Germany 55, Ireland 12, Norway 12, Sweden 17, United Kingdom 33, United
States 12 (2002 est.) ships by type: bulk 3, cargo 380, chemical tanker
46, container 64, liquefied gas 16, livestock carrier 2, multi-functional
large-load carrier 15, passenger 9, petroleum tanker 28, refrigerated
cargo 34, roll on/roll off 18, short-sea passenger 2, specialized tanker 5

Airports: 28 (2001)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 20 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047
m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (2001) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 8 914 to 1,523 m: