The European portion of the Netherlands consists of twelve provinces and borders Germany to the east, Belgium to the south and the North Sea to the northwest, with maritime borders in the North Sea with Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom.

It is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the southwest, and the North Sea to the northwest.

The European portion of the Netherlands consists of twelve provinces and borders Germany to the east, Belgium to the south and the North Sea to the northwest, with maritime borders in the North Sea with Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom.

It borders Denmark to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, France to the southwest, and Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands to the west.

The five largest cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Eindhoven.

Amsterdam (, UK also ; ) is the capital city and most populous municipality of the Netherlands.

The five largest cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Eindhoven.

Rotterdam (, UK also ; ) is the second-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands.

The five largest cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Eindhoven.

The Hague (Den Haag, or s-⁠Gravenhage ) is a city on the western coast of the Netherlands and the capital of the province of South Holland.

The five largest cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Eindhoven.

Eindhoven is the fifth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands.

The European portion of the Netherlands consists of twelve provinces and borders Germany to the east, Belgium to the south and the North Sea to the northwest, with maritime borders in the North Sea with Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom.

The North Sea is a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean located between the United Kingdom (particularly England and Scotland), Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France.

Together with three island territories in the Caribbean (Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba), it forms a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

It is a special municipality (officially “public body”) of the Netherlands.

Amsterdam is the country's capital, while The Hague holds the seat of the States General, Cabinet and Supreme Court.

The States General of the Netherlands (Staten-Generaal) is the bicameral legislature of the Netherlands consisting of the Senate (Eerste Kamer) and the House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer).

Together with three island territories in the Caribbean (Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba), it forms a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The four parts of the kingdom—the Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten—are constituent countries (landen in Dutch) and participate on a basis of equality as partners in the kingdom.

Historically, the country has a tradition of pillarisation and a long record of social tolerance, having legalised abortion, prostitution and euthanasia, while maintaining a progressive drug policy.

The best-known examples of this have historically occurred in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Its strong performance is owed in large part to a generous welfare state that provides universal healthcare, public education and infrastructure, in addition to social benefits.

The Netherlands is both a very densely populated and a highly developed country, in which transport is a key factor of the economy.

The Netherlands abolished the death penalty in 1870, allowed women's suffrage in 1917 and became the world's first country to legalise same-sex marriage in 2001.

Same-sex marriage (huwelijk tussen personen van gelijk geslacht or commonly homohuwelijk) has been legal in the Netherlands since 1 April 2001.

The region of Holland consists of North and South Holland, two of the nation's twelve provinces, formerly a single province, and earlier still, the County of Holland, a remnant of the dissolved Frisian Kingdom.

South Holland (Zuid-Holland ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of just over 3.6 million as of 2015 and a population density of about 1300 /km2, making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely populated areas.

Nonetheless, Holland is widely used in reference to the Netherlands national football team.

The Netherlands national football team (Het Nederlands Elftal) represents the Netherlands in international football.

The Port of Rotterdam is the largest port in Europe and the largest outside Asia.

The Port of Rotterdam is the largest port in Europe, located in the city of Rotterdam, Netherlands.

The emphasis on Holland during the formation of the Dutch Republic, the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo-Dutch Wars in the 16th, 17th and 18th century, made Holland serve as a pars pro toto for the entire country, which is now considered either incorrect, informal, or, depending on context, opprobrious.

The Eighty Years' War (Tachtigjarige Oorlog; Guerra de los Ochenta Años) or Dutch War of Independence (1568–1648) was a revolt of the Seventeen Provinces of what are today the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg against Philip II of Spain, the sovereign of the Habsburg Netherlands.

The region of Holland consists of North and South Holland, two of the nation's twelve provinces, formerly a single province, and earlier still, the County of Holland, a remnant of the dissolved Frisian Kingdom.

North Holland (Noord-Holland, West Frisian Dutch: Noard-Holland) is a province of the Netherlands located in the northwestern part of the country.

It is a founding member of the EU, Eurozone, G10, NATO, OECD and WTO, as well as a part of the Schengen Area and the trilateral Benelux Union.

The original members of what came to be known as the European Communities were the Inner Six: Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and West Germany.

It is a founding member of the EU, Eurozone, G10, NATO, OECD and WTO, as well as a part of the Schengen Area and the trilateral Benelux Union.

The Benelux Union (Benelux Unie; Union Benelux; Benelux-Unioun) is a politico-economic union of three neighbouring states in western Europe: Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg.

It is also known for its polder model, the country's leading socioeconomic model based on consensus decision-making.

The polder model (poldermodel) is consensus decision-making, based on the acclaimed Dutch version of consensus-based economic and social policy making in the 1980s and 1990s.

Its strong performance is owed in large part to a generous welfare state that provides universal healthcare, public education and infrastructure, in addition to social benefits.

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), coordinated by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), ranks the education in the Netherlands as the 9th best in the world as of 2008, being significantly higher than the OECD average.

The region of Holland consists of North and South Holland, two of the nation's twelve provinces, formerly a single province, and earlier still, the County of Holland, a remnant of the dissolved Frisian Kingdom.

The territory of the County of Holland corresponds roughly with the current provinces of North Holland and South Holland in the Netherlands.

From a regional point of view, Niderlant was also the area between the Meuse and the lower Rhine in the late Middle Ages.

The Rhine (Rhenus, Rein, Rhein, le Rhin, Reno, Rijn) is a European river that begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps, forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein, Swiss-Austrian, Swiss-German and then the Franco-German border, then flows through the German Rhineland and the Netherlands and eventually empties into the North Sea.

The Netherlands (Nederland, ) is a country located mainly in Northwestern Europe.

Geographically, Northwestern Europe usually consists of Ireland, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Northern Germany, Luxembourg, Northern France, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Iceland.