The Netherlands is a country in Europe, with about 18.1 million people (2025) and an area of 41,540 square kilometres. Its capital is Amsterdam, and it shares land borders with 2 countries.
By Team Geography·Last reviewed
Flag of the NetherlandsThe Netherlands in solid, land neighbours outlined, capital marked.
Key facts about the Netherlands
Capital
AmsterdamAmsterdam is the constitutional capital; the government sits in The Hague.
The app teaches each country through short hand written lenses: PLACE for physical geography, STORY for history and identity, NOW for the news, and THREAD for the ties between countries. Here is one of the Netherlands's 17, in full.
PLACELens 1 of 17
A country that exists because it refused to drown
Roughly a quarter of the Netherlands lies below sea level, and without its system of dikes, storm surge barriers, and pumping stations, the most economically productive parts of the country would be underwater. The Dutch relationship with water is the central engineering fact of the nation. The Delta Works, built after the North Sea flood of 1953 killed more than 1,800 people, remains one of the largest hydraulic engineering projects ever built.
More on Delta Works
A series of dams, sluices, locks, dikes, and storm surge barriers built between 1954 and 1997 to protect the southwest Netherlands from the sea. The American Society of Civil Engineers named it one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World.
16 more lenses on the Netherlands in the app
STORY The Dutch invented modern capitalism and never quite let go
NOW ASML makes the Netherlands the most critical chokepoint in the chip war
THREAD The Netherlands helped build Europe and still shapes it from the inside
PLACE Rotterdam is the gateway to Europe's industrial core
PLACE Football on reclaimed ground
STORY The country that invented space
NOW A group topped, a shootout lost
THREAD The empire that came home
PLACE A nation against the sea
STORY Where the future is taught
NOW Small nation, big export
THREAD A philosophy that crossed borders
STORY The country that divided itself on purpose
NOW The nitrogen ruling that froze the country
THREAD A kingdom that stretches into the Caribbean
PLACE The gas field that paid for everything
Titles only. The app brings each lens back on a spaced repetition schedule set by how well you knew it: New, Hazy or Clear.
Compare the Netherlands with another country
Opens the country comparison tool with population, area, income and more side by side, every figure dated.
Common questions
What is the capital of the Netherlands?
The capital of the Netherlands is Amsterdam. Amsterdam is the constitutional capital; the government sits in The Hague. Amsterdam lies at about 52.4 degrees north and 4.9 degrees east. The Netherlands is in Europe. It is home to about 18.1 million people.
What is the population of the Netherlands?
About 18.1 million people live in the Netherlands, according to the World Bank figures for 2025. That makes it the 71st most populous of the 195 countries. With an area of 41,540 square kilometres, that is about 435 people per square kilometre.
What countries border the Netherlands?
The Netherlands shares land borders with 2 countries: Belgium and Germany. The map on this page outlines each of them around the Netherlands. The count includes only borders on land, not neighbours across a sea or a lake. Borders here follow Natural Earth at the 1:50 million scale, with Crimea shown as part of Ukraine and Western Sahara as a separate territory.
How big is the Netherlands?
The Netherlands covers 41,540 square kilometres, or about 16,039 square miles. That makes it the 131st largest of the 195 countries. The figure is total surface area, which includes inland water such as lakes and rivers. Its population of about 18.1 million gives a density of 435 people per square kilometre.
The Netherlands is a country in Europe, with about 18.1 million people (2025) and an area of 41,540 square kilometres. Its capital is Amsterdam, and it shares land borders with 2 countries.
Capital
AmsterdamAmsterdam is the constitutional capital; the government sits in The Hague.
Continent
Europe
Population
18,087,633 2025, World Bank. 71st of 195.
Area
41,540 km² (16,039 sq mi) World Bank, surface area. 131st largest of 195.
Population density
435 people per km²
Land neighbours
2: Belgium, Germany
Official name
Kingdom of the Netherlands
UN status
Member state
PLACE · from the Geography app
A country that exists because it refused to drown
Roughly a quarter of the Netherlands lies below sea level, and without its system of dikes, storm surge barriers, and pumping stations, the most economically productive parts of the country would be underwater. The Dutch relationship with water is the central engineering fact of the nation. The Delta Works, built after the North Sea flood of 1953 killed more than 1,800 people, remains one of the largest hydraulic engineering projects ever built.
Keep going on your iPhone. Scan for Geography: the world, one country at a time, about five minutes a day. No quizzes and no streaks. playgeography.app/countries/netherlands/ · Map data: Natural Earth. Figures: World Bank and national sources, as listed on the page.
Geography · Country report
Netherlands
NameDate
Draw the flag
Colour the Netherlands on the map, then fill in what you find.
Capital
Continent
Population
Area
Languages
Currency
Neighbours
Landmarks
Rivers or mountains
Three things I learned
1
2
3
One question I still have
?
Keep going on your iPhone. Scan for Geography: the world, one country at a time, about five minutes a day. No quizzes and no streaks. playgeography.app/countries/netherlands/ · Map data: Natural Earth. Figures: World Bank and national sources, as listed on the page.
