Netherlands. (in Dutch: Nederland). It is a European country that together with the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba, is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. As its name indicates, the country’s territory is made up of lowlands of which approximately one third is located at or below sea level. [1] . It is often known by metonymy after its most influential or relevant historical region, the Netherlands, located in the western part of the country. Their language is also traditionally known, by extension, as Dutch, even though its official name is Dutch.
Holland
The place name Holland is used in reference to a historical region of the Netherlands, which since 1840 has been divided into two provinces, North Holland and South Holland.
Holland may come from Holt-land, a region (probably) near Leiden. In Old Dutch Holt-land roughly means ‘wooden land’ or ‘wooded land’. Another meaning, with more base, refers to the fact that Hol in Dutch means ‘Low, hole, depth’, giving an account of the condition of the province, therefore Hol-Land, would mean in Spanish: ‘deep land’ or simply ‘lowland’.
In the past, Holland was a leading member of the United Provinces (1581 – 1795). Due to its historical importance in the region, the term Holland has been mistakenly used as the name of the country, with the Netherlands being the official name. However, during the reign of Lodewijk I (Louis Bonaparte) between 1806 and 1810, the state was called the Kingdom of Holland.
Climate and vegetation
As a country located in Europe according to EHISTORYLIB, the Netherlands is located in the mid-high latitudes of the northern hemisphere and west of the large Eurasian continent. Due to its position it must have a cold and humid climate, but the Gulf Stream softens the climates of this part of Europe, making them temperate and humid. It is the maritime climate of the west coast. The centers of action that affect it are the polar front, during most of the year, and which brings cold and humid maritime polar air masses, the Azores anticyclone, whose influence is noticeable one or two months in summer., which brings warm and humid tropical maritime air masses, and the Siberian anticyclone, which occasionally arrives in the central winter months and brings very cold and dry continental polar air masses, but that in contact with
The flat character of relief, and the proximity to the sea, makes its influence noticeable throughout the country, which gives a remarkable climatic uniformity, with hardly any nuances. The winds from the west, especially in winter, are strong, the rains are abundant and the temperatures are moderate, with a moderate daily and annual temperature range.
The constant winds, around 6-7 m / s on the coast and 3-4 m / s inland, allowed the technology of windmills, which mark the landscape.
Temperatures are generally mild. The coldest month is January, with averages around 2ºC, which implies many days with real temperatures below 0ºC and precipitation in the form of snow. There are over 70 days of certain frosts. The warmest month is July, with averages of 17ºC, and some hot days. Absolute temperatures can drop below -20 ºC when the Siberian anticyclone arrives, and exceed 35 ºC on the days when the Azores anticyclone is most noticeable, but these temperatures are reached during a few hours or a few days, as much.
The precipitations are relatively abundant. They are around 765 mm per year, less than what would be expected from a country facing the sea, but due to its flat nature, air masses can pass through the territory without discharging. In general they are weak and constant rains. There are up to 216 days of rain per year.
The geological and climatic uniformity means that the natural vegetation is also not very varied. It is located in the ecozone and the Holoartic empire. The natural vegetation is reduced to peat bogs, in clayey areas, and moors, in sandy areas. Thus, herbaceous vegetation predominates, and shrub-like. In the eastern and southern regions, a deciduous forest of beech, oak and chestnut trees appears.
However, and due to its high demographic density, practically the entire surface is intervened by the hand of man. In practice, and except for some recently protected areas, there is no natural vegetation in the country. Crops predominate, in more or less open plots. The closings of the plots are very large, and it is done by means of lines of trees that stop the action of the wind. They are elms, trade winds, conifers, etc. In general, these are trees planted for a specific purpose, and not natural vegetation.
Form of government and politics
The Netherlands forms a constitutional monarchy and its liberal policies have attracted worldwide attention particularly in the area of Drug Use, Prostitution and Euthanasia. [10] According to the legislation, it is enough for the patient to mention two or three times that he wishes to die, for it to be considered legal to initiate the procedures and euthanize him.
Within her political makeup, the Queen holds executive power and ratifies the free election of the Prime Minister by the people. The legislative power is represented by what are known today as the General States (Parliament), which consist of two chambers of legislative representation, therefore equivalent to the Cortes Generales in Spain. The judiciary is represented by the Provisional Assemblies, which are also elected by direct suffrage.
The seat of government is in The Hague.
Demography
The official language is Dutch and life expectancy is 79.1 years. 99% of the population is literate and they have one of the highest population densities in the world, with 399,494 residents / km2. [11] From 1950 to 2000, the population increased from 10 to 15.9 million, but the population decreased compared to the previous 50 years. The current growth estimate is 0.412%, with an average number of children per woman of 1.66.
Education
In the Netherlands 3.5 million students attend classes every day in more than 8,700 schools. Education is mostly taught in Dutch; but there are several schools that teach in English.
One of the most important qualities of education in the Netherlands is freedom. This means that schools can decide what courses to teach and how to do it. Of course, the government sets some guidelines, such as the number of hours that children should be in class per year, the goals to be reached on exams, etc.
Obligatory education
Education is compulsory in the Netherlands. Children must attend school full time from ages 5 to 17, or at least until the end of the year in which they turn 16. After this period, they are required to attend class at least once per week until the end of the course in which they turn 17 years old.
Education in the Netherlands is regulated by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap). The ministry has a website where you can find information in English about the education system
University studies
Dutch universities have a reputation for being at the fore when it comes to developing and introducing educational methods. Dutch education works efficiently and internationally.