The Netherlands, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Netherlands consists of twelve provinces; it borders Germany to the east and Belgium to the south, with a North Sea coastline to the north and west. It shares maritime borders with the United Kingdom, Germany, and Belgium. The official language is Dutch, with West Frisian as a secondary official language in the province of Friesland. Dutch, English, and Papiamento are official in the Caribbean territories.
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the "New Meuse" inland shipping channel, dug to connect to the Meuse at first and now to the Rhine.
South Holland is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.8 million as of January 2023 and a population density of about 1,410/km2 (3,700/sq mi), making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely populated areas. Situated on the North Sea in the west of the Netherlands, South Holland covers an area of 3,308 km2 (1,277 sq mi), of which 609 km2 (235 sq mi) is water. It borders North Holland to the north, Utrecht and Gelderland to the east, and North Brabant and Zeeland to the south. The provincial capital is the Dutch seat of government The Hague, while its largest city is Rotterdam. The Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta drains through South Holland into the North Sea. Europe's busiest seaport, the Port of Rotterdam, is located in South Holland.
Leeuwarden is a city and municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 127,073 (2023). It is the provincial capital and seat of the Provincial Council of Friesland.
The economy of the Netherlands is a highly developed market economy focused on trade and logistics, manufacturing, services, innovation and technology and sustainable and renewable energy. It is the world's 18th largest economy by nominal GDP and the 28th largest by purchasing power parity (PPP) and is the fifth largest economy in European Union by nominal GDP. It has the world's 11th highest per capita GDP (nominal) and the 13th highest per capita GDP (PPP) as of 2023 making it one of the highest earning nations in the world. Many of the world's largest tech companies are based in its capital Amsterdam or have established their European headquarters in the city, such as IBM, Microsoft, Google, Oracle, Cisco, Uber, Netflix and Tesla. Its second largest city Rotterdam is a major trade, logistics and economic center of the world and is Europe's largest seaport. Netherlands is ranked fifth on global innovation index and fourth on the Global Competitiveness Report. Among OECD nations, Netherlands has a highly efficient and strong social security system; social expenditure stood at roughly 25.3% of GDP.
Absolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, in southern Sweden. Absolut is a part of the French group Pernod Ricard. Pernod Ricard bought Absolut for €5.63 billion in 2008 from the Swedish state. Absolut is one of the largest brands of spirits in the world and is sold in 126 countries.
The house sparrow is a bird of the sparrow family Passeridae, found in most parts of the world. It is a small bird that has a typical length of 16 cm (6.3 in) and a mass of 24–39.5 g (0.85–1.39 oz). Females and young birds are coloured pale brown and grey, and males have brighter black, white, and brown markings. One of about 25 species in the genus Passer, the house sparrow is native to most of Europe, the Mediterranean Basin, and a large part of Asia. Its intentional or accidental introductions to many regions, including parts of Australasia, Africa, and the Americas, make it the most widely distributed wild bird.
Endemol B.V. was a Dutch-based media company that produced and distributed multiplatform entertainment content. The company annually produced more than 15,000 hours of programming across scripted and non-scripted genres, including drama, reality TV, comedy, game shows, entertainment, factual and children's programming.
Domino Day is a world record attempt for the highest number of toppling domino stones, organized from 1998 to 2009 by Endemol Netherlands. Together with Weijers Domino Productions of Robin Paul Weijers, also known as Mr. Domino, parties teamed up to set a new world record. The production was mainly organized at the WTC Expo in Leeuwarden, Netherlands. Domino day did not occur in 2003, because the producer wanted to revise the format.
The Sara Lee Corporation was an American consumer-goods company based in Downers Grove, Illinois. On July 4, 2012, Sara Lee Corporation was split into two companies: one for North American operations renamed Hillshire Brands, the other for international beverage and bakery businesses named D.E Master Blenders 1753.
The economy of the European Union is the joint economy of the member states of the European Union (EU). It is the second largest economy in the world in nominal terms, after the United States, and the third largest at purchasing power parity (PPP), after China and the US. The European Union's GDP is estimated to be $19.40 trillion (nominal) in 2024 or $28.04 trillion (PPP), representing around one-sixth of the global economy. Germany has the biggest national GDP of all EU countries, followed by France and Italy. In 2022, the social welfare expenditure of the European Union (EU) as a whole was 27.2% of its GDP.
Antwerp Zoo is a zoo in the centre of Antwerp, Belgium, located next to the Antwerpen-Centraal railway station. It is the oldest animal park in the country, and one of the oldest in the world, established on 21 July 1843.
Sweden does not currently use the euro as its currency and has no plans to replace the existing Swedish krona in the near future. Sweden's Treaty of Accession of 1994 made it subject to the Treaty of Maastricht, which obliges states to join the eurozone once they meet the necessary conditions. Sweden maintains that joining the European Exchange Rate Mechanism II, participation in which for at least two years is a requirement for euro adoption, is voluntary, and has chosen to remain outside pending public approval by a referendum, thereby intentionally avoiding the fulfilment of the adoption requirements.
Monster Dog is a 1986 Spanish horror film directed by Claudio Fragasso and starring Alice Cooper and Victoria Vera. Cooper plays a rock star who returns to his hometown, which has been plagued by wild dog attacks.
Wim Hof, also known as The Iceman, is a Dutch motivational speaker and extreme athlete noted for his ability to withstand low temperatures.
Domino toppling is the activity of standing up dominoes in sequence known as a domino run and then knocking down the first one in line to strike the next, which knocks that down to strike the next, and so on, creating a chain reaction also called the domino effect. A competition between two or more players to be first to have all one's dominoes fall is sometimes called a domino rally. If domino toppling is demonstrated to an audience it is called a domino show.
The Dutch Society for the Protection of Animals is a Dutch voluntary animal protection organisation, founded in 1864.
The EX-A2 is an autovía in Extremadura. It originates from the Autovía A-5 near the town of Miajadas and ends at the EX-206, a road that connects Don Benito and Villanueva de la Serena.
Citec is a company that provides plant and product engineering, engineering consultancy as well as in technical documentation. The company trades within energy, process, oil & gas and machinery & equipment sectors.
Cornelis W. "Kees" Moeliker is a Dutch biologist and director of the Natural History Museum Rotterdam. He is also European Bureau Chief of the Annals of Improbable Research.
