Netherlands at a Glance

• Population: 16.3 million


• Capital city: Amsterdam, approx. 739,000 inhabitants


• Language: Dutch


• Religions: 30% Roman-Catholics, 20% Protestants, 6% Muslims, 42% Atheists


• Form of government: Parliamentary Monarchy

Economy

Germany is still the Netherlands’ principal trading partner. Some 24% of Dutch exports go to Germany, while approx. 20% of Dutch imports come from Germany. Germany’s trade balance with the Netherlands is in deficit. While Germany imported goods worth Euro 57 billion from the Netherlands, the value of its exports barely reached Euro 41 billion.

Of particular importance to Germany is the port of Rotterdam, which lays claim to an international reputation as ‘Germany’s largest port’.

Culture and Science

The cultural agreement signed on 27 August 1961 forms the contractual basis of German-Dutch cultural relations. The 16th and most recent meeting of the German-Netherlands cultural committee tool place in Bonn in 1993.

Germany is one of the so-called priority countries, and Berlin one of the ‘top addresses‘, in Dutch foreign cultural and education policy. Along with Lower Saxony and Bremen, a natural priority partner for cooperation in culture and education is the German border state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Of the new German federal states, Brandenburg takes first place for historical reasons (ties with the House of Orange-Nassau and the associated historical links in architecture, landscaping and art).

For the most part, the cultural institutions and organizers of cultural events in the two countries maintain direct contacts. A large part of the cultural exchanges take place on a private, commercial basis, but substantial public funding is also allocated. The Goethe Institutes in Amsterdam and Rotterdam are the main ambassadors of German culture in the Netherlands. They are dedicated to their task and are well assimilated into local cultural life.

Relations on the educational, academic and scientific front are close. There are some 600school exchange programmes and twinning partnerships. There are some 590 cooperation agreements between universities (especially at institute and department level) and non-academic research centres (Max Planck Institutes, Fraunhofer Institute, academies).

Links

www.niederlandeweb.de/ (Official representation of the Netherlands in Germany)
www.duitse-ambassade.nl (German Embassy in the Netherlands)
www.dnhk.org (Dutch-German Chamber of Commerce)
www.goethe.de/amsterdam (Goethe-Institute in Amsterdam)