The Netherlands is aconstituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with some islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders theNorth Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders with Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom. It is aparliamentary democracy organised as a unitary state. The country capital isAmsterdam and the seat of government is The Hague. The Netherlands in its entirety is often referred to as Holland, although North and South Holland are actually only two of its twelve provinces.
The Netherlands is a geographically low-lying country, with about 20% of its area and 21% of its population located below sea level, and 50% of its land lying less than one metre above sea level. This distinct feature contributes to the country's name: in Dutch (Nederland), English, and in many other European languages (e.g. German:Niederlande, Portuguese: Países Baixos, Croatian: Nizozemska, Welsh: Yr Iseldiroedd, Irish: An Ísiltír, Spanish: Países Bajos, French: Les Pays-Bas, Danish: Nederlandene, Swedish: Nederländerna, Norwegian: Nederland, Italian: Paesi Bassi, Greek: Κάτω Χώρες and Finnish: Alankomaat), its name literally means "(The) Low Countries" or "Low Country". Most of the areas below sea level are man-made, caused by centuries of extensive and poorly controlled peat extraction, lowering the surface by several meters. Even in flooded areas peat extraction continued through turf dredging.
