This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
This article possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed.(April 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Economy of the Netherlands" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR(February 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
(Learn how and when to remove this message)
Economy of the Netherlands
Zuidas in Amsterdam
Currency
Euro (EUR, €)
Fiscal year
Calendar year
Trade organisations
EU, WTO and OECD
Country group
Developed/Advanced[1]
High-income economy[2]
Statistics
Population
17,589,513 (6 January 2022)[3]
GDP
$1.2 trillion (nominal; 2024)[4]
$1.3 trillion (PPP; 2023)[4]
GDP rank
18th (nominal, 2023)
28th (PPP, 2023)
GDP growth
4.5% (2022)[5]
1.0% (2023)[5]
1.2% (2024)[5]
GDP per capita
$66,166 (nominal, 2024)[4]
$73,000 (PPP, 2023)[4]
GDP per capita rank
11th (nominal, 2023)
13th (PPP, 2023)
GDP by sector
agriculture: 1.6%
industry: 17.9%
services: 80.2%
(2017 est.)[6]
Inflation (CPI)
1.2% (2020)[4]
Population below poverty line
5% (2017 est.)[7]
16.5% at risk of poverty or social exclusion (AROPE, 2019)[8]
Gini coefficient
26.8 low (2019)[9]
Human Development Index
0.941 very high (2021)[10] (10th)
0.878 very high IHDI (9th) (2021)[11]
Labour force
9,181,373 (2019)[12]
79.2% employment rate (2018)[13]
Labour force by occupation
agriculture: 1.2%
industry: 17.2%
services: 81.6%
(2017)[6]
Unemployment
2.9% (October 2021)[14]
6.9% youth unemployment (October 2021; 15 to 24 year-olds)[14]
Average gross salary
€4,191 monthly
Average net salary
€3,145 monthly
Main industries
Agriculture, oil and natural gas, metal and engineering products, electronic machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum, construction, microelectronics, fishing
External
Exports
$719.78 billion (2020)[6]
Export goods
Machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, mineral fuels, food and livestock, manufactured goods
Main export partners
Germany 20%
Belgium 12%
United Kingdom 9%
France 7%
United States 5%
(2019)[6]
Imports
$453.8 billion (2017)[6]
Import goods
Machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs, clothing
Main import partners
Germany 15%
China 11%
Belgium 9%
United States 8%
Russia 7%
United Kingdom 5%
(2019)[6]
FDI stock
$5.499 trillion (2017)[6]
Abroad: $6.579 trillion (2017)[6]
Current account
$90.207 billion (2019)[6]
Gross external debt
$4.345 trillion (2019)[6]
Public finances
Government debt
48.6% of GDP (2019)[15]
€394.630 billion (2019)[15]
Budget balance
€14.0 billion surplus (2019)[15]
+1.7% of GDP (2019)[15]
Revenues
43.6% of GDP (2019)[15]
Expenses
41.9% of GDP (2019)[15]
Economic aid
€1.9 billion from European Structural and Investment Funds (2007–2013)[16]
€1.72 billion from European Structural and Investment Funds (2014–2020)[17]
Credit rating
Standard & Poor's:[18]
AAA (Domestic)
AAA (Foreign)
AAA (T&C Assessment)
Outlook: Stable[19]
Moody's:[19]
Aaa
Outlook: Stable
Fitch:[19]
AAA
Outlook: Stable
Scope:[20]
AAA
Outlook: Stable
Foreign reserves
$54.016 billion (2021)[6] (41st)
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.
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.[22][23] 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.[24] 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.[25][26] Its second largest city Rotterdam is a major trade, logistics and economic center of the world and is Europe's largest seaport.[27] Netherlands is ranked fifth on global innovation index and fourth on the Global Competitiveness Report.
The Netherlands has a prosperous and open economy, which depends heavily on foreign trade. The economy is noted for stable industrial relations, fairly low unemployment and inflation, a sizable current account surplus (which, compared to the size of the country, is even more than Germany) and an important role as a European transportation hub; Rotterdam is the biggest port in Europe; and Amsterdam has one of the biggest airports in the world. Industrial activity is predominantly in food processing, chemicals, petroleum refining, high-tech, financial services, the creative sector and electrical machinery. Its highly mechanized agricultural sector employs no more than 2% of the labor force but provides large surpluses for the food-processing industry and for exports. The Netherlands, along with 11 of its EU partners, began circulating the euro currency on 1 January 2002.
The Netherlands has had steady natural gas resources since 1959, when a wellspring was discovered. Currently the Netherlands accounts for more than 25% of all natural gas reserves in the European Union. Over the following decades, the sale of natural gas generated a significant rise in revenue for the Netherlands.[28] However, the unforeseen consequences of the country's energy wealth originally impacted the competitiveness of other sectors of the economy, leading to the theory of Dutch disease, after the discovery of the vast Groningen gas field.[28]
The Netherlands is a "conduit country" that helps to funnel profits from high-tax countries to tax havens.[29] It has been ranked as the 4th largest tax haven in the World.[30]
The stern financial policy was abandoned in 2009, because of the then-current credit crises. The relatively large banking sector was partly nationalized and bailed out through government interventions. The unemployment rate dropped to 5.0% in the summer of 2011, but increased with a sharp rate to 7.3% in May 2013, and 6.8% in 2015. It dropped again to 3.9% in March 2018.[31][32] The state budget deficit was about 2.2% in 2015, well below the norm of 3.0% in the EU.[33] In 2016, the state budget showed a surplus of 0.4%. It was expected to grow to a surplus of over 1.0% in 2017.[34]
Historically, the Dutch introduced and invented the stock market,[35] which initially focused on merchandise trading through the Dutch East India Company. The Netherlands is a founding member of the European Union, the OECD and the World Trade Organization.
^"World Economic Outlook Database, April 2019". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
^"World Bank Country and Lending Groups". datahelpdesk.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
^"Population on 1 January". ec.europa.eu/eurostat. Eurostat. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
^ abcde"Report for Selected Countries and Subjects: April 2023". imf.org. International Monetary Fund.
^ abc"The outlook is uncertain again amid financial sector turmoil, high inflation, ongoing effects of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and three years of COVID". International Monetary Fund. 11 April 2023.
^ abcdefghijk"The World Factbook". CIA.gov. Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on 13 May 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
^Marie, Wildeboer Schut, Jean; Stella, Hoff (2 March 2017). "Verwachte armoede in 2015–2017". Armoede in Kaart. 2016 (2016). Retrieved 4 January 2018.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^"People at risk of poverty or social exclusion". ec.europa.eu/eurostat. Eurostat. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
^"Gini coefficient of equivalised disposable income - EU-SILC survey". ec.europa.eu/eurostat. Eurostat. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
^"Human Development Index (HDI)". hdr.undp.org. HDRO (Human Development Report Office) United Nations Development Programme. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
^"Inequality-adjusted HDI (IHDI)". hdr.undp.org. UNDP. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
^"Labor force, total - Netherlands". data.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
^"Employment rate by sex, age group 20-64". ec.europa.eu/eurostat. Eurostat. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
^ ab"Unemployment down to pre-pandemic level". CBS. 18 November 2021.
^ abcdef"Euro area and EU27 government deficit both at 0.6% of GDP" (PDF). ec.europa.eu/eurostat. Eurostat. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
^"Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 December 2017. Retrieved 25 December 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^"Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 April 2017. Retrieved 25 December 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^"Sovereigns rating list". Standard & Poor's.
^ abcRogers, Simon; Sedghi, Ami (15 April 2011). "How Fitch, Moody's and S&P rate each country's credit rating". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
^"Scope affirms the Netherlands' credit ratings at AAA with Stable Outlook". Scope Ratings. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
^OECD Labour Force Statistics 2022, OECD, 2020, doi:10.1787/23083387, ISBN 9789264687714
^"Netherlands: Introduction". globaledge.msu.edu. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
^"The Next Global Tech Hotspot? Amsterdam Stakes Its Claim". Bloomberg.com. 22 May 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
^"The Netherlands is One of the Best Countries for Tech Companies". Visit Leiden. 13 February 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
^"Bevolkingsontwikkeling; regio per maand". CBS StatLine (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2021. 8,219,380 Randstad 2,620,000 Rotterdam-The Hague Metro 1,160,000 Rotterdam Urban 651,446 Rotterdam Municipality
^ abBanning, Cees (17 June 2009). "The Dutch curse: how billions from natural gas went up in smoke". NRC Handelsblad. Archived from the original on 21 December 2016.
^Schindler, Dirk (28 January 2022). "Is the Netherlands Still a Tax Haven?". Erasmus University Rotterdam. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
TheNetherlands Antilles was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom oftheNetherlands, which was formally dissolved in 2010. Tourism, petroleum...
This article lists the largest companies in theNetherlands in terms of their revenue, net profit and total assets, according to the American business...
countries ofthe Kingdom oftheNetherlands. TheNetherlands consists of twelve provinces; it borders Germany to the east and Belgium to the south, with...
TheNetherlands Antillean guilder (Dutch: gulden) is the currency of Curaçao and Sint Maarten, which until 2010 formed theNetherlands Antilles along with...
hitting the existing economy hard, particularly on the island of Curaçao. (The King oftheNetherlands officially apologising for its part in the trade...
An economy is an area ofthe production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain...
theeconomiesof Suriname and theNetherlands Antilles were insignificant compared to that oftheNetherlands. By the Charter for the Kingdom ofthe Netherlands...
There are twelve provinces oftheNetherlands representing the administrative layer between the national government and the local governments, with responsibility...
States, and the world's largest economy since 2016 when measured by purchasing power parity (PPP). China accounted for 19% ofthe global economy in 2022 in...
China, the United States, Singapore, South Korea, theNetherlands, Hong Kong, Germany, Taiwan, and Thailand. In 2017, the Philippine economy was projected...
to their economy's size (i.e. Netherlands, Singapore and UAE) due to their high amount of re-exports. Business and economics portal List of countries...
Statistics Netherlands, founded in 1899, is a Dutch governmental institution that gathers statistical information about theNetherlands. In Dutch it is...
2004) was Queen oftheNetherlands from 1948 until her abdication in 1980. Juliana was the only child of Queen Wilhelmina and Prince Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin...
literally, "The Dam on the River Amstel") is the capital and most populated city oftheNetherlands. It has a population of 921,402 within the city proper...
The United States is a highly developed/advanced mixed economy. It is the world's largest economy by nominal GDP; it is also the second largest by purchasing...
by far the largest port in Europe. TheNetherlands has a market-based mixed economy, ranking 17th of 177 countries according to the Index of Economic...
Netherlands EconomyoftheNetherlands Economic rank, by nominal GDP (2007): 16th (sixteenth) Agriculture in theNetherlands Banking in theNetherlands National...
lit. "The Dam on the River Rotte") is the second-largest city in theNetherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the province of South...
tides ofthe international economy because theNetherlands is not an autarkic economy. To cushion against the international economy, they set up the Social-Economic...
reputation ofthe packaging industry. The government-wide program for a circular economy is aimed at developing a circular economy in theNetherlands by 2050...
As of 2024, there are fourteen billionaires in theNetherlands, according to Forbes. Lists of billionaires List of countries by the number of billionaires...