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main article: military of the netherlands

a leopard 2 main battle tank of the royal netherlands army
the netherlands has the oldest standing army in europe; it was first established as such by maurice of nassau. the dutch army was used throughout the dutch empire. after the defeat of napoleon, the dutch army was transformed into a conscription army. the army was unsuccessfully deployed during the belgian revolution in 1830. after 1830, it was deployed mainly in the dutch colonies, as the netherlands remained neutral in european wars (including wwi), until the netherlands was invaded in wwii and quickly defeated by the wehrmacht in may 1940.

hnlms evertsen, a royal dutch navy frigate
after wwii, the netherlands dropped their neutrality, and the dutch army became part of the nato army strength in cold war europe; holding several bases in germany. in 1996 conscription was suspended, and the dutch army was once again transformed into a professional army. since the 1990s the dutch army has been involved in the bosnian war, the kosovo war, has been holding a province in iraq after the defeat of saddam hussein, and was engaged in afghanistan.
the military is composed of four branches, all of which carry the prefix koninklijke (royal):
koninklijke landmacht (kl), the royal netherlands army
koninklijke marine (km), the royal netherlands navy, including the naval air service and marine corps
koninklijke luchtmacht (klu), the royal netherlands air force
koninklijke marechaussee (kmar), the royal military police, tasks include military police and border control
general peter van uhm is the current commander of the netherlands armed forces. all military specialities except the submarine service and the royal netherlands marine corps (korps mariniers) are open to women. the korps commandotroepen, the special operations force of the netherlands army, is open to women, but because of the extremely high physical demands for initial training, it is found impossible for women to become a commando.[citation needed] the dutch ministry of defence employs more than 70,000 personnel, including over 20,000 civilian and over 50,000 military personnel.[47]
[edit]economy

main articles: economy of the netherlands and list of dutch companies

amsterdam stock exchange performance
the netherlands has a very strong economy and has been playing a special role in the european economy for many centuries. since the 16th century, shipping, fishing, trade, and banking have been leading sectors of the dutch economy. the netherlands is one of the world's 10 leading exporting countries. foodstuffs form the largest industrial sector. other major industries include chemicals, metallurgy, machinery, electrical, goods and tourism. examples include (unilever, heineken), financial services (ing), chemicals (dsm), petroleum refining (shell), and electrical machinery (philips, asml).
the netherlands has the 16th largest economy in the world, and ranks 7th in gdp (nominal) per capita. between 1998 and 2000 annual economic growth (gdp) averaged nearly 4%, well above the european average. growth slowed considerably from 2001 to 2005 with the global economic slowdown, but accelerated to 4.1% in the third quarter of 2007. inflation is 1.3%, and unemployment is at 4.0% of the labour force. by eurostat standards, unemployment in the netherlands is at 4.1% (april 2010) – the lowest rate of all european union member states.[48] the netherlands also has a relatively low gini coefficient of 0.326. despite ranking only 7th in gdp per capita, unicef ranked the netherlands 1st in child well-being.[49] on the index of economic freedom netherlands is the 13th most free market capitalist economy out of 157 surveyed countries.

the netherlands introduced the euro in 1999. it is one of the 17 sovereign states that make up the eurozone.
amsterdam is the financial and business capital of the netherlands.[50] the amsterdam stock exchange (aex), part of euronext, is the world's oldest stock exchange and is one of europe's largest bourses. it is situated near dam square in the city's centre. as a founding member of the euro, the netherlands replaced (for accounting purposes) its former currency, the "gulden" (guilder), on 1 january 1999, along with 15 other adopters of the euro. actual euro coins and banknotes followed on 1 january 2002. one euro was equivalent to 2.20371 dutch guilders.
the netherlands' location gives it prime access to markets in the uk and germany, with the port of rotterdam being the largest port in europe. other important parts of the economy are international trade (dutch colonialism started with cooperative private enterprises such as the voc), banking and transport. the netherlands successfully addressed the issue of public finances and stagnating job growth long before its european partners. amsterdam is the 5th busiest tourist destination in europe with more than 4.2 million international visitors.[51]
the country continues to be one of the leading european nations for attracting foreign direct investment and is one of the five largest investors in the u.s. the economy experienced a slowdown in 2005, but in 2006 recovered to the fastest pace in six years on the back of increased exports and strong investment. the pace of job growth reached 10-year highs in 2007.the netherlands moved up from the 11th position in the global competitiveness index[52] to the 9th position in 2007.
[edit]infrastructure, agriculture and resources

a frisian holstein cow in the netherlands: intensive dairy farming is an important part of agriculture.
see also: transport in the netherlands and rail transport in the netherlands
rotterdam has the largest port in europe, with the rivers meuse and rhine providing excellent access to the hinterland upstream reaching to basel, switzerland, and into france. in 2006, rotterdam was the world's seventh largest container port in terms of twenty-foot equivalent units (teu) handled.[53] the port's main activities are petrochemical industries and general cargo handling and transshipment. the harbour functions as an important transit point for bulk materials and between the european continent and overseas. from rotterdam goods are transported by ship, river barge, train or road. in 2007, the betuweroute, a new fast freight railway from rotterdam to germany, was completed.
a highly mechanised agricultural sector employs 4% of the labour force but provides large surpluses for the food-processing industry and for exports. the dutch rank third worldwide in value of agricultural exports, behind the united states and france, with exports earning $55 billion annually. a significant portion of dutch agricultural exports are derived from fresh-cut plants, flowers, and bulbs, with the netherlands exporting two-thirds of the world's total. the netherlands also exports a quarter of all world tomatoes, and one-third of the world's exports of chilis and cucumbers.the netherlands also exports one-fifteenth of the world's apples.[54]
one of the largest natural gas fields in the world is situated near slochteren. exploitation of this field resulted in a total revenue of €159 billion since the mid 1970s. with just over half of the reserves used up and an expected continued rise in oil prices, the revenues over the next few decades are expected to be at least that much.[55]