Holland or the Netherlands
Population: 16,450,022 inhabitants
Land surface: 41,530 km2
GDP per capita: US$ 32,684
Religion: Catholics 31%, Dutch Reformed Church 14%, Calvinists 8%, Muslims 3.9%, others 4.1%, do not profess 39%.
Official name: Koninkrijk der Nederlanden. Capital: Amsterdam 1,137,000 inhabitants (1999). Although the government resides in The Hague, Amsterdam remains the official capital of the country.
Other cities (inhabitants – 2000): Rotterdam 1,125,500; The Hague 443,700; Utrecht 232,900; Eindhoven 200,600.
Government: parliamentary constitutional monarchy.
Geography: 38% of the Dutch territory is located below sea level. Intensive farming (dairy cattle and crops such as rye, oats, wheat, potatoes) is carried out. The population density is one of the highest in Europe. It is highly industrialized, and it is also the third largest producer of natural gas. It also has an outstanding participation in the oil industry, with major refineries in the Antilles and in Rotterdam, which is the world center of the free market of oil (spot market). Important petrochemical and electronic industries destined for exportation.
Population: 10,480,390 inhabitants
Land surface: 30,530 km2
Capital: Brussels (Bruxelles)
GDP per capita: US$ 32.119
Languages: French, Dutch and German Official name: Koninkrijk België/Royaume de Belgique.
Capital: Brussels 998,000 inhabitants (2003). Brussels is also the capital of the European Union.
Other cities (inhabitants – 2000): Antwerpen 945,800; Liege 620,900; Gent 223,000; Charleroi 201,700. Government: Federal parliamentary state since 1993, under a constitutional monarch
Religion: predominantly Catholic, there are Protestant, Muslim and Jewish minorities.
Geography. To the north of Belgium is the plain of Flanders, which is composed of sand and clay that are deposited by the rivers. In the south is the Ardennes massif, which does not exceed 700 meters. The great coalfield is located there. With high population density, Belgium is an important trading center, thanks to its geographical position and the network of roads covering the northern plain, centered on the port of Antwerp. It is also a major industrial center. The heavy industry is located on the coal basin of Sambre and Meuse while the textile industry is located in Flanders.
Population: 82,534,214 inhabitants
Land surface: 357,030 km2
GDP per capita: US$ 29,461
Official name: Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Administrative division: the Federal Republic of Germany is a federal parliamentary state
Capital: Berlin (since 1990) 3,327,000 inhabitants (2003).
Other cities (inhabitants – 2000): Hamburg 3,258,500; Munich 2,342,500; Dresden 1,031,100; Köln 966,500; Frankfurt 73,600.
Government: Horst Köhler, President since July 2004. Angela Merkel, is Chancellor is November 2005
Christian; Protestants (32%) in the north and the east; Catholics (33%), majority in the western part before reunification. Jewish and Muslim minorities (6%).
Geography: In the north there is a great plain. The Baltic coast is rugged, with deep and narrow gulfs. The center consists of a set of ancient mountains, plateaus and sedimentary basins: the Black Forest and the Rhenish Slate are the most noted ancient massifs. The southern region begins in the valley of the Danube and is composed of plateaus (Bavarian Plateau), limited on the southern border by the Bavarian Alps. In the basins of the Rhine and Ems rivers there are large deposits of coal and lignite, which were the basis of industrial development. The heavy industry is concentrated in the Ruhr Valley, the Rhineland and the Lower Saxony. In the former German Democratic Republic, the south is rich in coal, lignite, lead, tin, silver and uranium. The steel, chemical, electrochemical and metallurgical industries are concentrated there.
1. Indicate to which country the statement refers to: Holland, Belgium or Germany