Western Europe · NLD

Netherlands

The story · 10 chapters

How it was drawn

Stone tombs, a Roman frontier and Frisian kings, then a revolt against Spain that made a trading republic, French rule, a kingdom from 1815, and land won from the sea.

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Through the ages

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Netherlands fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Kingdom of the Franks689 to 785
Frankish rulers fought the Frisian kings for the Rhine delta and the trading town of Dorestad. Pepin of Herstal beat King Radbod around 690, Charles Martel killed King Poppo at the Boarn in 734, and Charlemagne crushed the last Frisian revolts in the 780s.
Danish Vikings834 to 885
Viking fleets raided Dorestad, then the richest trading town of the north, almost every year from 834. Frankish kings even granted Frisian lands to Viking leaders such as Rorik and Godfrid, until Godfrid was killed in 885 and the danger faded.
Habsburg Spain1568 to 1648
The Eighty Years' War began when the northern provinces rose against Philip II's taxes and his persecution of Protestants. William of Orange led the revolt, and Leiden survived a long siege in 1574. Spain finally recognised the Dutch Republic at the Peace of Munster in 1648.
Kingdom of England1652 to 1674
Three naval wars over trade and sea power. In 1667 Admiral de Ruyter raided the Medway and towed away the English flagship, but the Dutch gave up New Amsterdam, which became New York. In 1688 the Dutch stadtholder William III took the English throne himself.
Kingdom of France1672 to 1713
Louis XIV invaded in 1672 and nearly took Holland, which was saved by deliberate flooding. The Republic then led coalitions against France in long wars that ended with the Peace of Utrecht in 1713, signed on Dutch soil.
Revolutionary and Napoleonic France1795 to 1813
French armies overran the Republic in the winter of 1795 and set up the Batavian Republic. Napoleon made his brother Louis king of Holland in 1806 and annexed the country to France in 1810. Independence returned with the French retreat in November 1813.
Belgian revolutionaries1830 to 1839
The southern provinces revolted against King William I in 1830. A Dutch army won the Ten Days' Campaign in August 1831 but withdrew when France intervened. William accepted Belgian independence only in 1839, when Limburg and Luxembourg were divided.
Nazi Germany1940 to 1945
Germany invaded in May 1940 despite Dutch neutrality and bombed Rotterdam. Five years of occupation followed, with forced labour, the deportation of most Dutch Jews and the famine of the Hunger Winter before liberation in May 1945.
Republic of Indonesia1945 to 1962
After Indonesia declared independence in August 1945, the Dutch fought to restore colonial rule with two large military offensives. Under international pressure they transferred sovereignty in December 1949, and gave up western New Guinea after a further dispute in 1962.

Today

Netherlands now

The Dutch United Provinces declared their independence from Spain in 1581; during the 17th century, they became a leading seafaring and commercial power, with settlements and colonies around the world. After 18 years of French domination, the Netherlands regained its independence in 1813. In 1830, Belgium seceded and formed a separate kingdom. The Netherlands remained neutral in World War I but suffered German invasion and occupation in World War II.

Capital: Amsterdam
Government: parliamentary constitutional monarchy; part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Head of government: Rob Jetten
Head of state: William Alexander of the Netherlands
Languages: Dutch
Area: 41,540 km²

Through time

Then and now

Population18.1 million2023 · 10.1 million in 1950
Life expectancy82.2 years2023 · 71.4 years in 1950
GDP per person$49,6692022 · $9,558 in 1950
Living in cities96%2025 · 57% in 1950
Literacy99%1950
Political regimeLiberal democracy2025 · Liberal democracy in 1950
Military alliancesNATO2024 · NATO in 1950
Military spending2.2% of GDP2025
War deathsNone2025

Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.

Relations

Close partners and tensions

Close partners

United States
France
Germany
Belgium
Luxembourg

Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 24 October 2026.

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Netherlands fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Kingdom of the Franks689 to 785

Frankish rulers fought the Frisian kings for the Rhine delta and the trading town of Dorestad. Pepin of Herstal beat King Radbod around 690, Charles Martel killed King Poppo at the Boarn in 734, and Charlemagne crushed the last Frisian revolts in the 780s.

Danish Vikings834 to 885

Viking fleets raided Dorestad, then the richest trading town of the north, almost every year from 834. Frankish kings even granted Frisian lands to Viking leaders such as Rorik and Godfrid, until Godfrid was killed in 885 and the danger faded.

Habsburg Spain1568 to 1648

The Eighty Years' War began when the northern provinces rose against Philip II's taxes and his persecution of Protestants. William of Orange led the revolt, and Leiden survived a long siege in 1574. Spain finally recognised the Dutch Republic at the Peace of Munster in 1648.

Kingdom of England1652 to 1674

Three naval wars over trade and sea power. In 1667 Admiral de Ruyter raided the Medway and towed away the English flagship, but the Dutch gave up New Amsterdam, which became New York. In 1688 the Dutch stadtholder William III took the English throne himself.

Kingdom of France1672 to 1713

Louis XIV invaded in 1672 and nearly took Holland, which was saved by deliberate flooding. The Republic then led coalitions against France in long wars that ended with the Peace of Utrecht in 1713, signed on Dutch soil.

Revolutionary and Napoleonic France1795 to 1813

French armies overran the Republic in the winter of 1795 and set up the Batavian Republic. Napoleon made his brother Louis king of Holland in 1806 and annexed the country to France in 1810. Independence returned with the French retreat in November 1813.

Belgian revolutionaries1830 to 1839

The southern provinces revolted against King William I in 1830. A Dutch army won the Ten Days' Campaign in August 1831 but withdrew when France intervened. William accepted Belgian independence only in 1839, when Limburg and Luxembourg were divided.

Nazi Germany1940 to 1945

Germany invaded in May 1940 despite Dutch neutrality and bombed Rotterdam. Five years of occupation followed, with forced labour, the deportation of most Dutch Jews and the famine of the Hunger Winter before liberation in May 1945.

Republic of Indonesia1945 to 1962

After Indonesia declared independence in August 1945, the Dutch fought to restore colonial rule with two large military offensives. Under international pressure they transferred sovereignty in December 1949, and gave up western New Guinea after a further dispute in 1962.

Netherlands now

Capital

Amsterdam

Government

parliamentary constitutional monarchy; part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

Head of government

Rob Jetten

Head of state

William Alexander of the Netherlands

Languages

Dutch

Area

41,540 km²

Then and now

Population18.1 million2023 · 10.1 million in 1950

Life expectancy82.2 years2023 · 71.4 years in 1950

GDP per person$49,6692022 · $9,558 in 1950

Living in cities96%2025 · 57% in 1950

Literacy99%1950

Political regimeLiberal democracy2025 · Liberal democracy in 1950

Military alliancesNATO2024 · NATO in 1950

Military spending2.2% of GDP2025

War deathsNone2025