The Netherlands is in Western Europe, bordering Belgium, Germany and the North Sea. Nearly a quarter of the land area lies below sea level. The capital city is Amsterdam (population: 735,000), while The Hague is the seat of the Court, Government, and Parliament. Total population is 16.3 million. There are no cities with a population over one million in the Netherlands, but the 'four big cities' as they are called (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht) can in many ways be regarded as a single 'big city' conurbation with about seven million inhabitants.
At this moment the Netherlands is the 16th largest economy of the world. Major Industries: Agro-industries, electrical machinery and equipment, metal and engineering products, chemicals, petroleum, construction, microelectronics, fishing. Major trading partners are EU countries (80 percent), especially Germany, France, UK and Belgium. GDP per head: USD 38,180 (2005).
The Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy. The present government is led by the minority cabinet Balkenende III, a short-term continuation of Balkenende II (CDA/VVD/D66) without the smallest coalition party, D66. Elections took place on November 22 2006 but the formation of a new minority cabinet is expected to take some time.
Education policy is coordinated by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, together with municipal governments. Compulsory education in the Netherlands starts at the age of five, although in practice, most schools accept children from the age of four. From the age of sixteen there is a partial compulsory education, meaning a pupil must attend some form of education for at least two days a week. There is no more compulsory education for pupils aged eighteen and up. There are public, special (religious), and private schools. The first two are government-financed and officially free of charge, yet many schools ask for a parental contribution.
Between the ages of four to twelve, children attend elementary school, which is compulsory from age five. This school has eight grades. After attending elementary education, children aged 12 years old attend secondary education. Depending on the advice of the elementary school and the score of the CITO test, pupils are assigned to either VMBO (four years preparatory middle-level vocational education), HAVO (five years higher general continued education), VWO (six years preparatory scientific education) or Gymnasium (VWO plus compulsory classical languages).
Further education is possible at three levels: MBO (middle-level vocational education), HBO (higher professional education and WO (scientific education). Total enrolment in higher education is approximately 559,000 students with men and women in approximately equal numbers. In the Netherlands there are 14 government-approved universities, 42 universities of professional education (government-approved), 11 Institutes of International Education and 10 of the 14 universities in Holland are in the top 200 of the Times Higher Education Ranking.
In the Netherlands some 6,200 students go abroad with a scholarship from one of the main Dutch Government or EU programmes (2003-04). Dutch government spending on scholarships for outgoing Dutch students: euro 2.6 million a year (source: Ministry of Education, 2004-05).
The British Council office in the Netherlands is based in Amsterdam. We have exams centres in all major cities in the country: Utrecht, Eindhoven, the Hague, Vlissingen, and Groningen. We are actively involved in Dreams + Teams programme and provide information on Education in the UK, however we do not actively promote Education UK and do not have a student counselling service.
| 
