Economy of the Netherlands
| Currency | Euro (EUR) = € 1 |
|---|---|
| calendar year | |
|
Trade organisations
|
EU, WTO and OECD |
| Statistics | |
| GDP |
$752 billion (nominal, 2015) $908 billion (PPP, 2017) |
| GDP rank | 17th (nominal) / 28th (PPP) |
|
GDP growth
|
 +2.1% (2016 est.) |
|
GDP per capita
|
$48,860 (nominal, 2015 est.) $50,338 (PPP, 2016 est.) |
|
GDP by sector
|
agriculture: 1.6%; industry: 18.8%; services: 79.6% (2015 est.) |
|
0.2% (2016 est.) |
|
|
Population below poverty line
|
9.1% (2013 est.) |
| 25.1 (2013 est.) | |
|
Labour force
|
8.4 million (2016 est.) |
|
Labour force by occupation
|
agriculture: 2%; industry: 18%; services: 80% (2005 est.) |
| Unemployment |
 5.3% (January 2017) |
|
Average gross salary
|
3,073 € / month (2016) |
| 2,263 € / month (2016) | |
|
Main industries
|
agriculture-related industries, oil and natural gas, metal and engineering products, electronic machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum, construction, microelectronics, fishing |
| 28th (2017) | |
| External | |
| Exports |
 $488.3 billion (2015 est.) |
|
Export goods
|
natural gas, machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels; foodstuffs |
|
Main export partners
|
 Germany 24.5%% Belgium 11.1%% France 8.4% United Kingdom 9.3% Italy 4.2% (2015 est.) |
| Imports |
$404.6 billion (2015 est.) |
|
Import goods
|
machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs, clothing |
|
Main import partners
|
Germany 14.7% China 14.5% Belgium 8.2% United Kingdom 5.1% Russia 5.7% Norway 4.1% (2015 est.) |
|
FDI stock
|
$608.9 billion (31 December 2012 est.) |
|
Gross external debt
|
$4.154 trillion (31 December 2014 est.) |
| Public finances | |
|
65.1% of GDP (2015 est.) |
|
| Revenues | $327.7 billion (2016) |
| Expenses | $324.6 billion (2016) |
| Economic aid | € 4 bn (As of 2005[update]) |
|
|
|
Foreign reserves
|
US$42.92 billion (31 December 2014 est.) |
$752 billion (nominal, 2015)
$48,860 (nominal, 2015 est.)
According to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the Netherlands was the 18th largest economy of the world in 2012, while the country has only about 17 million inhabitants. (see: List of countries by GDP (nominal)). GDP per capita is roughly $48,860 which makes it one of richest nations in the world (see: List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita). Between 1996 and 2000 annual economic growth (GDP) averaged over 4%, well above the European average. Growth slowed considerably in 2001-05 as part of the global economic slowdown. 2006 and 2007 however showed economic growth of 3.4% and 3.9%. The Dutch economy was hit considerably by the ongoing global financial crisis and the ensuing European debt crisis.
The Netherlands has discovered huge natural gas resources since 1959. The sale of natural gas generated enormous revenues for the Netherlands for decades, adding hundreds of billions of euros to the government's budget. However, the unforeseen consequences of the country's huge energy wealth impacted the competitiveness of other sectors of the economy, leading to the theory of Dutch disease.
The Netherlands have 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 very big sizable current account surplus (compared to the size of the country even more than Germany) and an important role as a European transportation hub, with Rotterdam as by far the biggest port in Europe and Amsterdam with one of the biggest airports in Europe. Industrial activity is predominantly in food processing, chemicals, petroleum refining, hightech, financial services, creative sector and electrical machinery. A highly mechanised agricultural sector employs no more than 2% of the labour 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.
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