Economy - overview This highly developed and affluent economy is based on private enterprise. The government makes its presence felt, however, through many regulations, permit requirements, and welfare programs affecting most aspects of economic activity. Industrial activity features food-processing, oil-refining, and metalworking. The highly mechanized agricultural sector employs only 2% of the labor force but provides large surpluses for export and the domestic food-processing industry. Indeed, the Netherlands ranks third worldwide in value of agricultural exports, behind the US and France. Sharp cuts in subsidy and social security spending have been accompanied by sustained growth in output and employment. Growth in 1998 should be a brisk 3.5%. The Dutch will almost certainly qualify for the first wave of countries entering the European Monetary Union (EMU) in 1999.

GDP purchasing power parity - $343.9 billion (1997 est.)

GDP - real growth rate 3.25% (1997)

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $22,000 (1997 est.)

GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 4%
industry: 18%
services: 78% (1996)

Inflation rate - consumer price index 2% (1997)

Labor force
total: 6.6 million (1997)
by occupation: services 75%, manufacturing and construction 23%, agriculture 2% (1996)

Unemployment rate 6.9% (1997)

Budget
revenues: $103.4 billion
expenditures: $112.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 draft)

Industries agroindustries, metal and engineering products, electrical machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum, fishing, construction, microelectronics

Industrial production growth rate 3.75% (1997)

Electricity - capacity 20.09 million kW (1996 est.)

Electricity - production 82 billion kWh (1996 est.)

Electricity - consumption per capita 4,968 kWh (1996 est.)

Agriculture - products grains, potatoes, sugar beets, fruits, vegetables; livestock

Exports
total value: $203.1 billion (f.o.b., 1997)
commodities: manufactures and machinery, chemicals; processed food and tobacco, agricultural products
partners: EU 80% (Germany 29%, Belgium-Luxembourg 13%, UK 10%), Central and Eastern Europe 4%, US 3% (1996)

Imports
total value: $1.791 trillion (c.i.f., 1997)
commodities: raw materials and semifinished products, consumer goods, transportation equipment, crude oil, food products
partners: EU 64% (Germany 22%, Belgium-Luxembourg 11%, UK 10%), Central and Eastern Europe 4%, US 8% (1996)

Debt - external $0

Economic aid
donor: ODA, $2.9 billion (1997)

Currency 1 Netherlands guilder, gulden, or florin (f.) = 100 cents

Exchange rates Netherlands guilders, gulden, or florins (f.) per US$1 - 2.0462 (January 1998), 1.9513 (1997), 1.6859 (1996), 1.6057 (1995), 1.8200 (1994), 1.8573 (1993)

Fiscal year calendar year

NOTE: The information regarding Netherlands on this page is re-published from the 1998 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Netherlands Economy 1998 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Netherlands Economy 1998 should be addressed to the CIA.