Netherlands

Water dominates the Dutch landscape; with roughly 26% of its land lying below sea level, the Netherlands is engaged in an eternal battle against the tide.

This land of dykes, polders, weirs and windmills also boasts one of the world’s most dense populations, 40% of which can be found living in Randstad, an agglomeration comprising the cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht. The Dutch are generally warm, welcoming and down-to-earth, and are renowned for their tolerant and often direct attitude and their open minded and pragmatic approach to life.