North South University

Submitted to
Ms. Samira Rahman
Department of Marketing &
International Business
North South University
School of Business and Economics

“Country Analysis of The Netherlands”

Fall Semester: 2020

Inb 372: International Business
Sec- 19
Group- Netherlands
Submitted by:
Student Name Student ID R.N
Golam Rabby 151 127 5030 04
Ataul Karim Ashik 161 225 1030 12
Sudip Saha 161 260 0030 13
Maisa Samiha Chowdhury 181 137 8630 28
Shibbir Turag 182 158 3630 37

Date of Submission: 13, April 2020

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Country Analysis of Netherland

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Country Analysis of Netherland

Acknowledgement

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Country Analysis of Netherland

Letter of Transmittal

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 Country Analysis of Netherland

Contents
Executive Summary .................................................................................................................. vi
Netherlands ................................................................................................................................ 1
Orientation ............................................................................................................................. 1
Location and Geography ........................................................................................................ 2
Demography........................................................................................................................... 2
Culture of Netherlands ............................................................................................................... 2
Language ................................................................................................................................ 2
Religion .................................................................................................................................. 3
Food ....................................................................................................................................... 3
Food Customs at Ceremonial Occasions ............................................................................... 4
Social Stratification ................................................................................................................ 4
Symbols of Social Stratification ............................................................................................ 4
Bibliography .............................................................................................................................. 7

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Country Analysis of Netherland

Executive Summary

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 Country Analysis of Netherland

Netherlands
etherlands is a nice, decorated and peaceful country in the world. Holland is the
most known and ordinarily used to discuss the Netherlands; 'Holland' is in reality
only a piece of the Netherlands. However, the Netherlands incorporates another
ten territories. More than 17 million people live in these regions. The
Netherlands is situated in Northwestern Europe. The nation shares a border with Germany in
the East and Belgium in the South. Netherlands is the largest populated country of the world.
It has very interesting cities, beautiful preserved nature, nice and fresh wonder wind form the
sea. This is the country where light amaze the visitor. (OBBEN & ARES , 2006)

Some facts of Netherlands-

 The capital of the Netherlands is Amsterdam

 Orange is the color of the Dutch royal family
 The population of over 17 million people speaks Dutch
 On Texel, there are more sheep than people
 Nearly one-third of the Netherlands lies below sea level
 “Nieuwerkerk aan den Ijssel” is the lowest point of the Netherlands (-6.76 meters NAP)
 “The Vaalserberg” is the highest point of the Netherlands (323 meters)
 The Netherlands boasts some 35.000 kilometers worth of bike paths
 The highest museum density can be found in Leiden. Here, there are as many as 13
museums within walking distance (The Netherlands in facts and figures, n.d.)

Orientation
The English word "Dutch" derives from the German deutsch ("German"). "Dutch" referred
originally to both Germany and the Netherlands but came to be restricted to the people and
language of the Netherlands when that country became independent in the seventeenth century.
The Dutch divided between two major cultural subdivisions in their culture. One is Randstad
Culture (Rim Culture) and other one is Non-Randstad. Netherlands does not have a strong
national culture. Dutch people consider the unacceptable form of nationalism where they
focused on the cultural diversity, tolerance of difference, and receptiveness to foreign
influences. (OBBEN & ARES , 2006)

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Location and Geography

The Netherlands is situated in northwestern Europe and borders on Germany to the east,
Belgium to the south, and the North sea to the west and north. The name "Netherlands" means
"Low Lands" in reference to the
nation's topography. The
Netherlands is also a relatively
small country (13,297 square miles
[34,425 square kilometers])
without surface water.
The Netherlands is divided into
twelve provinces. Amsterdam
(730,000 inhabitants) is the capital,
but the government meets in The Hague (440,000 inhabitants). Utrecht (235,000 inhabitants)
is the transportation hub, while the port city of Rotterdam (590,000 inhabitants) constitutes the
economic heartland. These four cities together with a string of interconnected towns, form the
Randstad, which has a population of 6,100,000. ( Heslinga, Meijer, Wintle, & Rowen, 2020)

Demography
The Netherlands had a population of 15,898,331 in 2000. It is the most densely populated
country in Europe (1,196 inhabitants per square mile [462 per square kilometer] in 1996). There
are 2,700,000 foreign residents. The majority, approximately 780,000, originate from the
European Union, including 432,000 Germans. Other sizable groups are Surinamese (297,000),
Turks (300,000), Moroccans (252,000), and Antilleans (99,000). The average life expectancy
in 1996 was 75.2 years for men and 80.7 years for women. ( Heslinga, Meijer, Wintle, &
Rowen, 2020)

Culture of Netherlands
Language
The official language of the Netherlands
is Dutch, spoken by almost all people in
the Netherlands. There is a tradition of
learning foreign languages in the
Netherlands: about 89% of the total

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population have good knowledge of English, 70% of German, 29% of French and 5% of
Spanish. (Nag, 2019)

Religion
The predominant religion in the
Netherlands was Christianity until
late into the 20th century. Although
religious diversity remains, there has
been a decline in religious
adherence. In 2006, 34% of the
Dutch population identified as
Christian, decreasing till in 2015
almost 25% of the population
adhered to one of the Christian faiths
(11.7% Roman Catholic, 8.6% PKN,
4.2% other small Christian
denominations). 5% is Muslim and
2% adheres to Hinduism or
Buddhism, Approximately 67.8% of
the population in 2015 has no
religious affiliation, up from 61% in
2006, 53% in 1996, 43% 1979 and
33% in 1966. The Social and Cultural Plan bureau (Social and Cultural Planning Agency, SCP)
expects the number of non-affiliated Dutch to be at 72% in 2020. (Nag, 2019)

Food
Food is seen as a necessary part of life, with
no need for luxury. Traditional foods
include pea soup, kale stew, hotchpotch (a
thick stew), and white asparagus, French
fries with mayonnaise, meat croquets, and
raw herring. In the morning, the Dutch
consume buy several sandwiches with
cheese, peanut butter, or chocolate

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sprinkles. Lunch consists of sandwiches, often with cold cuts and perhaps a small salad on the
side. Dinner, which generally is served between five and seven P.M., is a two or three-course
meal that often begins with soup. The main dish usually contains a mixture of potatoes with
vegetables and meat, fish, or poultry and is followed by dessert. Chinese–Indonesian,
Surinamese, and Italian food have become part of the Dutch diet. (Coggins, 2016)

Food Customs at Ceremonial Occasions

The Dutch hardly ever invite people with whom they are not closely acquainted for dinner.
Instead, coffee has a strong social significance. Neighbors often invite each other over for a
cup of coffee with the invariable one cookie, and the morning coffee break at work is a sacred
institution. (Coggins, 2016)

Social Stratification
Differences in wealth are relatively small in comparison to many other countries because of
progressive taxation and the redistribution of fiscal funds to the unemployed and
occupationally inactive. This equality of
income is clearly shown when Dutch
households are subdivided into four separate
income categories. The lowest quartile has an
average income of 8,730 euros ($10,105) after
taxes, whereas the highest quartile has an
average income of 38,365 euros ($44,420). An
open discussion of class, income, and status
differences is more or less taboo in a society that
strongly emphasizes equality. Although Dutch
society in general is firmly middle class, an estimated 5 to 10 percent of the population lives at
a subsistence level. Low-skilled workers, the unemployed, the disabled, the aged, and single-
parent households have been hit hardest. Low-income households are concentrated in the
Randstad cities. (OBBEN & ARES , 2006)

Symbols of Social Stratification

Class differences entail few visible signs of cultural differentiation, but those minor differences
have a great symbolic value in creating social distinction. The most obvious differences can be
observed in housing, consumption patterns, and community participation. Lower-class homes

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are small and tend to hold a large amount of furniture and decorative articles. Higher-class
homes are more spacious and tend to hold less and often more sober furniture. The social
participation of Dutch people does not depend entirely on class background, but higher-income
households tend to have less involvement in community life than do low-income households.
(OBBEN & ARES , 2006)

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Bibliography
Heslinga, M. W., Meijer, H., Wintle, M. J., & Rowen, H. H. (2020, 4 3). Netherlands. Holland,
Kingdom of The Netherlands, Koninkrijk der Nederlanden, Nederland. Retrieved from
https://www.britannica.com/place/Netherlands
Coggins, T. (2016, November 28). Dutch Foods You Should Try In The Netherlands. Retrieved
from Culture Trip: https://theculturetrip.com/europe/the-netherlands/articles/top-9-
dutch-foods-you-need-to-try/
Nag, O. S. ( 2019, January 23). The Culture Of The Netherlands. Retrieved from WorldAtlas:
https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-culture-of-the-netherlands.html
OBBEN, N. C., & ARES , D. E. (2006, May 30). The Netherlands. Retrieved from Countries
and Their Cultures: https://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/The-Netherlands.html
The Netherlands in facts and figures. (n.d.). Retrieved from Holland:
https://www.holland.com/global/tourism/information/general/all-about-the-
netherlands.htm