Distillers Netherlands
A one-page guide to the Netherlands for the spirits trade: the country, its people, its economy and how it drinks.
At a glance
- Capital
- Amsterdam (nominal capital); seat of government is The Hague
- Official languages
- Dutch, West Frisian (Friesland)
- Currency
- Euro (EUR)
- Time zone
- UTC+1 (UTC+2 summer); Caribbean Netherlands UTC-4
- Area
- 41,540 km²
People
- Population
- 18.1 million (2025)
- Population growth
- 0.5% a year
- Living in towns and cities
- 95.9%
- Aged under 15
- 14.9%
- Aged 65 and over
- 20.9%
- Life expectancy
- 82.0 years
Economy
- GDP
- US$1.33 trillion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$73,684 (2025)
- Economic growth
- 1.8% (2025)
- Inflation
- 3.2% (2025)
Climate
Temperate maritime climate in the European Netherlands; Wikipedia gives no seasonal temperature or rainfall figures. Average temperature rose by more than 2 C between 1901 and 2020, with more droughts and heat waves. The Caribbean parts are tropical and warm all year.
Alcohol
- Alcohol is
- Legal
- Legal drinking age
- 18 for all alcohol (raised from 16 in 2014); selling to or buying for under-18s is prohibited
- Alcohol per adult a year
- 8.56 litres of pure alcohol (2022-2024 average (WHO estimate for 2024))
- Traditional drinks
- Jenever / genever (juniper spirit; EU protected geographical indication)
Sources: World Bank (population, economy and demographics), WHO Global Health Observatory (alcohol per adult and drinking mix); World Bank indicators (population, area, GDP, GDP per capita, growth, inflation); WHO Global Health Observatory, indicator SA_0000001688; UN Comtrade public API (HS 2208); Wikipedia: Legal drinking age; Wikipedia: Jenever; Wikipedia: Netherlands; KVK - importing and selling spirits in the Netherlands; Wikipedia - Lucas Bols. Figures are the latest each source publishes; the year is shown beside each one.