Here you will find information on the historical and cultural origins of the different populations that inhabit the Netherlands.

Introduction: The Netherlands

The Netherlands has 16.5 million inhabitants and is one of the highest densely populated areas in the world (395 people/km²). 81% of the population of the Netherlands is considered ethnically Dutch (autochtoon), 19% is considered of ethnically foreign origin (allochtoon). The percentage of people with a foreign ethic background is particularly high in the big cities of the Dutch provinces North- and South-Holland and Utrecht. In cities like Amsterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Rotterdam it is almost 50% of the population.

The Netherlands is considered to be one of the most secular countries in the world, with 43% of its population without any religious affiliation. 27% of the population is Roman Catholic, 17% is Calvinist (Dutch Reformed and Christian Reformed), 6% of the population is Moslem, 1.5 % is Hindu, 1% is Buddhist, 1% is Evangelical, 0.2% is Jewish, 0.2% is Anglican, 0.2% are Jehovah’s Witnesses, 0.2% is Baptist and 0.1% is Eastern Orthodox. Most Roman-Catholics live in the southern provinces of the Netherlands (Brabant and Limburg), most Moslems live in the big cities of the Dutch provinces North- and South-Holland and Utrecht. The cities with the highest percentage of Moslems are Rotterdam (13%), Amsterdam (12.5%), Utrecht (12%) and The Hague (11%).

The Netherlands has been a constitutional monarchy since 1815 and a parliamentary democracy since 1848; before 1815 it had been a republic from 1581 to 1806, a kingdom between 1806 and 1810, and between 1810 and 1813, it was under French rule. The head of state – at present, Queen Beatrix – is the monarch. Constitutionally the monarch still has considerable powers, but in practice the monarch doesn’t intervene in the business of the elected institutions. Due to the nature of the multi-party system, no party has ever held a majority in parliament since the 19th century, and coalition cabinets therefore have to be formed to achieve a majority vote. The head of government is the Prime Minister of the Netherlands. In practice the executive power is formed by the Dutch cabinet, which in turn is responsible to the bicameral parliament, the States-General. The Lower House, or the Second Chamber, is comprised of 150 members who are elected every four years in direct elections. Within the Upper House, or The First Chamber, officials are entrusted with the mere power of the veto. The Social-Economic Council, an advisory board comprised of trade unions and employers’ organizations, is consulted before economic or social legislation is passed.

While Dutch foreign policy was historically characterized by neutrality, the Netherlands has in the post-war era joined a number of international organizations, most prominently the UN, NATO and the EU.

The Netherlands has a long tradition of social tolerance, as is evident in their legal system. In the 18th century, while the Dutch Reformed Church’s Protestantism was the state religion, the Catholic and Jewish faiths did not experience mass-persecution or attempted conversions. In the late 19th century, the public’s attitudes regarding tolerance became more conservative, and the system of pillarization (in which religious groups coexist separately and only interact at the level of government) was instated. Since suffrage became universal in 1919, the Dutch political system has been dominated by three families of political parties: the strongest family has historically been the Christian democrats, currently represented by the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA); second are the social democrats, of which the Social Democrat Party (PvdA) is currently the largest party; and third were the liberals of which the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) is the main representative. These families cooperated in coalition cabinets in which the Christian democrats always played the intermediary partner; either there existed a centre left coalition of the Christian democrats and social democrats or a centre right coalition of Christian democrats and liberals.

In the 1970s, the power structure within the party system became more volatile: as the Christian democratic parties lost seats, new parties, like the progressive liberal D66 party, became successful. In the 1994 election the CDA lost its dominant position; in its place, the "purple" cabinet was formed by the PvdA, VVD, and D66 parties. In the 2002 elections this cabinet lost its majority to the rising LPF – a new political party founded by outspoken politician Pim Fortuyn – and to the CDA, whose support base had experienced a revival. After the LPF lost almost all its seats in the 2003 elections, a cabinet was formed by the CDA, the VVD and D66, and initiated an ambitious program of reform of the welfare state, health care system and immigration policies. In June 2006 the cabinet fell as D66 voted no confidence against Minister of Immigration and Integration, Rita Verdonk, in the aftermath of the controversial the asylum procedure of Ayaan Hirsi Ali. In the November 22, 2006 elections, the Christian Democratic Appeal remained the largest party while such radical parties as the extreme-right Party for Freedom, lead by Geert Wilders, and the extreme-left Socialist Party, lead by Jan Marijnissen, made large gains. Subsequently, a new cabinet was formed – a coalition of CDA, PvdA and the small orthodox Protestant ChristianUnion Party. Currently, the Christian Democrat Jan Peter Balkenende serves as Prime Minister and the Social Democrat Wouter Bos as Vice-Premier.

Belgium

Belgium is a small multilingual and multicultural country in the northwest part of Europe and a founding member of the European Union that hosts its headquarters, as well as the international organization NATO.

Belgium hosts 10.5 million inhabitants and has two main ethnic groups, the Flemings and the Walloons, and a third tiny German-speaking federal community. The two largest regions of Belgium are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north, which covers 59% of the population, and the French-speaking region of Wallonia in the south, with the 31%. The capital region of Brussels, is officially bilingual, mostly a French-speaking population within Flanders, but near the Walloon region, inhabited by 10% of the population. The small German-speaking Community lies in the eastern part of Wallonia.

Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were known historically as the Low Countries, and from the end of the Middle Ages until the 17th century it was a prosperous center of commerce and culture. From the 16th century until the Belgian revolution in 1830, many battles between European powers were fought in the area of Belgium, causing it to be dubbed "the battlefield of Europe" and "the cockpit of Europe", a reputation that was strengthened by both World Wars. Upon its independence, Belgium eagerly participated in the Industrial Revolution and, by the 19th century, possessed several colonies in Africa. In the second half of the 20th century the country was marked by the rise of communal conflicts between the Flemings and the Francophones fueled by cultural differences on the one hand and an asymmetrical economic evolution of Flanders and Wallonia on the other hand. Immigration issues were raised due to guest-workers that arrived from several countries in Europe, Africa and former colonies. These issues are still active conflicts that have caused far-reaching reforms of the unitary Belgian state into a federal state.

Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political and cultural conflicts are reflected in the political history and a complex system of government. In 2007 conflicts between the Flemings and the Walloons have caused drastic changes and reforms in the country. Some say that this could lead to the partition of the country.

Belgium is a constitutional, popular monarchy and a parliamentary democracy. In the 19th century it was necessary to speak French to get ahead, and those who could only speak Dutch effectively became second-class citizens. Late that century, and continuing into the 20th century, the Flemish movement evolved to counter this situation. Following World War II, Belgian politics became increasingly dominated by the autonomy of its two main language communities. Intercommunal tensions rose and even the unity of the Belgian state became scrutinized. Through constitutional reforms in the 1970s and 1980s, regionalization of the unitary state led to a three-tiered federation: federal, regional, and community governments were created, a compromise designed to minimize linguistic, cultural, social and economic tensions.

Belgium's Prime Minister is Yves Leterme and the federal bicameral parliament is composed of a Senate and a Chamber of Representatives. The former is made up of 40 directly elected politicians and 21 representatives appointed by the 3 community parliaments, 10 coopted senators and the children of the king, as senators by Right who in practice do not cast their vote. The Chamber's 150 representatives are elected under a proportional voting system from 11 electoral districts. Belgium is one of the few countries that has compulsory voting, and thus holds one of the highest rates of voter turnout in the world.

The King (currently Albert II) is the head of state, though with limited prerogatives. He appoints ministers, including a Prime Minister, that have the confidence of the Chamber of Representatives to form the federal government. The numbers of Dutch- and French-speaking ministers are equal as prescribed by the Constitution. The judicial system is based on civil law and originates from the Napoleonic code. The Court of Cassation is the court of last resort, with the Court of Appeal one level below.

Belgium's political institutions are complex; most political power is organized around the need to represent the main cultural communities. Since around 1970, the significant national Belgian political parties have split into distinct components that mainly represent the political and linguistic interests of these communities. The major parties in each community, though close to the political center, belong to three main groups: the right-wing Liberals, the socially conservative Christian Democrats, and the Socialists forming the left-wing. Further notable parties came into being well after the middle of last century, mainly around linguistic, nationalist, or environmental themes, and recently smaller ones of some specific liberal nature.

A string of Christian Democrat coalition governments from 1958 was broken in 1999 after the first dioxin crisis, a major food contamination scandal. A 'rainbow coalition' emerged from six parties: the Flemish and the French-speaking Liberals, Social Democrats, Greens. Later, a 'purple coalition' of Liberals and Social Democrats formed after the Greens lost most of their seats in the 2003 election. The government led by Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt from 1999 to 2007 achieved a balanced budget, some tax reforms, a labor-market reform, scheduled nuclear phase-out, and instigated legislation allowing more stringent war crime and more lenient soft drug usage prosecution. Restrictions on withholding euthanasia were reduced and same-sex marriage legalized. The government promoted active diplomacy in Africa and opposed the invasion of Iraq. Verhofstadt's coalition fared badly in the June 2007 elections. Since then the country has been experiencing a long-lasting political crisis. This crisis is such that many observers have speculated on a possible partition of Belgium.

From the 21 December 2007 until 20 March 2008 the Verhofstadt III Government was in office. This coalition of the Flemish and Humanist Democratic Center (Francophone Christian Democrats), the Flemish and Francophone Liberals together with the Francophone Social Democrats was an interim government until 20 March 2008. On that day a new government, led by Flemish Christian Democrat Yves Leterme, the actual winner of the federal elections of June 2007, was sworn in by the king. On 15 July 2008 Leterme announced the resignation of the cabinet to the king, as no progress in constitutional reforms has been made.

Luxembourg

Luxemburg is a small landlocked principality located between Belgium, France, and Germany. Despite its relatively small size, Luxembourg is a wealthy country with the second highest GDP per capita in the world. Luxembourg is also a founding member of the EU and a member of NATO.

Luxemburg has a relatively small population of 472,000 people, over a third of whom are immigrants. Two-thirds of the Luxembourg worker force is composed of commuter workers and foreign nationals. Although religiously tolerant, Luxemburg is a mostly Christian country with 87% of the population Roman Catholic and the other 13% a mix of different faiths. Luxemburg has three major languages: French and German, which are administrative languages, and Luxembourish, which is the national language. Most people speak all three of these languages.

Luxembourg has a rich and deep history. Luxembourg was founded in 963. In 1354, Charles IV elevated Luxembourg to the status of duchy. Luxembourg was taken over by French forces during the Napoleonic Wars. However, upon the defeat of Napoleon, the Congress of Vienna granted Luxembourg autonomy as a Grand Duchy and was given to William I of the Netherlands. Luxembourg participated in the Belgian revolution of the 1830’s and was part of Belgium for nine years. However, in the first Treaty of London, signed in 1839, Luxembourg was determined to belong to William I with the mostly French speaking part of the Duchy belonging to Belgium. The treaty caused Luxembourg to lose over half of its territory. As the French half of Luxembourg became part of Belgium, Luxembourg became mostly a German state. In 1867 Luxembourg’s independence was formally ratified. Upon its independence, Luxemburg struggled as a poor agriculture society. The lack of social and economic opportunity caused Luxembourgian to emigrate in mass, between 1840 and 1870 alone, about a third of Luxemburg’s population left. In order to escape its agriculture background, Luxemburg began to industrialize. After the discovery of steel ore in 1870, Luxemburg became a major steel produce and a wealthier country. However, in recent years, Luxemburg’s production of steel has declined and the country has focused more on banking and financing services. Because Luxembourg’s economy is so reliant on the financial investment of its neighbors, Luxemburg continues to be extremely supportive of the EU.

Luxembourgian is a constitutional monarchy and a representative democracy. The head of state is the Grand Duke, at present Grand Duke Henri. The monarch’s duties are largely symbolic. Traditionally, the monarch was required to simply approve and promulgate bills up to three months after the law was pasted by the Chamber of Deputies with the understanding that the monarch always approved the laws. However, in 2008, the Grand Duke Henri started the largest constitutional crisis the country had faced in 89 years when he refused to sign a euthanasia bill. Consequently, the Luxemburg legislature amended the constitutions removing the need for monarchial approval for a law to become legal further diminishing the role of the monarchy.

Luxemburg’s parliament is a unicameral national legislature refused to as the Chamber of Deputies. The Chamber has 60 members who serve five-year terms. The proportion of votes each party receives in each circonscrition determines the amount of seats each party receives. The last national election was in held in 2004. All able adults in Luxembourg must vote.

Despite having multiple political parties, Luxembourg’s political system is renowned for its stability. Luxembourg has five political parities represented in the Chamber of Deputies, these include: the Christian Social People’s Party, with 24 seats, the Luxembourg Socialist Worker’s Party, with 14 seats, the Democratic Party, with 10 seats, the Greens, with 7 seats, and the Action Committee for Peace and Pension Justice, with five seats. The dominate party in Luxembourgian politics is the Christian Social People’s Party, which won 36% of the vote in 2004 and has been the party in power since 1979. The Christian Democratic party has a conservative and strongly pro-European ideology and is lead by Francois Bitgen, the current Minister of Labor and Employment. Since 1995, Prime Minister Jean Claude Junker has run the country. Prime Minister Jean Claude Junker has been known for his support of the EU.

Since WWII, Luxemburg’s economy has been dominated by immigrant and commuters labor. 41 percent of Luxembourg’s work force is commuter workers, mostly from Belgium, France, and Germany, while 38 percent of the country’s population is composed of foreign nationals. Of these immigrants, the vast majority are from the EU with the greatest number, 62,000, coming from Portugal. Only six percent of foreign nationals come from third world countries. The large number of immigrant from prosperous EU countries has made integration relatively easy for Luxemburg, allowing it to avoid many of the cultural struggles currently facing its neighbors.

However, despite its success, Luxemburg still faces some problems with regards to integration. Although immigrant children are common in Luxembourg’s schools, Luxembourg’s educational system is, for a variety of reasons, especially difficult for immigrants. In 2006, Luxemburg was rated last in public education by the OECD’s survey for Program for International Student Assessment. The report emphasized “the selective character of Luxembourgian education and its socially unjust character, which exacerbates social inequalities instead of reducing them.” The same report noted how, on average half of fifteen years olds had to repeat classes at least once. The problems associated with school are due in large part to Luxembourg’s trilingual system; this system forces children to learn German, French, and Luxembourgian. Children from countries that speak romance languages find this especially difficult. Also, since Luxemburg bans duel citizenship, it has extremely low levels of nationalization.

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