Holland is a small country in Europe which is totally flat. That is because the land was reclaimed by a series of dykes, having originally been below sea level. Holland is bordered by Germany to the east and Belgium to the south. To the west it faces the UK across the North Sea. There are various Caribbean islands which also belong to Holland.

Holland is also known as The Kingdom of Netherlands. In fact the term Holland only refers to two provinces within Holland - North Holland and South Holland. As a low lying country which is below sea-level Holland is also known as the Lowlands.
Today it is a parliamentary democracy which is under Constitutional Monarchy. But it was once part of the Holy Roman Empire before national hero William of Orange led the Dutch revolt.
The Dutch have always been a seafaring people and used their large navy to create a sizeable empire which included Indonesia. The Dutch also created settlements in South Africa and New York. Back home they made their own country highly developed and some economic historians think that Holland was the world’s first capitalist country. Holland is considered to be a very liberal country as prostitution and soft drug use are tolerated. However that attitude is changing rapidly at the behest of the people and many of the brothels and pot bars are being closed down. The country is a member of NATO and the European Union.

Holland is extremely picturesque because Dutch people have striven to make their otherwise featureless landscape very attractive with stunning architecture. The country prides itself on being tolerant of races and religions, although the flood of immigrants has panicked many Dutch nationals. Holland is also home to some of the foremost art galleries in the world. Holland makes fantastic cheeses and breads, and increasingly international food is part of the Dutch cuisine, especially Indonesian food.

Holland is one of the most densely populated countries in the world with 16 million people packed into a small country. While Dutch people make up 80% up the population there are a lot of immigrants including Indonesians, Turkish, Surinamese, Moroccan, Caribbean and some others. Because of that there is a growing prevalence of Muslims. However most Dutch people are not religious. The most prevalent religion is Roman Catholic and there are also a lot of Dutch Reformed, Calvinist and other Protestants.