5 facts about Holland


  1. Not all Dutch people are from Holland or from Europe: Holland is an area in the Netherlands, now the provinces of North Holland (Noord-Holland) and South Holland (Zuid-Holland). Due to a history of colonialism, three Caribbean islands are still part of the Netherlands. They are Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba. Their citizens are Dutch and can vote in EU elections.
  2. The Wilhelmus is the oldest national anthem in the world: Both the words and music date from the 16th century, and in it, the Dutch king speaks of his German blood and describes his loyalty to the Spanish crown.
  3. The head of state is King Willem-Alexander: He became king in April 2013, aged 46 when his mother, Queen Beatrix, abdicated at the age of 75. He's the first Dutch king in 123 years, following three queens.
  4.  87 percent of Dutch people speak English: The Netherlands was rated third in the world in 2013 for English proficiency as a second language, as rated by the English Proficiency Index (EPI) published by Education First. According to an EU report from 2005, 97 percent of Dutch people say Dutch is their mother tongue, and 91 percent say they speak at least one other language to a conversational level. Also, 66 percent speak German, meaning many must speak at least three languages!
  5. Both Nederlands (Dutch) and Fryslân (Frisian) are official languages: Estimates suggest that less than 400,000 people speak Frisian, so far more Dutch people speak English. Limburgish, Dutch Low Saxon and Gronings are also recognised minority languages.

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