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Section sizes Section size for Netherlands (54 sections) Section name Byte count Prose size (words) Header Total Header Total (Top) 21,837 21,837 504 504 Etymology 57 10,320 0 599 Netherlands and the Low Countries 3,297 3,297 211 211 Holland 5,650 5,650 298 298 Dutch 1,316 1,316 90 90 History 49 48,629 0 3,892 Prehistory (before 800 BC) 4,730 4,730 269 269 Celts, Germanic tribes and Romans (800 BC–410 AD) 5,105 5,105 548 548 Early Middle Ages (411–1000) 6,039 6,039 498 498 High Middle Ages (1000–1384) 2,928 2,928 238 238 Burgundian, Habsburg and Spanish Habsburg Netherlands (1384–1581) 9,046 9,046 753 753 Dutch Republic (1581–1795) 8,553 8,553 704 704 Batavian Republic and Kingdom (1795–1890) 5,033 5,033 429 429 World wars and beyond (1890–present) 3,878 7,146 214 453 Decolonisation 3,268 3,268 239 239 Geography 4,258 26,440 318 1,591 Geology 1,020 1,020 105 105 Floods 6,126 6,126 406 406 Delta Works 3,056 3,056 294 294 Climate change 3,288 3,288 164 164 Nature 6,113 6,113 215 215 Caribbean islands 2,579 2,579 89 89 Government and politics 6,498 22,613 351 1,097 Political culture 3,486 3,486 196 196 Administrative divisions 6,660 6,660 157 157 Foreign relations 2,030 2,030 135 135 Military 3,939 3,939 258 258 Economy 9,067 18,092 549 1,073 Energy 3,875 3,875 277 277 Agriculture and natural resources 5,150 5,150 247 247 Demographics 9,356 32,766 475 2,247 Language 6,287 6,287 321 321 Religion 9,036 9,036 681 681 Education 2,729 2,729 318 318 Healthcare 5,358 5,358 452 452 Transport 1,445 12,775 49 614 Road transport 2,192 2,192 72 72 Public transport 1,714 1,714 110 110 Cycling 2,721 2,721 116 116 Water transport 2,032 2,032 136 136 Air transport 2,671 2,671 131 131 Culture 49 24,523 0 2,080 Art, architecture and philosophy 3,489 3,489 293 293 Dutch value system 2,468 2,468 166 166 Music 4,180 4,180 470 470 Film and television 4,387 4,387 264 264 Sports 3,725 3,725 332 332 Cuisine 5,220 5,220 523 523 Cheeses 1,005 1,005 32 32 See also 86 86 0 0 Notes 24 24 0 0 References 28 803 0 0 Sources 775 775 0 0 External links 1,973 1,973 0 0 Total 220,881 220,881 13,697 13,697

The first sentence states:

"The Netherlands, informally Holland, is a country ..."

However, referring to the whole country as 'Holland' is discouraged by the Dutch government and often considered a faux pas by inhabitants of the other regions of the country (See also this entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminology_of_the_Low_Countries#Holland). Given that the context of the country page is the country, would it not be more correct to rephrase it to as something along the lines of 'The Netherlands, historically also referred to as Holland, is a country ...'. Or perhaps leave it out entirely here, since there are other pages discussing it? 2A02:A442:777E:2:F984:D5FD:A19F:50C3 (talk) 11:41, 18 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Many, if not most, English speakers primarily call the country "Holland". It's up to Wikipedia to reflect this in the lead without wagging its finger on behalf of people who don't like this. "Historically" isn't even correct, because that usage is current, it isn't something found only in older publications. In the section on the country's name, it's appropriate to point out (in a neutral tone) that it's a semantic shift from the names of the provinces.

I've struck out some of what I wrote originally because on reflection I realized that in previous discussions along the same lines, I've perhaps conflated what people say with what's found in reliable sources. I'm now thinking a priori that perhaps reliable sources consistently use "Netherlands", in which case it would be reasonable to qualify the use of "Holland" in the lead as "often popularly called" or something like that. I still reject the position of some that we should engage in finger-wagging by writing something like "erroneously". And "historically", as I wrote above, is incorrect. Largoplazo (talk) 12:42, 18 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The usage is informal in English. Anon uses "however" yet says in many words the same. It's an I don't like it argument without merit. No cumbersome passive language will describe informal better. In most other languages the usage is formal. In Dutch and English, Holland is a synonym for the Netherlands, including in leading dictionaries of the Netherlands. As you correctly point out, the qualification of "historical" is false. gidonb (talk) 02:09, 4 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I am not convinced that many reliable sources refer to the Netherlands as Holland these days. Very much ^{[citation needed]} . Unless a significant number of very reliable and well-known sources can be cited, the phrase "informally Holland" needs to be removed or, at least, significantly reworded. Like "England" vs "UK", this is a mistake that happened a lot twenty years ago, but rarely happens in 2025. Andrew Oakley (talk) 20:09, 1 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The lead should be changed and the reference to 'Holland' ought to be removed. The article on the United Kingdom doesn't mention that the UK is informally referred to as 'England' either.Vlaemink (talk) 11:28, 30 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Vlaemink I disagree. Many English-speaking persons still refer to the country as Holland, and as such I think it should be recognizable in the lead. Thayts ••• 12:10, 19 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]

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Under Sports, it says "Approximately 4.5 million of the 16.8 million people in the Netherlands are registered in one of the 35,000 sports clubs in the country." but the population of the Netherlands is now 18.4 million. Faithctl (talk) 19:08, 21 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]

 Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. Day Creature (talk) 19:31, 21 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, I realized that the coat of arms don't really match. When I went on the main country page, I saw it was a different coat of arms. When I went to the main coat of arms page it was different. This isn't only for this page, but many others too. Would it be OK if I edited them? Dynamismcool (talk) 22:51, 14 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I realized that they didn't match at all. Dynamismcool (talk) 12:04, 16 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I also found this: Koninklijk wapen van het koninkrijk der Nederlanden.svg. Can I swap the coat of arms of this page with this one? Dynamismcool (talk) 19:48, 22 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Is it fine if I add "The" to the title for it to be, "The Netherlands" like, "The Gambia"? Dynamismcool (talk) 13:45, 6 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]

This is specifically prohibited by the guidelines. Wikipedia:Naming conventions (definite or indefinite article at beginning of name). Largoplazo (talk) 13:50, 6 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Ok, I was just wondering :). Dynamismcool (talk) 20:57, 6 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]