Administrative divisions in Netherlands

Details: Category: Geography

Administrative divisions The Netherlands is divided into twelve administrative regions, called provinces, each under a Governor, who is called Commissaris van de Koningin (Commissioner of the Queen), except for the province Limburg where the commissioner is called Gouverneur (Governor).

All provinces are divided into municipalities (gemeenten), 430 in total (13 March 2010). The country is also subdivided in water districts, governed by a water board (waterschap or hoogheemraadschap), each having authority in matters concerning water management. As of 1 January 2005 there are 27. The creation of water boards actually pre-dates that of the nation itself, the first appearing in 1196. The Dutch water boards are among the oldest democratic entities in the world still in existence. The administrative structure on the 3 BES islands, also known as the Caribbean Netherlands, is different. These islands have the status of openbare lichamen (public bodies) and are generally referred to as special municipalities. They are not part of a province

Provinces of the Netherlands

Flag	Province	Capital	Largest city	Area (km²)	Population 1-1-2010	Density (per km²)
Total				33,751	16,574,989	491
	Drenthe	Assen	Assen	2,641	490,981	186
	Flevoland	Lelystad	Almere	1,417	387,881	274
	Friesland	Leeuwarden	Leeuwarden	3,341	646,305	193
	Gelderland	Arnhem	Nijmegen	4,971	1,998,936	402
	Groningen	Groningen	Groningen	2,333	576,668	247
	Limburg	Maastricht	Maastricht	2,150	1,122,701	522
	North Brabant	's-Hertogenbosch	Eindhoven	4,916	2,444,158	497
	North Holland	Haarlem	Amsterdam	2,671	2,669,084	999
	Overijssel	Zwolle	Enschede	3,325	1,130,345	340
	Utrecht	Utrecht	Utrecht	1,385	1,220,910	882
	Zeeland	Middelburg	Middelburg	1,787	381,409	213
	South Holland	The Hague	Rotterdam	2,814	3,505,611	1,246