Netherlands is a small country on the North Sea in northwestern Europe. It is bordered by Belgium and Germany. The Netherlands is often called Holland, but this name officially refers only to the western part of the country. The people of the Netherlands call themselves Nederlanders. They are also known as the Dutch.

"God created the world, but the Dutch created Holland," according to an old Dutch saying. More than two-fifths of the country's land was once covered by the sea, or by lakes or swamps. The Dutch "created" this land by pumping out the water. These drained areas, called polders, became some of the richest farmlands of the Netherlands. To make a polder, the Dutch build a dike around the area to be drained of water. The water is then pumped into a series of drainage canals. Windmills were once used to run the pumps, but electric motors have replaced most of them. Most polders are below sea level, and they collect excess water through seepage. As a result, pumping must continue after the polders are built. The Zuider Zee, once a large inlet of the North Sea, was cut off from the sea in 1932 by a dike 20 miles (32 kilometers) long. This development changed the Zuider Zee into a freshwater lake called the IJsselmeer. Much of the lake was then drained to make several large polders. This project added 637 square miles (1,650 square kilometers) of land for new farms and cities. The Netherlands gained an entire new province, Flevoland.

The people of the Netherlands have great pride in their long battle against the sea. Because their country is one of the most densely populated countries in the world, they take extreme care to protect their hard-won land and to plan wisely the use of every acre. Several times during their history, however, the Dutch have opened the dikes and flooded the land to save their country from invaders. Most of the Netherlands is flat, though it has some uplands. Many canals cut through the country. They not only drain the land but also serve as waterways. Dairy farming is the most important form of agriculture in the Netherlands. The processing of dairy products is a major branch of Dutch manufacturing.