Flag of the Netherlands
Officially Kingdom of the Netherlands
Locally Nederland
What the flag looks like
Three equal horizontal stripes of red, white and blue.
What it means
It derives from the orange-white-blue 'Prince's Flag' of William of Orange; the orange was gradually replaced by red in the 17th century.
How to remember it
The Dutch flag is red-white-blue with a dark navy bottom; Luxembourg's
bottom is light sky-blue, and Paraguay
adds a crest in the middle.
Fun facts
- On King's Day and royal occasions the flag is flown with an orange pennant above it, honoring the House of Orange.
- About a quarter of the Netherlands lies below sea level.
Netherlands at a glance
- Capital
- Amsterdam
- Region
- Western Europe
- Population
- 18 million
- Area
- 41,850 km²
- Languages
- Dutch
- Currency
- Euro (€)
- Flag adopted
- 1937
Flags often confused with the Netherlands
- Luxembourg: Luxembourg and the Netherlands are both red, white and blue horizontal stripes. Luxembourg's bottom stripe is a lighter sky blue; the Netherlands' is a darker blue.
- Paraguay: The Netherlands and Paraguay are both red, white and blue horizontal stripes. Paraguay has a round emblem in the center of the white stripe; the Dutch flag is plain.
- Croatia: Croatia and the Netherlands are both red, white and blue horizontal stripes. Croatia has a red-and-white checkerboard shield in the center; the Netherlands is plain.
- France: France and the Netherlands both use red, white and blue. France's stripes are vertical, blue first; the Netherlands' are horizontal, red on top.