Consumers
In 2010, the Netherlands
had a total population of 16.6 million people, which is a relatively high
number considering its small size (approximately 41,000 square kilometres). In
terms of population, the Netherlands
is the largest of the small countries of Western Europe.
It is significantly smaller than neighbouring countries such as France, the United
Kingdom and Germany,
but also considerably more populated than countries of a similar size, such as Belgium, Denmark
and Switzerland.
The Netherlands
is one of the most densely populated countries in the world.
There is
very little discrepancy between rural and urban areas in the Netherlands. Of course, isolated
villages in the north of the provinces of Groningen
or Friesland are strikingly different from cosmopolitan cities like Amsterdam or Rotterdam,
and there are some significant differences when it comes to language, social
behaviour and ethnic composition. However, due to the small size of the
country, almost everyone in the countryside lives within easy distance of at
least a relatively sizeable town.
Consumer expenditure
Household
consumption is divided roughly equally between spending on goods and spending
on services, although the share of services has been edging upwards in recent
years and now comprises just over one-half of the total.
Housing-related spending accounts for around 29 percent of
total household spending, including costs for housing and household fuels, as
well as household goods and services.
