What Country is Amsterdam In?

Amsterdam is the most populated municipality and the capital of the Netherlands. Amsterdam’s status as the Netherlands’s capital is mandated by their constitution, even though the Dutch government exercises most of its duties from the Hague. It is in the North Holland province which is in the western parts of the Netherlands. It is not the capital of North Holland province (that designation belongs to Haarlem). The Netherlands is a Western Europe state with over 17.25 million citizens. Holland together with Saba, Bonaire and Sint Eustatius form a constituent nation known as the Netherlands Kingdom. The city has a population of over 2,410,960 people in the metropolitan region, 1,351,587 individuals in the urban region and 851,373 residents in the city proper.

History Of Amsterdam

The name "Amsterdam’" is derived from the term "Amsterlredamme" which shows that the city originated from the area around the dam in Amstel River. It started as a fishing village during the late twelfth century, and by the seventeenth century, it was one of the most crucial ports on earth. Amsterdam was the leading diamonds and financial center in the seventeenth century. Amsterdam started expanding in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries when various suburbs and neighborhoods were designed and built. Amsterdam has numerous canals including Keizersgracht, Prinsengracht, and Herengracht which were dug during the seventeenth century. The oldest part of the city is in Sloten municipality. Amsterdam annexed the Sloten municipality in 1921.

Immigration And Diversity

Amsterdam is one of the most diverse cities on the planet as it is home to over 180 nationalities. Most of the different cultures and languages arrived in the city after World War II. Over 50% of the city proper’s population is of immigrant origin and about 88% of the people living in the Amsterdam city are Dutch citizens. Amsterdam is one of the municipalities in the country that provides free Dutch-Language courses to the immigrants.

The first immigrants to arrive in the city during the twentieth century were the Indonesians. The Indonesians migrated to Amsterdam after the Dutch East Indies gained its independence. Guest workers from Spain, Italy, Morocco and Turkey immigrated into the city in the 1960s. The Surinamese settled in the city after Suriname became independent in 1975. Other immigrants came from Africa, Asia, America and Europe.

Economy Of Amsterdam

The city is the business and financial capital of Netherlands. Amsterdam is the fifth best place in Europe to establish an international, and it surpassed Barcelona, Frankfurt, Paris and London. Many large banks and corporations have their headquarters in Amsterdam, and this includes Philips, Booking.com, ING Group, Heineken International and AkzoNobel among others. The city has three financial districts, the first one is around the Amsterdam Sloterdijk Railway, the other is around Johan Cruyff Arena, and the third one is in Amsterdam-Amstel railway station.

The Amsterdam port is the second largest port in the Netherlands and the thirty-eighth largest on earth by metric tons of cargo. The port has the largest cruise port in the country which receives over one hundred and fifty cruise ships annually. The city plans to accommodate over 125 million tons of cargo by 2019 after they open the new port in Ijmuiden. The AEX (Amsterdam Stock Exchange) which is part of Euronext is the largest bourses in Europe and the oldest stock exchange in the world.