dutch (netherlands)

There are twelve provinces of the Netherlands (Dutch: provincies van Nederland), representing the administrative layer between the national government and the local municipalities, with responsibility for matters of subnational or regional importance.
The most populous province is South Holland, with just over 3.7 million inhabitants as of January 2020, and also the most densely populated province with 1,374/km2 (3,559/sq mi). With 383,488 inhabitants, Zeeland has the smallest population. However Drenthe is the least densely populated province with 188/km2 (487/sq mi). In terms of area, Friesland is the largest province with a total area of 5,749 km2 (2,220 sq mi). If water is excluded, Gelderland is the largest province by land area at 4,964 km2 (1,916 sq mi). The province of Utrecht is the smallest with a total area of 1,560 km2 (602 sq mi), while Flevoland is the smallest by land area at 1,412 km2 (545 sq mi). In total about 10,000 people were employed by the provincial administrations in 2018.The provinces of the Netherlands are joined in the Association of Provinces of the Netherlands (IPO). This organisation promotes the common interests of the provinces in the national government of the Netherlands in The Hague.

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