Market facts - The Netherlands

• Gateway to Europe: The strategic geographical location, excellent infrastructure and its expertise in logistics and transportation, make the Netherlands a preferred location to service markets within the European Union as well as Central and Eastern Europe.
• The Netherlands is the fifth-largest exporter of goods in the world. In fact, we are the second-largest exporter of agricultural products worldwide!
• The Netherlands ranks 7th in the world for GDP per capita.
• The Netherlands is the seventh-largest importer of goods in the world.
• The Netherlands has the sixth-largest economy in the EU.
• The Netherlands ranks 7th on most competitive economy worldwide.
• The Netherlands ranks 3rd on high average income worldwide.
• The Netherlands is the world’s 8th largest recipient of Inward Foreign Investment.
• The Netherlands is the 7th largest foreign investor in the world in other countries.
• The Randstad region (includes the cities Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht and The Hague) is the fourth largest economic urban region in the European Union.
• Around 10,000 foreign companies have established operations in the Netherlands, including the likes of Astellas, Boeing, Bombardier, Bosch, Daewoo, Danone, Dow, Fujifilm, Eastman Chemical, Heinz, Hitachi, RWE, SABIC, Samsung, Saudi Aramco, Siemens, Tata Consultancy Services, BASF, Cisco Systems, Microsoft, Nike, Sabic and Yakult.
• 1,308 foreign owned headquarters (domestic, Benelux, EMEA, European and global) are located in the Netherlands.
• Around 743 European and 66 EMEA foreign owned headquarters are situated in the Netherlands.
• Over 2,000 (2,127) international companies are located in the Amsterdam area.
• The Netherlands is home to 2,169 North American firms.
• Over 800 (827) foreign owned European Distribution Centres are situated in the Netherlands.
• There are 14 Dutch companies in Fortune 500 2011 ranking: Shell, ING Group, Aegon, EADS, LyondellBasell Industries, Royal Ahold, Royal Philips Electronics, Rabobank Group, GasTerra, Heineken Holding, SHV Holdings and Akzo Nobel. (Britain/Netherlands: Unilever; Belgium/Netherlands: Ageas).
• Dutch-based multinationals, such as Heineken, Philips, ING, Ahold and Akzo Nobel have made substantial foreign investments in the past.
• The Netherlands ranks 13th on the international congress destination rankings, as published by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) in 2010.
• 40% out of the 49,8 million passengers at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol travelled for business reasons in 2011.
• More than 11,3 million foreign visitors in the Netherlands every year.

Sources: Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation, Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency, Statistics Netherlands (and others if applicable).