located_in_the_administrative_territorial_entity canal through walcheren
___MASK22___ is the capital and most populous municipality ___MASK18___ the Kingdom ___MASK18___ the Netherlands . Its status as the capital is mandated by the Constitution ___MASK18___ the Netherlands , although it is not the seat ___MASK18___ the government , which is The Hague . ___MASK22___ has a population ___MASK18___ 847 , 176 within the city proper , 1 , 343 , 647 in the urban area , and 2 , 431 , 000 in the ___MASK22___ metropolitan area . The city is located in the province ___MASK18___ North Holland in the west ___MASK18___ the country . The metropolitan area comprises much ___MASK18___ the ___MASK43___ part ___MASK18___ the Randstad , one ___MASK18___ the larger conurbations in Europe , with a population ___MASK18___ approximately 7 million . An island or isle is any piece ___MASK18___ sub - continental land that is surrounded by water . Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets , skerries , cays or keys . An island in a river or a lake island may be called an eyot or ait , and a small island off the coast may be called a holm . A grouping ___MASK18___ geographically or geologically related islands is called an archipelago , e . g . the ___MASK32___ . ___MASK56___ Brabant , also unofficially called Brabant , is a province in the ___MASK91___ ___MASK18___ the Netherlands . It borders the provinces ___MASK18___ South Holland and Gelderland to the north , Limburg to the east , ___MASK74___ to the west , and the Belgian provinces ___MASK18___ Antwerp and Limburg to the ___MASK91___ . The northern border follows the Meuse ( Maas ) river westward to its mouth in the Hollands Diep strait , part ___MASK18___ the Rhine  Meuse  Scheldt delta . History . The Duchy ___MASK18___ Brabant was a state ___MASK18___ the Holy Roman Empire established in 1183 or 1190 . It developed from the Landgraviate ___MASK18___ Brabant and formed the heart ___MASK18___ the historic Low Countries , part ___MASK18___ the Burgundian Netherlands from 1430 and ___MASK18___ the Habsburg Netherlands from 1482 , until it was split up after the Dutch revolt . After the War ___MASK18___ Independence , Catholics in the Southern Netherlands were systematically and officially discriminated against by the Northern Protestant government until the second half ___MASK18___ the 20th century , which had a major influence on the economic and cultural development ___MASK18___ the southern part ___MASK18___ the Netherlands . Present - day North Brabant ( Staats - Brabant ) was adjudicated to the Generality Lands ___MASK18___ the Dutch Republic according to the 1648 Peace ___MASK18___ Westphalia , while the reduced duchy remained in existence with the Southern Netherlands until it was conquered by French Revolutionary forces in 1794 . The ___MASK39___ is the main constituent country ___MASK18___ the Kingdom ___MASK18___ the ___MASK39___ . It is a densely populated country located in Western Europe with three island territories in the Caribbean . The European part ___MASK18___ the ___MASK39___ borders Germany to the east , Belgium to the south , and the North Sea to the northwest , sharing maritime borders with Belgium , the United Kingdom , and Germany . The largest cities in the ___MASK39___ are Amsterdam , Rotterdam , The Hague and Utrecht . Amsterdam is the country ' s capital , while The Hague holds the Dutch seat ___MASK18___ government and parliament . The name " Holland " is used to refer informally to the whole ___MASK18___ the country ___MASK18___ the ___MASK39___ . The ___MASK99___ ___MASK18___ Great Britain and ___MASK43___ Ireland , commonly known as the ___MASK99___ ( UK ) or Britain , is a sovereign country in western Europe . Lying off the north - western coast ___MASK18___ the European mainland , it includes the island ___MASK18___ Great Britain ( the name ___MASK18___ which is also loosely applied to the whole country ), the north - eastern part ___MASK18___ the island ___MASK18___ Ireland , and many smaller islands . ___MASK43___ Ireland is the only part ___MASK18___ the UK that shares a land border with another sovereign statethe Republic ___MASK18___ Ireland . Apart from this land border , the UK is surrounded by the ___MASK70___ , with the North Sea to its east , the English Channel to its south and the Celtic Sea to its south - south - west , giving it the 12th - longest coastline in the world . The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland . With an area ___MASK18___ , the UK is the 78th - largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th - largest in Europe . It is also the 21st - most populous country , with an estimated 65 . 1 million inhabitants . Together , this makes it the fourth most densely populated country in the European Union . Zuid - Beveland (" ___MASK91___ Beveland ") is part ___MASK18___ the province ___MASK18___ ___MASK74___ in the Netherlands north ___MASK18___ the Westerschelde and south ___MASK18___ the Oosterschelde . In modern politics and history , a parliament is a legislative , elected body ___MASK18___ government . Generally a modern parliament has three functions : representing the electorate , making laws , and overseeing the government (" i . e .", hearings , inquiries ). ___MASK45___ , officially the Kingdom ___MASK18___ ___MASK45___ , is a sovereign state in Western Europe bordered by France , the Netherlands , Germany , Luxembourg , and the North Sea . It is a small , densely populated country which covers an area ___MASK18___ and has a population ___MASK18___ about 11 million people . Straddling the cultural boundary between Germanic and Latin Europe , ___MASK45___ is home to two main linguistic groups : the Dutch - speaking , mostly Flemish community , which constitutes about 59 % ___MASK18___ the population , and the French - speaking , mostly Walloon population , which comprises 41 % ___MASK18___ all Belgians . Additionally , there is a small group ___MASK18___ German - speakers who live in the East Cantons located around the High Fens area , and bordering Germany . ___MASK8___ ( or "< nowiki >'</ nowiki > s - Gravenhage " ) is a city located in the western coast ___MASK18___ the Netherlands , and the capital city ___MASK18___ the province ___MASK18___ South Holland . A country is a region that is identified as a distinct national entity in political geography . A country may be an independent sovereign state or one that is occupied by another state , as a non - sovereign or formerly sovereign political division , or a geographic region associated with sets ___MASK18___ previously independent or differently associated people with distinct political characteristics . Regardless ___MASK18___ the physical geography , in the modern internationally accepted legal definition as defined by the League ___MASK18___ Nations in 1937 and reaffirmed by the United Nations in 1945 , a resident ___MASK18___ a country is subject to the independent exercise ___MASK18___ legal jurisdiction . ___MASK36___ is a contiguous landmass that is larger and often politically , economically and / or demographically more significant than politically associated remote territories , such as exclaves or oceanic islands situated outside the continental shelf . ___MASK26___ is a region and former province on the western coast ___MASK18___ the Netherlands . The name " ___MASK26___ " is also frequently used to informally refer to the whole ___MASK18___ the country ___MASK18___ the Netherlands . This usage is commonly accepted in other countries , and not entirely uncommon among the Dutch themselves , though some in the Netherlands and particularly in other regions ___MASK18___ the country may find it undesirable , misleading or insulting . ___MASK63___ is the capital and most populous city in the Dutch province ___MASK18___ ___MASK63___ . It is located in the eastern corner ___MASK18___ the Randstad conurbation and is the fourth largest city in the Netherlands with a population ___MASK18___ in . The Kingdom ___MASK18___ the Netherlands , commonly known as the Netherlands , is a sovereign state and constitutional monarchy with territory in western Europe and in the Caribbean . The ___MASK68___ Sea is a marginal sea ___MASK18___ the ___MASK70___ located between Great Britain , Scandinavia , Germany , the Netherlands , Belgium , and France . An epeiric ( or " shelf ") sea on the European continental shelf , it connects to the ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Sea in the north . It is more than long and wide , with an area ___MASK18___ around . The Canal through Walcheren in the ___MASK39___ crosses the east ___MASK18___ Walcheren . It connects the Westerschelde and the Oosterschelde . The railroad entering Walcheren from the east does not cross this canal , but bends south and runs along it . ___MASK72___ , officially the Federal Republic ___MASK18___ ___MASK72___ , is a federal parliamentary republic in central - western Europe . It includes 16 constituent states , covers an area ___MASK18___ , and has a largely temperate seasonal climate . With about 82 million inhabitants , ___MASK72___ is the most populous member state ___MASK18___ the European Union . After the United States , it is the second most popular immigration destination in the world . ___MASK72___ ' s capital and largest metropolis is Berlin . Other major cities include Hamburg , Munich , ___MASK6___ , Frankfurt , Stuttgart and Düsseldorf . The ___MASK65___ ( or ) is a region that consists ___MASK18___ the ___MASK65___ Sea , its islands ( some surrounded by the ___MASK65___ Sea and some bordering both the ___MASK65___ Sea and the North ___MASK70___ ) and the surrounding coasts . The region is southeast ___MASK18___ the ___MASK12___ and the North American mainland , east ___MASK18___ Central America , and north ___MASK18___ South America . Western ___MASK7___ , also ___MASK59___ ___MASK7___ , is the region comprising the western part ___MASK18___ the European continent . There may be differences between the geopolitical and purely geographic definitions ___MASK18___ the term . ___MASK81___ is a city in the ___MASK39___ , located in ___MASK87___ , within the ___MASK82___  ___MASK86___  Scheldt river delta at the North Sea . Its history goes back to 1270 when a dam was constructed in the Rotte river by people settled around it for safety . In 1340 ___MASK81___ was granted city rights by the Count ___MASK18___ Holland and slowly grew into a major logistic and economic centre . Nowadays it is home to Europe ' s largest port and has a population ___MASK18___ 633 , 471 ( city proper ), ranking second in the ___MASK39___ . The Greater Rijnmond area is home to approximately 1 . 4 million people and the ___MASK81___ The Hague Metropolitan Area makes for the 168th most populous urban area in the world . ___MASK81___ is part ___MASK18___ the yet larger Randstad conurbation with a total population ___MASK18___ 7 , 100 , 000 . Originally , Walcheren was an island , but polders and a dam across the Oosterschelde have connected it to the ( former ) island ___MASK18___ Zuid - Beveland , which in turn has been connected to the North Brabant mainland .