Western Europe
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Holland or the Netherlands

Population: 16,450,022 inhabitants
Land surface: 41,530 km2
Currency: Euro
GDP per capita: US$ 32,684
Language: Dutch
Religion: Catholics 31%, Dutch Reformed Church 14%, Calvinists 8%, Muslims 3.9%, others 4.1%, do not profess 39%.
Official name: Koninkrijk der Nederlanden. Capital: Amsterdam 1,137,000 inhabitants (1999). Although the government resides in The Hague, Amsterdam remains the official capital of the country.
Other cities (inhabitants – 2000): Rotterdam 1,125,500; The Hague 443,700; Utrecht 232,900; Eindhoven 200,600.
Government: parliamentary constitutional monarchy.

Geography: 38% of the Dutch territory is located below sea level. Intensive farming (dairy cattle and crops such as rye, oats, wheat, potatoes) is carried out. The population density is one of the highest in Europe. It is highly industrialized, and it is also the third largest producer of natural gas. It also has an outstanding participation in the oil industry, with major refineries in the Antilles and in Rotterdam, which is the world center of the free market of oil (spot market). Important petrochemical and electronic industries destined for exportation.

Belgium

Population: 10,480,390 inhabitants Land surface: 30,530 km2 Capital: Brussels (Bruxelles) Currency: Euro
GDP per capita: US$ 32.119
Languages: French, Dutch and German Official name: Koninkrijk België/Royaume de Belgique.
Capital: Brussels 998,000 inhabitants (2003). Brussels is also the capital of the European Union.
Other cities (inhabitants – 2000): Antwerpen 945,800; Liege 620,900; Gent 223,000; Charleroi 201,700. Government: Federal parliamentary state since 1993, under a constitutional monarch
Religion: predominantly Catholic, there are Protestant, Muslim and Jewish minorities.

Geography. To the north of Belgium is the plain of Flanders, which is composed of sand and clay that are deposited by the rivers. In the south is the Ardennes massif, which does not exceed 700 meters. The great coalfield is located there. With high population density, Belgium is an important trading center, thanks to its geographical position and the network of roads covering the northern plain, centered on the port of Antwerp. It is also a major industrial center. The heavy industry is located on the coal basin of Sambre and Meuse while the textile industry is located in Flanders.

Germany

Population: 82,534,214 inhabitants
Land surface: 357,030 km2
Currency: Euro
GDP per capita: US$ 29,461
Language: German
Official name: Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Administrative division: the Federal Republic of Germany is a federal parliamentary state
Capital: Berlin (since 1990) 3,327,000 inhabitants (2003).
Other cities (inhabitants – 2000): Hamburg 3,258,500; Munich 2,342,500; Dresden 1,031,100; Köln 966,500; Frankfurt 73,600.
Government: Horst Köhler, President since July 2004. Angela Merkel, is Chancellor is November 2005
Christian; Protestants (32%) in the north and the east; Catholics (33%), majority in the western part before reunification. Jewish and Muslim minorities (6%).

Geography: In the north there is a great plain. The Baltic coast is rugged, with deep and narrow gulfs. The center consists of a set of ancient mountains, plateaus and sedimentary basins: the Black Forest and the Rhenish Slate are the most noted ancient massifs. The southern region begins in the valley of the Danube and is composed of plateaus (Bavarian Plateau), limited on the southern border by the Bavarian Alps. In the basins of the Rhine and Ems rivers there are large deposits of coal and lignite, which were the basis of industrial development. The heavy industry is concentrated in the Ruhr Valley, the Rhineland and the Lower Saxony. In the former German Democratic Republic, the south is rich in coal, lignite, lead, tin, silver and uranium. The steel, chemical, electrochemical and metallurgical industries are concentrated there.

   1. Indicate to which country the statement refers to: Holland, Belgium or Germany
 

There are herds

 

The capital is Berlin

 

There are large deposits of coal

 

It is the most populous country

 

Has the Plain of Flanders

 

It is the largest country

 

The capital is Amsterdam

 

There are many chemical industries

  

The capital is Brussels

 

There are large oil industries

  

It has the highest GDP per capita

  

It is the coastline of the Baltic Sea

 

It is predominantly Catholic

  

France

Population: 61,945,596 inhabitants
Land surface: 551,500 km2
Currency: Euro
GDP per capita: US$ 30,386
Language: French
Official name: République Française.
Administrative division: 22 regions with 96 departments in France; 4 oversea departments (French Guyana; Guadalupe; Martinique; Reunion); 4 oversea territories (French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna, and the French Southern and Antarctic Lands); 2 oversea territorial collectivities (Mayotte, Saint Pierre and Miquelon).
Capital: París 9.794.000 hab. (2003).
Capital: Paris 9,794,000 inhabitants (2003).
Other cities (inhabitants – 2000): Lyon 2,800,000; Marseille 2,800,000; Toulouse 800,000; Nice 933,080.
Government: Republic. François Hollande, president since May 2012.
Religion: 81.4% of the population is Catholic. The second most practiced religion in the country is Islam.

Geography. In its northern part, from Alsace in the east until Brittany in the west, there is an extension of the mountainous region of Central Europe, with mountains (Vosges) and slightly elevated plateaus and hills. In the center is the Central Mountain area; in the southwestern part of the country there are the Alps; in the south there is the Mediterranean region with mountain ranges (Pyrenees) and plains. Cereals, which are the main agricultural product, occupy half of the cultivated area; wheat is produced in the entire country (mainly in the north and in the Parisian basin). Vines occupy the Mediterranean region. The principal mineral resources are: carbon, iron (in the Lorraine basin) and bauxite (in the south of the country). France is the first world producer if nuclear energy per inhabitant; second is the United States, in installed nuclear capacity. About 77% of the country’s electric energy comes from the 58 nuclear reactors that it has.

Switzerland

Population: 7,512,120 inhabitants
Land surface: 41,290 km2
Currency: Swiss Franc
GDP per capita: US$ 35,633
Language: German, French and Italian
Religion: 47.1% Catholics, 40% Protestants, 2.2% Muslims, 1% Christian-Orthodox Official name: Confoederatio Helvetica (romanche); Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft (German); Confédération Suisse (French); Confederazione Svizzera (Italian).
Administrative division: 20 cantons, 6 sub-cantons.
Capital (inhabitants – 1999): Berne (administrative) 344,000 inhabitants; Lausanne (judicial), 114,600.
Other cities (inhabitants – 2000): Zurich 958,100; Geneva 172,900; Basel 163,600.
Government: parliamentary republic.

Geography. Three fourths of the country is mountainous. It has three natural regions: the Jura Mountain, which borders France, is in the northeast. It is an agricultural region and it is where the watch industry is located. The Mittelland, the subalpine depression between the Jura and the Alps with numerous glacial lakes, is a vital part of the country where industries are concentrated. It is also an agricultural and cattle intensive farming area. The Alps cover more than half the territory, extending from east to west and have peaks of over 4,000 meters. The main activities in this region are dairy farming and tourism.

Austria

Population: 8,391,254 inhabitants
Land surface: 83,870 km2
Currency: Euro
GDP per capita: US$ 33,700
Language: German
Religion: Christianity (Catholics, 84.3%; Protestants, 6%; Evangelical Lutheran, 5%); Islam, 4.2%.
Official name: Republik Osterreich.
Capital: Vienna (Wien) 2,179,000 inhabitants (2003). Other cities: Graz 237,000; Linz 188,200; Salzburg 143,300 (2000).
Government: parliamentary federal republic.

Geography. The greatest part of Austria is on the Alps. In the west, the provinces of Tirol and Vorarlberg are an attractive touristic point. In the eastern Alps, which are less elevated and in great part covered with forests, rye and potato are grown. The valleys between the eastern chain of the Alps (Klagenfurt basin and Styria) are rich agricultural regions, with varied production: corn, wheat, fruit, cattle and poultry. With iron ore and coal, it has great industrial activity in heavy metallurgy. In the north, the subalpine depression extends and is occupied by the Danube valley, a natural path of river circulation.

   2. Indicate to which country the statement refers to: France, Switzerland or Austria.

It has a lot of nuclear development

  

The capital is Berne

  

It is the most inhabited country

 

It has attractive touristic points

 

It is the largest country

  

The capital is Paris

 

It has the highest GDP per capita

 

84.3% of its population is Catholic

  

Half of the land is cultivated

  

The Alps covers almost half of its territory

  

The capital is Vienna

  

It has a watch industry

 

   2. Indicate the capital of each country:

Germany

  

Switzerland

  

France

  

Belgium

  

Austria

  

Holland

  

    3. Other countries of Western Europe

Country Population Extension, km2 Capital Currency Language
Luxemburg 472.066 2.586 Luxemburg Euro Luxembourgish,
French and German
Monaco 32.819 2 Monaco-Ville Euro French
Liechtenstein 35.555 160 Vaduz Swiss Franc German

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®Arturo Ramo García.-Record of intellectual property of Teruel (Spain) No 141, of 29-IX-1999
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