The Hague

The Hague
Den Haag
's-Gravenhage
Nicknames: 
De Hofstad, De Residentie, Agga, 070
Motto(s): 
Vrede en Recht (Peace and Justice)
Highlighted position of The Hague in a municipal map of South Holland
Location within South Holland
The Hague is located in Netherlands
The Hague
The Hague
Location within the Netherlands
The Hague is located in Europe
The Hague
The Hague
Location within Europe
Coordinates: 52°04′48″N 04°18′36″E / 52.08000°N 4.31000°E / 52.08000; 4.31000
CountryNetherlands
ProvinceSouth Holland
SubregionHaaglanden
District
Government
 • BodyMunicipal council
 • MayorJan van Zanen (VVD)
 • Aldermen
List
Area
 • Municipality98.13 km2 (37.89 sq mi)
 • Land82.45 km2 (31.83 sq mi)
 • Water15.68 km2 (6.05 sq mi)
 • Urban
286.31 km2 (110.54 sq mi)
 • Metro
1,256.40 km2 (485.10 sq mi)
 • Randstad4,384.10 km2 (1,692.71 sq mi)
Elevation1 m (3 ft)
Population
 (1 January 2021)[3][5][6]
 • Municipality549,163
 • Density6,650/km2 (17,200/sq mi)
 • Urban
883,720
 • Metro
2,390,101 [a]
 • Randstad
6,396,416
DemonymHagenaar or Hagenees
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postcodes
2490–2599
Area code070, 015
Websitewww.denhaag.nl (in Dutch)
Map
Click on the map for a fullscreen view

The Hague[b] is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of the Netherlands is Amsterdam, The Hague has been described as the country's de facto capital since the time of the Dutch Republic.[7]

The Hague is the core municipality of the Greater The Hague urban area containing over 800,000 residents, and is also part of the Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan area, which, with a population of approximately 2.6 million, is the largest metropolitan area of the Netherlands. The city is also part of the Randstad region, one of the largest conurbations in Europe.

The Hague is the seat of the Cabinet, the States General, the Supreme Court, and the Council of State of the Netherlands.[8] King Willem-Alexander officially lives in the Huis ten Bosch and works at the Noordeinde Palace together with Queen Máxima.[9] Most foreign embassies in the Netherlands are in the city. The Hague is also home to the headquarters of many Dutch companies, with Shell plc having major offices in the city as well. The Royal Library of the Netherlands is also located there. The Hague's coastal area includes the popular seaside resort Scheveningen.

The Hague is known as the home of international law and arbitration. The International Court of Justice, the main judicial arm of the United Nations, is in the city, as are the International Criminal Court, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Europol, and approximately 200 other international governmental organizations.[10] The name "The Hague" is commonly used as a totum pro parte to refer to either of the international courts that reside in the city.

  1. ^ "College van burgemeester en wethouders" [Municipal executive] (in Dutch). Gemeente Den Haag. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  2. ^ "Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2020" [Key figures for neighbourhoods 2020]. StatLine (in Dutch). CBS. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  3. ^ a b Anita Bouman–Eijs; Thijmen van Bree; Wouter Jonkhoff; Olaf Koops; Walter Manshanden; Elmer Rietveld (17 December 2012). De Top 20 van Europese grootstedelijke regio's 1995–2011; Randstad Holland in internationaal perspectief [Top 20 of European metropolitan regions 1995–2011; Randstad Holland compared internationally] (PDF) (Technical report) (in Dutch). Delft: TNO. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  4. ^ "Postcodetool for 2511BT". Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland (in Dutch). Het Waterschapshuis. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  5. ^ "Bevolkingsontwikkeling; regio per maand" [Population growth; regions per month]. CBS Statline (in Dutch). CBS. 1 January 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  6. ^ "Bevolkingsontwikkeling; Regionale kerncijfers Nederland" [Regional core figures Netherlands]. CBS Statline (in Dutch). CBS. 1 January 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  7. ^ Kaufmann, David (2018). Varieties of Capital Cities: The Competitiveness Challenge for Secondary Capitals. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78811-643-5. OCLC 1049802517.
  8. ^ Daum, Andreas (2005). Berlin – Washington, 1800–2000 Capital Cities, Cultural Representation, and National Identities. Cambridge University Press. pp. 13, 38. ISBN 0521841178. Archived from the original on 3 May 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2015. Amsterdam is the statuary capital of the Netherlands, while the Dutch government resides in De Hague. (sic) (p. 13) The Dutch seat of government is The Hague but its capital is bustling Amsterdam, the national cultural centre. (p. 38)
  9. ^ Huis ten Bosch Palace Archived 31 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine at "The Official Website of the Dutch Royal House in English", maintained by the Netherlands Government Information Service.
  10. ^ "Internationale organisaties in Den Haag". Gemeente Den Haag (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 4 February 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2019.


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