The Netherlands is a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy of twelve provinces with proportional representation and coalition governments. It is a trade-oriented economy with a broad welfare system and a founding member of the European Union and NATO.
In the 12 Axes register, Netherlands leans hardest on Isolationism – Globalism: Globalism 83%; the register median is Globalism 68%.
Take the test and this line shows how close your twelve scores are to Netherlands, and the axis where you differ most.
Where Netherlands sits on each of the twelve axes, in four categories. The label is our estimate; the line under it says why.
Unitary
Decentralised unitary state, twelve provinces
Representative Democracy
Proportional parliament, coalition governments
Liberal
Strong press and civil liberties
Cooperation
Founding EU and NATO member
Neutral
Defence spending rising toward 3.5 percent NATO target
Centrist
Integration courses, tighter asylum rules
Mixed Economic
Universal healthcare insurance, welfare state
Markets
Social market economy, collective bargaining
Globalist
Major trading and port economy
Agnostic
Strict church-state separation
Progressive
Same-sex marriage legal since 2001
Neutral
No distinct state stance
Set against the median of all 195 countries in the register.
Irreligious – Religious
On Irreligious – Religious, Netherlands is at Irreligious 68%. The register median is Religious 68%.
Federal – Unitary
On Federal – Unitary, Netherlands is at Unitary 68%, almost the register median of Unitary 68%.
Closeness is 100 minus the root-mean-square distance on all twelve axes.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · freedomhouse.org
Map: Rob, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons, cropped and resized.
Last updated: 2026-10-15
The tiers on this page are our estimates from public positions and policies. They are not an official statement by the person or the government concerned. Two independent passes scored every axis and a third settled the differences. How the register works. Found a mistake? Write to [email protected].
