Difference Between Holland and Netherlands

Holland vs Netherlands

Netherlands and Holland are understood to be the same country by many people. People use the names “Holland” and “Netherlands” interchangeably. It is the same tendency as using “United Kingdom” and “England” interchangeably which is called “pars pro toto, taking a part for the whole.” The simplest way to explain the difference between Holland and Netherlands is that the Netherlands is a country, and one of its regions is called Holland.

Actually, there are two different provinces, North Holland and South Holland which are in the western part of the Netherlands. It is a maritime region and is situated in the North Sea. In general language, “Netherlands” being called “Holland” and “Holland” being called “Netherlands” is acceptable. The people living in the Holland province and in other provinces of the Netherlands being called Dutch is also accepted universally yet it is not appreciated very much by the people living in other provinces of the Netherlands than the Holland region.

Netherlands is a country located in Northwestern Europe. It is formally known as the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has land in the Caribbean. In the north and west is the North Sea; in the South is Belgium, and in the West is the United Kingdom and Germany. It is mainly coastal lowlands, and the climate in general is northern maritime with mild winters and cool summers. People living in the Netherlands are predominantly Dutch, but there are other large, minority communities of Turks and Moroccans. The people are predominantly Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Muslims.

The language spoken in the country as a whole is Dutch which is also referred to as “Nederlands” by people living in provinces other than North and South Holland. The Netherlands has twelve provinces. It is a parliamentary democracy and has a Constitutional monarch.

People living in Holland are called “Hollanders” by the people of the country. It does not include people from other provinces of the country, but many people (foreigners) make the mistake of considering them as people from any and all parts of the Netherlands.

The language predominantly spoken in Holland is Dutch. The Hollanders refer to it as Holland instead of “Nederlands,” which is used to refer to the Dutch by people of other provinces of the Netherlands. People in other provinces of the Netherlands indicate people with a Hollandic dialect as “Hollanders.”

The North and South Holland region together consist of three of the largest cities of the Netherlands which are the seat of the government, The Hague; Amsterdam, the country’s capital; and Rotterdam, the largest European port.

Summary:

1.The Netherlands, formally known as the Kingdom of the Netherlands, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Holland, or South and North Holland are two provinces in the western part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
2.People living in the Netherlands as a whole are called Dutch; people living in Holland are specifically called Hollanders.
3.The language spoken in the Netherlands is sometimes referred to as “Nederlands”; the language spoken by people in Holland is referred to as Hollandic. They are different dialects of the Dutch language.

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