The Netherlands is a country.
The Netherlands , ( [ ˈnɛðərləndz ] Nederland [ ˈneːdərˌlɑnt ] ; Nederlân ) also known informally as Holland , is the main constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands . It is a densely populated country located in Western Europe with three island territories in the Caribbean.designated Bonaire , Sint Eustatius and Saba within ISO ISO 3166-1 . The Netherlands was the third country in the world to have an elected parliament , and since 1848 it has been governed as a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy , organised as a unitary state . In 2001 , it became the world 's first country to legalise same-sex marriage .