The Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy located to the west of Germany and to the north of Belgium. It has an area of 41,160 square kilometres. Its capital city is Amsterdam, but the administrative centre is in The Hague. The Netherlands is popularly known as "Holland". This name strictly applies to the two north-western provinces of the country, North and South Holland, which played an important role in the countries history.

The Netherlands had a population of 15,807,641 in July 1999 with a growth rate of 0.47%. Dutch is the national language, however English is also widely spoken. The two main religions are Roman Catholic and Protestant.

The climate in the Netherlands is temperate. Temperatures range from 1.7°C to 17°C in the summer months. Approximately half of the country lies below sea level. Dykes and pumps are required to keep the land dry. The Netherlands are divided into two main regions, the Low Netherlands, which are those areas which would be regularly flooded by the sea without dykes, and the High Netherlands, the area which is high enough to escape the flooding. The Netherlands has traditionally been an international trade nation and formerly had a substantial empire.

The economy is based on private enterprise with the government's presence felt in many aspects of the economy. Industry includes food processing, petroleum refining and metalworking. The agricultural sector employs only 4% of the labour force, but provides large surplus for export. The labour force amounts to 7 million individuals. With unemployment at an estimate of 4.1% for 1998. The currency of the Netherlands is the Euro.

The development of franchising in the Netherlands over the last 10 years has been very marked.

The Netherlands Franchise Association is a member of the European Franchise Federation.

There is no specific franchise law in the Netherlands.