Government and power in the Netherlands

Who leads the Netherlands, how the World Bank's governance indicators score it, how many women sit in parliament and government, what the state spends and taxes, and the official bodies that hold power to account. System of government: Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy (decentralised unitary state).

Who leads the Netherlands?

• Head of state: King Willem-Alexander (King of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange-Nassau)
• Head of government: Rob Jetten (Prime Minister and Minister for General Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
• Foreign minister: Tom Berendsen (Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)

Source: Heads of State, Heads of Government, Ministers for Foreign Affairs: Public List (United Nations Protocol and Liaison Service), list dated 15 October 2026. All world leaders.

Governance scores

The World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators combine surveys of households and firms with assessments by public, private and non-governmental bodies. Each score runs from 0 to 100; higher means the sources rate governance better. They measure perceptions, and each has a margin of error.

Voice and accountability

Measures how far citizens can choose their government, and freedom of expression, association and the media.

Political stability and absence of violence

Measures the likelihood of political instability or politically motivated violence, including terrorism.

Government effectiveness

Measures the quality of public services and the civil service, and how independent they are from political pressure.

Regulatory quality

Measures the government's ability to make and carry out policies that let the private sector develop.

Rule of law

Measures confidence in and respect for the rules of society, including contract enforcement, property rights, the police and the courts.

Control of corruption

Measures how far public power is used for private gain, including petty and grand corruption and "capture" of the state by elites.

Official bodies that hold power in the Netherlands

Government

• Government of the Netherlands
  Cabinet decisions, ministry publications, policy documents and press releases.

Parliament

• House of Representatives
  Bills, plenary reports, motions, votes and member information of the lower house.
• Senate
  Bills under consideration, Senate proceedings and member information.

Elections

• Electoral Council
  Official election results, candidate lists and advice on electoral law.

Courts

• Supreme Court of the Netherlands
  Judgments of the highest court in civil, criminal and tax matters.
• The Dutch judiciary (Rechtspraak)
  Published court rulings and information on Dutch courts, including the Council of State's judicial division.

Public audit

• Netherlands Court of Audit
  Audit reports on central government spending, accountability reviews and policy evaluations.

Ombudsman

• National Ombudsman
  Reports and investigations into complaints about government bodies.

Access to information

• Advisory Board on Public Access and Information Management
  Advice and reports on the Open Government Act and public bodies' information management.

Public contracts

• TenderNed
  Public tender notices and contract awards from Dutch contracting authorities.

Laws and the official gazette

• Wetten.overheid.nl (Dutch legislation database)
  Consolidated texts of Dutch national laws and regulations.
• Official Publications
  The Staatsblad, Staatscourant and parliamentary papers as officially published.

Government below the national level

• Provinces (12): Provincial council (Provinciale Staten) elected every four years; King's Commissioner appointed by the Crown
• Water authorities (waterschappen, 21): General board elected every four years, with some seats reserved for farmers, landowners and businesses
• Municipalities (gemeenten, about 342): Municipal council elected every four years (last March 2026); aldermen (wethouders) chosen by the council; mayor appointed by the Crown for six years on the council's recommendation
• Caribbean Netherlands (Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, Saba): Elected island councils; island governor (gezaghebber) appointed by the Crown

How local power works in the Netherlands

Places in the Netherlands

• All 12 provinces
• The 31 largest cities
• Official statistics for the Netherlands

Sources

• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Voice and accountability (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 70f2804fd1e2…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Political stability and absence of violence (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1317de0c85e1…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Government effectiveness (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a775e808dc65…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Regulatory quality (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 83b57e36ff8c…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Rule of law (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0bccc3c054e8…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Control of corruption (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 3b15a5340cdd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Seats held by women in national parliament (SG.GEN.PARL.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1ae1dc13981a…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Women in ministerial positions (SG.GEN.MNST.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a4e448a5b8bd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Central government spending (GC.XPN.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 808094019f50…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Tax revenue (GC.TAX.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08c94b750f31…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Military spending (MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a7f6913a783b…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Armed forces personnel (MS.MIL.TOTL.P1), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 fa4663c743ba…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Statistical Performance Indicator (overall score) (IQ.SPI.OVRL), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08ac7cde9129…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Births registered (SP.REG.BRTH.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 f8d443034ba7…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: People using the internet (IT.NET.USER.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0d78dc658329…)

Each saved copy is the file exactly as downloaded, kept so the figures can be checked even if the source changes. Report an error.