Holland

This article is about the region in the Netherlands, not the country itself. For the country of the Netherlands as a whole, see Netherlands. For other uses of "Holland", see Holland (disambiguation).

Holland
North and South Holland (in orange) shown together within the Netherlands
Country	Netherlands
Largest settlements	List[show]
Area
• Total	5,488 km2 (2,119 sq mi)
Population (January 2015)[1]
• Total	6,318,401
• Density	1,200/km2 (3,000/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Hollander
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)

Holland is a region and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. The name Holland is also frequently used to informally refer to the whole of the country of the Netherlands. This usage is commonly accepted in other countries, and not entirely uncommon among the Dutch themselves, though some in the Netherlands and particularly in other regions of the country may find it undesirable,^[2] misleading or insulting.^[3]
From the 10th to the 16th century, Holland proper was a unified political region within the Holy Roman Empire as a county ruled by the Counts of Holland. By the 17th century, Holland had risen to become a maritime and economic power, dominating the other provinces of the newly independent Dutch Republic.
The area of the former County of Holland roughly coincides with the two current Dutch provinces of North Holland and South Holland, which together include the Netherlands' three largest cities: the de jure capital city of Amsterdam; Rotterdam, home of Europe's largest port; and the seat of government of The Hague.