South Holland ( ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.8 million as of January 2023 Ackerdijkse Plassen, a bird reserve north of Rotterdam, and Buytenpark and Westerpark near Zoetermeer. The Kagerplassen are a collection of lakes north-east of Leiden, popular for boating, watersports, fishing, camping and walking.

The southern part of South Holland consists of a number of islands of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. Although technically islands in the sense that they are surrounded by rivers, canals or other bodies of water, most of these islands are well connected to the rest of the province via bridges, tunnels and dams. The southern islands, most notably Goeree-Overflakkee (1 on the map), Tiengemeten (2), Hoeksche Waard (6) and Voorne-Putten (4/5), are largely agrarian, while more to the north, the islands are more urban, such as Dordrecht (7), IJsselmonde (9) and Rozenburg (10), while other islands, like Rozenburg (10), are mostly used for petrochemical industry. Together, these cities form the Rijnmond conurbation, centred on the city of Rotterdam. Together with Haaglanden (centred on The Hague) and Delfland (centred on Delft) in the north, and the Drechtsteden to the south-east, this conurbation in turn forms the South Wing of the Randstad conurbation, which spans across South Holland, North Holland and Utrecht.

Other regions in South Holland include Alblasserwaard, Gouwestreek ("The Gouwe Area"), Hoeksche Waard, Krimpenerwaard, Rijnland ("Rhineland"), Rijnstreek ("The Rhine Area"), Vijfheerenlanden and Westland (roughly including Hook of Holland and the municipalities of Westland and Midden-Delfland).

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RMSDeltaNorth.jpg|A satellite image of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, showing the islands of South Holland

South Holland by Sentinel-2, 2018-06-30.jpg|A satellite image of South Holland

2013-Top33-P08-Zuid-Holland.jpg|A topographic map of South Holland as of 2013

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Climate

Like the rest of the Netherlands, South Holland experiences a temperate oceanic climate, a Cfb-class according to the Köppen climate classification. The climate is influenced by the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, which results in relatively cooler summers and milder winters. Rain showers are common in the fall and winter seasons. Because of the flat surface, wind storms are also not uncommon in the winter. Although rain occurs all year long, the first six months of the year are relatively dry. Eastern winds can result in temporary continental climate conditions with relatively warm and dry summers and cold and stormy winters. The temperature varies between the 2&nbsp;°C and 6&nbsp;°C in the winter and 17&nbsp;°C and 20&nbsp;°C in the summer.

Nature

In 1934 Zuid-Hollands Landschap was founded as the nature conservation organisation in the province. As of 2023 South Holland is covered for 12.7% in half-natural ecosystems.

Subdivisions and municipalities

South Holland is divided into 50 municipalities.

Northern South Holland

The province's northern subregions correspond to the broadcast area of Omroep West.

  • Haaglanden
  • Delft
  • Leidschendam-Voorburg
  • Midden-Delfland
  • Pijnacker-Nootdorp
  • Rijswijk
  • The Hague
  • Wassenaar
  • Westland
  • Zoetermeer
  • Hollands Midden
  • Alphen aan den Rijn
  • Bodegraven-Reeuwijk
  • Gouda
  • Hillegom
  • Kaag en Braassem
  • Katwijk
  • Krimpenerwaard
  • Leiden
  • Leiderdorp
  • Lisse
  • Nieuwkoop
  • Noordwijk
  • Oegstgeest
  • Teylingen
  • Voorschoten
  • Waddinxveen
  • Zoeterwoude
  • Zuidplas

Southern South Holland

The province's southern subregions correspond to the broadcast area of RTV Rijnmond.

  • Rijnmond
  • Albrandswaard
  • Barendrecht
  • Capelle aan den IJssel
  • Goeree-Overflakkee
  • Hoeksche Waard
  • Krimpen aan den IJssel
  • Lansingerland
  • Maassluis
  • Nissewaard
  • Ridderkerk
  • Rotterdam
  • Schiedam
  • Vlaardingen
  • Voorne aan Zee
  • Southeastern South Holland
  • Alblasserdam
  • Dordrecht
  • Gorinchem
  • Hardinxveld-Giessendam
  • Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht
  • Molenlanden
  • Papendrecht
  • Sliedrecht
  • Zwijndrecht

Economy

The Gross domestic product (GDP) of the region was 163.8 billion € in 2018. This contributes to the gross domestic product of the Netherlands by 21.2%. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 38,700 € or 128% of the EU27 average in the same year. South Holland's labour force amounts to 1,661,000 people; 47.1% of the total population. The unemployment rate is 6.1% in 2013.

The main sectors of economical activity in this province are among others:

  • Horticulture is an important sector in South Holland. The province is home to around 2550 glasshouse companies, approximately half of the Netherlands' total. Specifically the Westland is well known for its intensive horticulture. The glasshouses in this region cover an area of , making it the world's largest contiguous greenhouse area.
  • Flower bulb cultivation;
  • Port of Rotterdam;
  • Petrochemical industry, particularly near Rotterdam neighbourhood Pernis; (Shell's refinery there is the largest oil refinery in Europe, and one of the largest in the world);
  • The service-oriented economy of The Hague, where many jobs are offered by the national government (of which the main administrative parts are settled in this town), international institutions and headquarters of several large international businesses;
  • Tourism-related activities (among others in historic places like Delft, and several seaside resorts);
  • Commercial fishing; main South Holland fishing places are Katwijk and Scheveningen;
  • Stockbreeding, of which in this province dairy industry is the main sector.

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File:Waalhaven in Rotterdam 2016.jpg|Waalhaven in the Port of Rotterdam

File:Tulip fields Lisse (13983881641).jpg|Flower fields near Lisse

File:Bollenvelden bij De Zilk.ogv|Drone footage of flower fields near De Zilk

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Religion

In 2015, 18.2% of the population belonged to the Protestant Church in the Netherlands while 16.5% were Roman Catholic, 7.5% Muslim, 1.8% Hindu and 5.7% belonged to other churches or faiths. Over half (50.2%) of the population identified as non-religious.

Notable residents

Among the well-known scientists originating from South Holland are:

  • Christiaan Huygens (1629–1695), mathematician, physicist, astronomer and inventor
  • Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (1632–1723), father of microbiology and developer of the microscope
  • Desiderius Erasmus, philosopher and humanist.

Several prominent painters originate from this province; including:

  • Rembrandt, (Leiden)
  • Jan Steen, (Leiden)
  • Johannes Vermeer, (Delft)

See also

  • List of cities, towns and villages in South Holland
  • Politics of South Holland
  • Zijl

References

  • Province of South Holland website (in Dutch)
  • English home page on Province of South Holland website (limited info in English)
  • Deltaworks Online Website on flood protection in South Holland river delta