Friesland (province)
Friesland (/ˈfriːzlənd/, Dutch: [ˈfrislɑnt] ⓘ; official West Frisian: Fryslân [ˈfrislɔ̃ːn] ⓘ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, named after the Frisians, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of Flevoland, northeast of North Holland, and south of the Wadden Sea. As of January 2023, the province had a population of about 660,000, and a total area of 5,753 km2 (2,221 sq mi).
Friesland
Frisia | |
|---|---|
Province of the Netherlands | |
|
Coat of arms | |
| Anthem: "De Alde Friezen" "The Old Frisians" | |
Location of Friesland in the Netherlands | |
Topography map of Friesland | |
| Coordinates: 53°10′0″N 5°40′1″E | |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Capital (and largest city) | Leeuwarden (Ljouwert) |
| Government | |
| • King's Commissioner | Arno Brok (VVD) |
| • Council | Provincial Council of Friesland |
| Area (2023) | |
| • Total | 5,753 km2 (2,221 sq mi) |
| • Land | 3,340 km2 (1,290 sq mi) |
| • Water | 2,413 km2 (932 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 1st |
| Population (1 January 2023) | |
| • Total | 659,551 |
| • Rank | 8th |
| • Density | 197/km2 (510/sq mi) |
| • Rank | 11th |
| Languages | |
| • Official | West Frisian • Dutch |
| GDP | |
| • Total | €22.633 billion |
| • Per capita | €35,000 |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| ISO 3166 code | NL-FR |
| Religion (2015) | No religion 57.2% Protestant 28.5% Roman Catholic 6.6% Other 6.5% |
| HDI (2018) | 0.905 very high · 10th |
| Website | www |
The province is divided into 18 municipalities. The capital and seat of the provincial government is the city of Leeuwarden (West Frisian: Ljouwert, Liwwaddes: Liwwadde), a city with 123,107 inhabitants. Other large municipalities in Friesland are Sneek (pop. 33,512), Heerenveen (pop. 50,257), and Smallingerland (includes town of Drachten, pop. 55,938). Since 2017, Arno Brok is the King's Commissioner in the province. A coalition of the Christian Democratic Appeal, the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy, the Labour Party, and the Frisian National Party forms the executive branch. The area of the province was once part of the ancient, larger region of Frisia. The land is mostly made up of grassland and it has numerous lakes. The official languages of Friesland are West Frisian and Dutch. It was named after the region of Frisia.