Netherlands

From Gothpoodle

• Population: 16 million
• Aspects: Very Stable, Fifth Wave

The Kingdom of the Netherlands has the highest standard of living anywhere on Earth, and is known worldwide for cutting-edge technical research. Dutch engineers are widely regarded as the best in the world, while Dutch laboratories are at the heart of the new nanotech revolution.

The Netherlands have spent much of the last century embroiled in a heroic struggle against the sea. Much of the country, including all of its major cities, already lay below sea level in 2000. Protecting this land has grown more and more difficult as sea levels have slowly risen. Dutch engineers have more than met the challenge, preserving and even extending the country’s polders, and developing much of the technology used today to build undersea cities. As a result of this experience, Dutch land-reclamation experts are in demand worldwide.

See also Rotterdam.