Official Name: Kingdom of the Netherlands
Population: 16,441,000
Capital: Amsterdam - Pop. 748,000
Area: 41,526 sq. km. / 25,803 sq. miles.
Language: Dutch
Religion: (Mostly none), Protestant, Catholic, Muslim (Mostly none)
Status of Homosexuality: Legal
Telephone Country Code: 31
The Netherlands is a popular destination for gay tourism especially Amsterdam where an LGBT gay pride festival occurs in mid-August. Many gay-owned or gay-friendly hotels, nightclubs and cafes operate in the city. In 1973 Dutch mental health institutions stopped treating homosexuality as an illness and the military lifted its ban on homosexuals. More Dutch LGBT people started to "come out", gay publications such as "Gay Krant" started to be published and the liberal and left-wing Dutch political parties started to support LGBT rights as part of an overall support of social tolerance and liberalism. Isolated verbal and physical attacks on LGBT people tend to come from the socially conservative leadership of the Muslim community and their followers (more than 5% of the population). Political leaders of the conservative Christian parties (accounting for another 5%) oppose gay-rights legislation, however, they do recognize the gay community, and they are all opposed to discrimination of LGBT's. A recent 2006 European Union member poll showed the Dutch to be the strongest supporters of same-sex marriage at 82%.
GlobalGayz is a gay-owned travel, news and culture website focused on les-bi-gay-trans life in countries around the world. It is based on actual visits to far and near countries. Here are Stories, Links, News & Reports and Photo Galleries for more than 190 countries.
