The Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan area () is a

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...

encompassing the cities of

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

and

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

as well as 21 other municipalities. It was founded in 2014. The area has a population of approximately 2.7 million across . It is the largest European

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

, with many international organizations residing within its borders. The area is also part of the larger urban area called

Randstad The Randstad (; "Rim City" or "Edge City") is a roughly crescent- or Circular arc, arc-shaped conurbation in the Netherlands, that includes almost half the country's population. With a central-western location, it connects and comprises the Net ...

. Air traffic is supported by Rotterdam-The Hague Airport offering services to a number of European cities, however the majority of air travelers use

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol Amsterdam Airport Schiphol , known informally as Schiphol Airport (, ), is the main international airport of the Netherlands, and is one of the major hubs for the SkyTeam airline alliance. It is located southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipal ...

, which is about 45 kilometers from The Hague. Light rail public transport in the area is offered by RandstadRail, Rotterdam Metro, The Hague tram, and Rotterdam tram, heavy rail public transport is provided by the Dutch railways.

Goal

The main reason for the cooperation is economic, to keep and make the area more attractive to international companies and organizations.

Economy

The area has two main cores, the cities of Rotterdam and The Hague. The city of

Delft Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...

is situated in between the two major cities. The area has a GDP of €170 billion. There are 2,700 foreign companies.

Municipalities

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rotterdam-The Hague metropolitan area 2014 establishments in the Netherlands Metropolitan areas of the Netherlands States and territories established in 2014