although i moved it earlier to the netherlands comparing with united states the may not be needed mar utc see also wikipedia naming conventions definite and indefinite articles at beginning of name rule of thumb usually one does not capitalize the the in the netherlands inside a sentence which would mean that the article name should be without the mar utc the netherlands cannot be compared with united states the short form of kingdom of the netherlands is normally the netherlands and while a form netherlands does occur this is always prefixed by the in a sentence from cia factbook the netherlands remained neutral in world war i but suffered invasion and occupation by germany in world war ii a modern industrialized nation the netherlands is also a large exporter of agricultural products the netherlands has a prosperous and open economy which depends heavily on foreign trade the netherlands along with of its eu partners began circulating the euro currency on january etc the form 'netherlands' without the article is nowhere used in the article itself except when listing the short name where it is acceptable any and all references to the country must include 'the' mar utc your argument doesn't work because the same could be applied to the us i could use almost the exact same wording the short form of the united states of america is normally the united states and while a form united states does occur this is always prefixed by the in a sentence from cia factbook were recognized as the new nation of the united states of america following the treaty of paris the us has the largest and most technologically powerful economy undocumented nationals from mexico and central america continue to enter the united states illegally etc the form 'united states' without the article is nowhere used in the article itself except when listing the short name where it is acceptable any and all references to the country must include 'the' and yet wikipedia still places the article at united states showing that your argument that the usage in the cia factbook does not mean that netherlands must be preceded by an article in wikipedia mar utc this must go properly through wikipedia requested moves it didn't last time when it was removed from wikipedia requested moves almost as soon as it was put up before there could be any debate see mar utc