Why aren't the Netherlands called Holland?

Many people grew up referring exclusively to 'Holland', so why is it now always 'the Netherlands'?

Why aren't the Netherlands called Holland?

For those of us of a certain age, the Netherlands will always be Holland. It used to be routine for broadcasters and everyday conversation to refer to them that way - so what changed?

The simple explanation is that Holland is not the formal name of the country as we know it today, but is simply a region of the country that has for centuries been used as a shorthand for the country as a whole. More specifically, 'Holland' is made up of North Holland and South Holland, which are just two of the 12 provinces of the Netherlands.

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