Amsterdam (/ˈæmstərdæm, ˌæmstərˈdæm/;[9][10] Dutch: [ɑmstərˈdɑm] ( listen)) is the capital and most populous municipality of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Its status as the capital is mandated by the Constitution of the Netherlands,[11] although it is not the seat of the government, which is The Hague.[12] Amsterdam has a population of 844,667 within the city proper, 1,343,647 in the urban area,[13] and 2,431,000 in the Amsterdam metropolitan area.[8] The city is located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country. The metropolitan area comprises much of the northern part of the Randstad, one of the larger conurbations in Europe, with a population of approximately 7 million
