Amsterdam ( or ; ) is the
capital city and most populous city of the
Kingdom of the Netherlands. Its status as the
Dutch capital is mandated by the
Constitution of the Netherlands though it is not the seat of the Dutch government, which is
The Hague. Amsterdam has a population of 832,563 within the
city proper, 1,328,085 in the urban area and 1,601,653 in the metropolitan area. The
city region has an approximate population of 2,431,000. The city is located in the
province of
North Holland in the west of the country, and is also North Holland's largest city. It comprises much of the northern part of the
Randstad, one of the larger
conurbations in
Europe, with a population of approximately 7 million.