Are Holland and Netherlands the same countries?
While the word Holland is often used to refer to the country known as the Netherlands, that use is not accurate. Holland is the name of a region within the Netherlands (comprised of the provinces of North Holland and South Holland), which is the core area of the country. Thus, using the term “Holland” for “the Netherlands” is comparable to using “England” for “United Kingdom.” In fact, some Dutch object to the use of the term Holland to refer to the whole country (as the Scottish and Welsh night if you used England to refer to the United Kingdom.) Historically, however, Holland was a former county of the Holy Roman Empire.
