As the commercial capital of the Netherlands and one of the top financial centres in Europe, Amsterdam is considered an alpha world city by the Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) study group. The city is also the cultural capital of the Netherlands.hips sailed from Amsterdam to the Baltic Sea, North America, and Africa, as well as present-day Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, and Brazil, forming the basis of a worldwide trading network. Amsterdam's merchants had the largest share in both the Dutch East India Company and the Dutch West India Company.
1 Sweden is the 3rd largest EU country in land area, after France and Spain. 2  Sweden is one of the homelands of the Germanic ethnicity and culture. 3  The Goths, the Suevirs and the Norses (Vikings) all trace their origin back to Sweden (as well as Norway and Denmark for the latter).
9: Sweden. Sweden ranks No. 9 among most peaceful countries by the Global Peace Index this year. Located in the far north of Europe, Sweden is one of the most beautiful Scandinavian countries on earth. The country has a low level of robberies (only 9,000 a year) compared to the United States (about 350,000 a year).