Flag of Friesland, the Netherlands

Friesland (/ˈfriːzlənd/ FREEZ-lənd; Dutch: [ˈfrislɑnt]; official West Frisian: Fryslân [ˈfrislɔ̃ːn] ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (/ˈfriːʒə/), named after the Frisians, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of Flevoland, northeast of North Holland, and south of the Wadden Sea. As of January 2023, the province had a population of about 660,000, and a total area of 5,753 km2 (2,221 sq mi). The province is divided into 18 municipalities. The capital and seat of the provincial government is the city of Leeuwarden (West Frisian: Ljouwert, Liwwaddes: Liwwadde), a city with 123,107 inhabitants. Other large municipalities in Friesland are Sneek (pop. 33,512), Heerenveen (pop. 50,257), and Smallingerland (includes town of Drachten, pop. 55,938). Since 2017, Arno Brok is the King's Commissioner in the province. A coalition of the Christian Democratic Appeal, the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy, the Labour Party, and the Frisian National Party forms the executive branch. The area of the province was once part of the ancient, larger region of Frisia, which gave the province its name. The land is mostly made up of grassland and it has numerous lakes. The official languages of Friesland are West Frisian and Dutch.