diff --git a/affiliations/forms.py b/affiliations/forms.py
index afe9b279e237341068f379fee6008e4959047fef..774a2e6a7895455701b1fbc7652c79cc6c4aa205 100644
--- a/affiliations/forms.py
+++ b/affiliations/forms.py
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ from .models import Affiliation, Institution
 class AffiliationForm(forms.ModelForm):
     name = forms.CharField(label='* Institution', max_length=300)
     country = LazyTypedChoiceField(
-        choices=countries, label='* Country', widget=CountrySelectWidget())
+        choices=countries, label='* Country', widget=CountrySelectWidget(), initial='NL')
 
     class Meta:
         model = Affiliation