Not surprisingly, the capital of the Netherlands is also its largest city. At around *******, Amsterdam has over ******* inhabitants more than the second-largest city in the country, Rotterdam. The Hague and Utrecht, the third and fourth-largest cities in the Netherlands, together have approximately as many inhabitants as Amsterdam alone. Amsterdam and the pressure on the housing market A rapidly growing city, Amsterdam’s population increased from roughly ***** thousand to around ***** thousand in the last decade. This has created pressure on the real estate market, where average rent and housing prices have skyrocketed. In the first quarter of 2010, the average rent of residential property amounted to roughly ***** euros per square meter. In the first quarter of 2021, this had increased to over ***** euros per square meter.  2030 Outlook  In the nearby future, Amsterdam is set to remain the Netherlands’ largest city. According to a recent forecast, by 2030 Amsterdam will have broken the barrier of one million inhabitants. Rotterdam, Den Haag and Utrecht are forecast to grow too, albeit at a much lower pace. In 2030, Rotterdam is expected to reach just under ******* inhabitants.

This statistic shows the largest urban settlements in the Netherlands in 2021. In 2021, around 1.13 million people lived in Amsterdam, making it the largest city in the Netherlands. Population of the Netherlands With the global financial crisis in 2008 as well as the Euro zone crisis, many countries in Europe suffered a great economic impact. In spite of the crisis, the Netherlands maintained a stable economy over the past decade. The country's unemployment rate, for example, has been kept at a relatively low level in comparison to other countries in Europe also affected by the economic crisis. In 2014, Spain had an unemployment rate of more than 25 percent. The Netherlands' population has also seen increases in growth in comparison to previous years, with the figures slowly decreasing since 2011. As a result of the increase in population, the degree of urbanization - which is the share of the population living in urban areas - has increased, while the size of the labor force in the Netherlands has been relatively stable over the past decade. The population density of inhabitants per square kilometer in the Netherlands has also increased. Large cities in the Netherlands have experienced the impact of the population density growth and increase in the size of the labor force first hand. Three cities in the Netherlands have over half a million residents (as can be seen above). Additionally, more and more visitors are coming to the kingdom: The number of tourists in the Netherlands has increased significantly since 2001, a change which has also impacted the country's metropolises. Due to its location and affordable accommodation prices, the country’s tourism industry is developing and the largest cities in the Netherlands are taking advantage of it.

Population in largest city in Netherlands was reported at 1181817 in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Netherlands - Population in largest city - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on October of 2025.

Netherlands NL: Population in Largest City data was reported at 1,123,080.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 1,114,536.000 Person for 2016. Netherlands NL: Population in Largest City data is updated yearly, averaging 970,475.500 Person from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,123,080.000 Person in 2017 and a record low of 922,076.000 Person in 1983. Netherlands NL: Population in Largest City data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Netherlands – Table NL.World Bank: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Population in largest city is the urban population living in the country's largest metropolitan area.; ; United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects.; ;

Population in the largest city (% of urban population) in Netherlands was reported at 7.0279 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Netherlands - Population in the largest city - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on October of 2025.

According to this population forecast, in 2030 Amsterdam will remain the largest city in the Netherlands. It is forecast that the capital will have over *********** inhabitants in 2030. Rotterdam, currently the second-largest city in the country, will keep its spot. By 2030, the population of Rotterdam is expected to reach just under ******* people.

Netherlands NL: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data was reported at 7.063 % in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 7.087 % for 2016. Netherlands NL: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data is updated yearly, averaging 9.364 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 13.659 % in 1960 and a record low of 7.063 % in 2017. Netherlands NL: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Netherlands – Table NL.World Bank: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Population in largest city is the percentage of a country's urban population living in that country's largest metropolitan area.; ; United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects.; Weighted Average;

In 2023, Zuid-Holland was the most populated province in the Netherlands, with over 3.8 million inhabitants. That was over 800,000 inhabitants more than runner-up Noord-Holland, the province in which also the capital Amsterdam is located. That year, Amsterdam’s population alone made up 863,000 of Noord-Holland’s nearly three million inhabitants.

 Zuid-Holland   

Zuid-Holland’s largest city is Rotterdam, home to approximately 645,000 people. The third largest city in the Netherlands, Den Haag (or The Hague, as internationals would know it) is also located in Zuid-Holland. The city, which hosts the Dutch government as well as many international organizations, reached a population of roughly 538,000 in 2019.

Utrecht and Eindhoven  

 Completing the top five of the largest cities in the Netherlands are Utrecht and Eindhoven, located in the provinces Utrecht and Noord-Brabant. The city of Utrecht had nearly 353,000 inhabitants in 2019, or roughly one quarter of the entire population of the province bearing the same name. Eindhoven’s population reached nearly 232,000 that year, but as Noord-Brabant boasts two more of the largest cities in the country, Eindhoven plays a less central role in its own province as Utrecht does, despite being home to both Philips and one of the most successful football clubs in Dutch history, PSV Eindhoven.

Government city The Hague was the most densely populated city in the Netherlands in 2019, with a population density of nearly ***** people per square kilometer. Perhaps surprisingly, Amsterdam is not the most densely populated city in the country, ranking fourth on the list of most populous cities in the Netherlands in 2019.

This horizontal bar chart displays birth rate (per 1,000 people) by capital city using the aggregation average, weighted by population in Netherlands. The data is about countries per year.

This statistic shows the average number of months a house is for sale in the largest cities in the Netherlands in the second quarter of 2017. In the second quarter of 2017, it would take approximately 10 months to sell a house in Amsterdam. In the four largest municipalities, the demand of housing outweighs the supply. In December 2016, the average number of houses for sale in the municipality of Amsterdam was approximately ***** with this number reaching an average of ***** in December 2014.

This horizontal bar chart displays rural population (people) by capital city using the aggregation sum in Netherlands. The data is about countries per year.

This horizontal bar chart displays urban population (people) by capital city using the aggregation sum in Netherlands. The data is filtered where the date is 2021. The data is about countries per year.

Paris was Western Europe's largest city in 1650, with an estimated 400 thousand inhabitants, which is almost double it's population 150 years previously. In second place is London, with 350 thousand inhabitants, however it has grown by a substantially higher rate than Paris during this time, now seven times larger than it was in the year 1500. Naples remains in the top three largest cities, growing from 125 to 300 thousand inhabitants during this time. In the previous list, the Italian cities of Milan and Venice were the only other cities with more than one hundred thousand inhabitants, however in this list they have been joined by the trading centers of Lisbon and Amsterdam, the capital cities of the emerging Portuguese and Dutch maritime empires.

This horizontal bar chart displays rural population (people) by capital city using the aggregation sum in Netherlands. The data is filtered where the date is 2021. The data is about countries per year.

This horizontal bar chart displays individuals using the Internet (% of population) by capital city using the aggregation average, weighted by population in Netherlands. The data is filtered where the date is 2021. The data is about countries per year.

The province of Zuid-Holland lies in the west of the Netherlands and borders the North Sea. The provincial capital is Den Haag and its largest city is Rotterdam. Zuid-Holland is one of the world's most densely populated and industrialised regions. The province covers an area of 3,403 square kilometres and has 3,607,000 inhabitants. Positive observations without protocol Dataset available via https://www.ndff.nl/english / serviceteamndff@natuurloket.nl 895,249 records (March 2018)

This horizontal bar chart displays GDP (current US$) by capital city using the aggregation sum in Netherlands. The data is filtered where the date is 2021. The data is about countries per year.

There were twice more non-residential units constructed in Amsterdam than in Utrecht in 2022. Meanwhile, there were roughly 100 new commercial buildings in The Hague, and 72 in Rotterdam that year.

The primary rental rates per square meter for warehouses of more than 5,000 square meters increased in the Netherlands in 2025. The rental rate of warehouses in Rotterdam and Amsterdam amounted to 93 euros per square meter each in the first quarter of 2025. Due to the small size of the country and the relatively high connectivity to the big cities, there is less of a need for urban distribution centers (DCs) like in London or Berlin. Most take-up of logistics property could be found in the south of the country: the Venlo-Venray-Eindhoven area, along with Western Brabant (Breda-Moerdijk-Roosendaal). Which warehouses can be found in the south of the Netherlands? Most of the logistics property in the Netherlands was taken up for third-party logistics behind European retailers and e-commerce companies. Many international brands opened DCs in the country. Venlo, for example, supplies European fashion brands Michael Kors, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein and Under Armour via Trade Port Venlo Noord. Lidl opened its European e-commerce DC close to the city of Roosendaal in 2018. Other areas outside the big cities are also gaining interest, however. Spain’s Inditex (the company behind Zara, Pull&Bear and Berschka) are to open a logistics center in Lelystad (east of Amsterdam and north of Utrecht) in 2019. Bigger = better? In 2022, demand was highest for medium and large-sized logistics property. Bigger properties allow more flexibility, but the supply of large lots for such facilities is limited. On the other hand, smaller properties can be built closer to urban centers, allowing for easy reach to the end customer.