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.

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 July 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.; ;

Government city The Hague was the most densely populated city in the Netherlands in 2019, with a population density of nearly 6,500 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.

Urban population (% of total population) in Netherlands was reported at 93.45 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Netherlands - Urban population (% of total) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

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 July of 2025.

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.

All cities with a population > 1000 or seats of adm div (ca 80.000)Sources and ContributionsSources : GeoNames is aggregating over hundred different data sources. Ambassadors : GeoNames Ambassadors help in many countries. Wiki : A wiki allows to view the data and quickly fix error and add missing places. Donations and Sponsoring : Costs for running GeoNames are covered by donations and sponsoring.Enrichment:add country name

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;

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 one million 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 700,000 people.

Population growth in The Netherlands by birth, death and migration by sex and region.

In addition to national data, information is presented by group of provinces, province, COROP region and municipality.

The regional totals shown concern cumulated municipal data. Where changes of municipal boundaries transect regional boundaries, the municipal classifications concerns the most recent situation. The municipality of Vianen, for example, was annexed by the province of Utrecht on 1 January 2002, and is classified under the province of Utrecht in the Table.

Data available from: 1942

Status of the figures: All data recorded in this publication are final data. Up to 1977 data may differ from other published data on StatLine. This is due to differences between the data files used by Statistics Netherlands and the official data as published in 'Loop van de bevolking per gemeente'.

Changes as of 9 July 2025: Final figures of 2024 have been added.

When will new figures be published? In the 3rd quarter of 2026 figures of 2025 will be added in this table.

This statistic shows the degree of urbanization in the Netherlands from 2013 to 2023 and details the percentage of the entire population, living in urban areas. In 2023, 93.18 percent of the total population of the Netherlands lived in cities. Population of the Netherlands The Netherlands is a developed country with a high standard of living. Owing to a fairly steady fertility rate, the total population of the Netherlands has only slightly increased over the past decade. A look at the population growth in the Netherlands shows that growth has been less than 1 percent at some points, and has even decreased to less than 0.5 percent at other intervals over the past few years. Population density in the Netherlands has increased very slightly accordingly, with the majority of the population living in cities, the largest being Amsterdam in terms of residents, closely followed by Rotterdam. The median age of the Netherlands’ population (i.e. one half of the population is older, while the other one is younger) has increased significantly since the 1980s, which is indicative of a high life expectancy among inhabitants. The Netherlands is currently ranked 16th on a ranking of the 20 countries with the highest life expectancy worldwide. The Netherlands is also among the countries with the highest GDP in the world, and is thus one of the leading economies. The majority of the workforce is employed in the services sector, generating the majority of gross domestic product. The labor force of the Netherlands consists of more than 8 million employed persons, and the unemployment rate has been increasing since the economic crisis in 2008. The crisis has also been visible in the inflation rate in the Netherlands over the past few years; on the other hand, trade balance figures show that the Dutch economy has been recovering steadily.

Urban population in Netherlands was reported at 16657719 in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Netherlands - Urban population - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

Historical chart and dataset showing Netherlands urban population by year from 1960 to 2023.

Chart and table of population level and growth rate for the Amsterdam, Netherlands metro area from 1950 to 2025.

The dataset is based on the population census of the Netherlands of 1840.Content: images of the publication, searchable pdf file of the text sections, excel files with data entered from the published tables and from the additions and corrections issued as an appendix to the census of 1859.

Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million in Netherlands was reported at 2203736 in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Netherlands - Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

In the last decade, the population of the city of Utrecht increased by roughly 70,000. In 2009, Utrecht had approximately 300,000 inhabitants. By 2023, the number of inhabitants had grown to over 368,000. This was approximately one quarter of the total population of the province of the same name, of which the city of Utrecht is the capital. In 2021, the province of Utrecht had roughly 1.37 million inhabitants, making it the fifth-largest province in the country after South and North Holland, North Brabant and Gelderland.

 Fourth-largest city in the Netherlands   

With its 360 thousand inhabitants, Utrecht is one of the largest cities in the country. The capital, Amsterdam, is the largest city in the Netherlands, with roughly 873,000 inhabitants, followed by Rotterdam and The Hague. Utrecht follows in fourth place.

Rabobank and NS headquarters  

Utrecht is home to a large number of internationally operating companies, of which Dutch bank Rabobank is just one. One of the leading banks in the country, Rabobank had nearly 450 branches nationwide in 2018. The Rabobank headquarters are in Utrecht though, as are the headquarters of the national railway organization (NS). Utrecht also has the largest railway station in the country, receiving an average of nearly 272.8 thousand passengers every working day.

Netherlands NL: Population in Urban Agglomerations of More Than 1 Million: as % of Total Population data was reported at 12.434 % in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 12.455 % for 2016. Netherlands NL: Population in Urban Agglomerations of More Than 1 Million: as % of Total Population data is updated yearly, averaging 12.684 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 15.955 % in 1960 and a record low of 12.391 % in 2004. Netherlands NL: Population in Urban Agglomerations of More Than 1 Million: as % of Total 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 urban agglomerations of more than one million is the percentage of a country's population living in metropolitan areas that in 2018 had a population of more than one million people.; ; United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects.; Weighted average;

Chart and table of population level and growth rate for the Utrecht, Netherlands metro area from 1950 to 2025.