Between 2009 and 2023, the population of Maastricht increased, from just over 118,000 to roughly 123,000 inhabitants. This was just over ten percent of the total number of people living in the Limburg province, of which Maastricht is the capital. In 2023, Limburg’s population amounted to roughly 1.12 million inhabitants, making it the seventh province in the country based on population size.

 Largest cities in the Netherlands   

Although a sizable city for Dutch standards, Maastricht was not among the ten largest cities in the Netherlands in 2022. The capital of the Netherlands, Amsterdam, is the largest city in the country, with roughly 883,000 inhabitants, followed by Rotterdam and The Hague. Utrecht, Eindhoven, Tilburg, Almere, Groningen, Breda and Nijmegen are all larger than Maastricht as well.

Leading university for international students  

Outside of the Netherlands, Maastricht is well-known for its research university, which attracts students from all over the world. Maastricht University has the largest number of international students of all institutes in the Netherlands, numbering roughly 10.9 thousand in 2020/21. According to the most recent figures, over 55 percent of Maastricht University’s students had roots outside the Netherlands – more than any other university in the country.