Amsterdam, Delft the most English Dutch cities thanks to tourists, expats

Amsterdam and Delft share the top spot for the most “English” Dutch city in the Netherlands, according to a recent study by Preply. In these two cities, you can quite easily get by without speaking Dutch. The researchers attributed this to the large number of tourists, international students, and expats in the two cities.

Delft and Amsterdam both scored 64 on the Preply ranking, based on the number of tourists, expats and immigrants, international students, and job listings that don’t require Dutch.

Last year, 9 million tourists visited Amsterdam. Nearly a fifth of bachelor's students in the capital are international students. And at the end of 2021, there 23.3 workers from outside the European Union or the European Free Trade Association per 100,000 Amsterdam residents, according to figures from Statistics Netherlands. Around 21 percent of job vacancies on Indeed.nl are in English.

Delft has similar figures on a smaller scale. According to Preply, the city is one of the main tourist attractions in the Netherlands with its historical city center, Delftse Blaauw, and Vermeer. Delft receives an estimated 1 million tourists per year. TU Delft is also popular among international students - over a quarter of students in the city are from across the border. And CBS figures show that Delft had 18.3 workers from outside the EU and EFTA per 100,000 residents. Around 9.1 percent of Delft vacancies on Indeed.nl are in English.

The Hague came in third place with 55 points on Preply’s ranking. “In addition to tourists and international students, The Hague is also home to several international organizations like the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, and many embassies. These organizations attract a diverse group of employees who come from all over the world,” Preply said.

The three least English Dutch municipalities are Zwolle, with only 8 points on the ranking, Leeuwarden (16 points), and Heerlen (20).