Randstad accounted for most of Dutch population growth since 2016

The Netherlands' population has grown by 1 million in the past eight years and will hit 18 million today. Municipalities in the Randstad accounted for most of that growth, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reported. However, 29 of the current 342 municipalities saw their populations shrink between 2016 and 2024.

In absolute numbers, the four large cities gained the most new residents. Amsterdam grew by 79,100 people, The Hague by 46,200, Rotterdam by 41,000, and Utrecht by 35,300. Almere got the fifth most new residents at 28,400 people. Relatively, Utrecht’s population grew the most of the four large cities, with 10.4 percent. And Rotterdam grew the least (+6.4 percent).

The population grew relatively the fastest in municipalities around the large cities, like Blaricum, Waddinxveen, Rijswijk, and Diemen. “These municipalities generally grew mainly because more people move there than leave, but more children are also born than people die,” CBS said. “The large cities lost inhabitants because more people moved out of the city than moved in, but grew due to foreign migration and because more children were born than people died.”

Municipalities whose populations shrank are mainly located on the edges of the Netherlands, like in Zuid-Limburg, Groningen, the Achterhoek, and Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, though some more centrally located municipalities were also affected. In absolute numbers, populations shrank the most in Eemsdelta (-2,000), Sittard-Geleen (-900), Kerkrade (-700), IJsselstein (-700), and Brunssum (-700). Relatively, the number of residents decreased the most in Simpelveld (-4.5 percent), Eemsdelta (-4.3 percent), and Gulpen-Wittem (-3.1 percent).

These municipalities shrank because more people died than children were born, sometimes combined with more people moving away than moving there.

The province with the strongest growth was Flevoland (11.6%), followed by Zuid-Holland and Utrecht (both 6%). Limburg grew the least at 1.5 percent.

On average, 533 people lived per square kilometer of land in the Netherlands on 1 January 2024. At the beginning of 2016, that was still 504.

The Hague is the most densely populated city in the Netherlands with 6,868 residents per square kilometer. The top ten most densely populated municipalities are all in the Randstad.

The northern provinces and some municipalities in Zeeland are less densely populated. The Wadden Islands are most sparsely populated, with fewer than 100 people per square kilometer.