The Netherlands, explained in English · Wednesday 28 October 2026Wed 28 Oct

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Netherlands is EU's second most crowded country after Malta

The Netherlands is now the second most densely populated EU country after Malta, and households have grown much faster than the population, CBS figures show.

NLnow newsroom

1 min read

On 1 January 2026 the Netherlands had 539 inhabitants per square kilometre of land, up 15% from 468 in 2000, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports. The population grew from 15.9 million to 18.1 million over the same period.

Households grew much faster than the population. There were just under 8.5 million private households at the start of 2026, 3.4 million of them one-person households, against about 6.8 million in 2000. Average household size fell from 2.3 to 2.1 people. CBS says municipalities with small households need relatively many, usually small, homes.

Flevoland and Zuid-Holland grew denser fastest since 2000

Inhabitants per km²

20002026Zuid-HollandZuid-Holland: 1,185 -> 1,437Zuid-Holland: 1,185 -> 1,4371,4371,185Noord-HollandNoord-Holland: 948 -> 1,130Noord-Holland: 948 -> 1,1301,130948UtrechtUtrecht: 813 -> 953Utrecht: 813 -> 953953813Noord-BrabantNoord-Brabant: 478 -> 546Noord-Brabant: 478 -> 546546LimburgLimburg: 527 -> 532Limburg: 527 -> 532532GelderlandGelderland: 385 -> 439Gelderland: 385 -> 439439OverijsselOverijssel: 323 -> 363Overijssel: 323 -> 363363FlevolandFlevoland: 223 -> 327Flevoland: 223 -> 327327GroningenGroningen: 240 -> 260Groningen: 240 -> 260260ZeelandZeeland: 206 -> 222Zeeland: 206 -> 222222FryslânFryslân: 186 -> 200Fryslân: 186 -> 200200DrentheDrenthe: 177 -> 193Drenthe: 177 -> 193193
View data
Item20002026
Zuid-Holland1,1851,437
Noord-Holland9481,130
Utrecht813953
Noord-Brabant478546
Limburg527532
Gelderland385439
Overijssel323363
Flevoland223327
Groningen240260
Zeeland206222
Fryslân186200
Drenthe177193
Source: CBS | NLnow graphic

Density is highest in the west and lowest in the north. Zuid-Holland has over 1,400 people per km², about seven times Drenthe's 193. In percentage terms Flevoland (47%) and Zuid-Holland (21%) rose most, followed by Noord-Holland (19%) and Utrecht (17%).

Den Haag is the densest municipality at 6.9 thousand per km², ahead of Leiden (5.9 thousand) and Haarlem (5.8 thousand). Schiermonnikoog has the fewest, at 24. Rotterdam falls outside the top because it includes the port area, and the Veluwe and countryside pull down Ede's average.

Wageningen has the highest share of one-person households (63%), followed by Groningen (61%). Lansingerland, Rozendaal and Urk have the lowest.

Only Malta, at 1.7 thousand per km², is denser among EU countries. The Netherlands has almost five times the EU average of 110. Finland (18), Sweden (26) and the Baltic states are the least dense.

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