Largest Urban Centers by Population in the Netherlands

175 urban centers in the Netherlands with 15,000 or more inhabitants, ranked by population estimates for January 1, 2021 (by Statistics Netherlands).

Rank	Urban Center	Population
1	Amsterdam	1,136,210
2	Rotterdam	868,135
3	The Hague ('s-Gravenhage)	851,010
4	Utrecht	396,315
5	Eindhoven	320,365
6	Leiden	273,720
7	Dordrecht	224,440
8	Tilburg	218,130
9	Groningen	218,105
10	Haarlem	208,270
11	Almere	186,690
12	Heerlen	170,030
13	's-Hertogenbosch	165,545
14	Nijmegen	160,960
15	Amersfoort	155,600
16	Breda	154,855
17	Enschede	149,315
18	Apeldoorn	144,260
19	Zoetermeer	128,360
20	Zwolle	125,820
21	IJmondIJmuiden / Velsen / Beverwijk	119,430
22	Maastricht	116,630
23	Arnhem	113,565
24	Sittard-Geleen	106,760
25	Alkmaar	103,470
26	Leeuwarden (Ljouwert)	97,070
27	Deventer	89,640
28	Helmond	86,815
29	Hilversum	86,645
30	Purmerend	83,990
31	Venlo / Blerick / Tegelen	83,970
32	Gouda	78,585
33	HoofddorpHaarlemmermeer	77,465
34	Arnhem-Zuid	77,110
35	Heerhugowaard / Scharwoude / Broek op Langedijk	75,880
36	Lelystad	75,825
37	Ede	74,155
38	Hoorn	73,615
39	Alphen aan den Rijn	72,780
40	Spijkenisse	71,780
41	Almelo	68,015
42	Oss / Berghem	67,760
43	Assen	67,500
44	Veenendaal	67,470
45	Roosendaal	66,055
46	Bergen op Zoom / Halsteren	63,665
47	Nieuwegein	63,540
48	Waalwijk / Kaatsheuvel	56,150
49	Hengelo	56,070
50	Barendrecht	55,520
51	Zeist	52,970
52	Emmen	52,510
53	Oosterhout	50,140
54	Bussum	49,105
55	Berkel / Rodenrijs / BergschenhoekLansingerland	48,835
56	Roermond / Herten / Merum	48,085
57	Huizen	46,485
58	Houten	46,350
59	Kampen / IJsselmuiden	44,235
60	Zutphen / Warnsveld	44,025
61	DrachtenSmallingerland	43,945
62	Vlissingen / Oost-Souburg	43,550
63	Doetinchem	42,285
64	Etten-Leur	41,680
65	Den Helder	40,970
66	Hoogeveen	40,755
67	Middelburg	40,300
68	Weert / Boshoven	39,330
69	Tiel	39,290
70	Soest	37,925
71	Uden / Volkel	37,680
72	Woerden	37,470
73	Wageningen	36,865
74	Gorinchem	36,825
75	Bilthoven / De Bilt	36,730
76	Hellevoetsluis	36,680
77	Hoogvliet	35,180
78	Wijchen	35,105
79	Ridderkerk	35,055
80	Harderwijk	34,130
81	Sneek (Snits)	34,015
82	Maassluis	33,815
83	IJsselstein	33,150
84	Barneveld	32,810
85	Heerenveen (It Hearrenfean)	31,980
86	Goes / Kloetinge	31,830
87	Oldenzaal	30,905
88	Nieuw-Vennep	30,665
89	Kerkrade	30,415
90	Venray	30,185
91	Meppel	29,955
92	Edam-Volendam	29,265
93	Best	28,755
94	Waddinxveen	28,740
95	Hoogezand / Sappemeer	28,685
96	Culemborg	28,100
97	Rijssen	27,935
98	Naaldwijk / Honselersdijk	27,650
99	Nijkerk	27,575
100	Dronten	26,685
101	Leusden	26,510
102	Uithoorn	26,425
103	Veghel	26,095
104	Pijnacker	25,890
105	Terneuzen	25,375
106	Noordwijk	25,140
107	Veendam / Wildervank	24,320
108	Zevenaar	24,285
109	Oud-Beijerland	24,100
110	Lisse / Lisserbroek	24,010
111	Sliedrecht	23,540
112	Boxtel	23,495
113	Almere-Haven	23,455
114	Baarn	23,375
115	Heiloo	22,835
116	Winterswijk	22,790
117	Emmeloord	22,695
118	Hengelo-Noord	22,560
119	Castricum	22,500
120	Dongen	22,285
121	Velserbroek / Santpoort-Noord	22,025
122	Deurne	21,955
123	Ermelo	21,865
124	Duiven	21,730
125	Elst	21,640
126	Borne	21,380
127	Stadskanaal	21,320
128	Mijdrecht / Wilnis	21,225
129	Stede BroecBovenkarspel / Grootebroek / Lutjebroek	21,135
130	Schijndel / Wijbosch	21,000
131	Urk	20,980
132	Zeewolde	20,835
133	Bunschoten / Spakenburg	20,740
134	Valkenswaard	20,275
135	Beuningen / Ewijk	20,230
136	IJburg-Zuidoost	19,655
137	Steenwijk	19,515
138	Nuenen	19,455
139	Geertruidenberg / Raamsdonksveer	19,425
140	Hillegom / Beinsdorp	19,420
141	Weesp	19,370
142	Hardenberg	19,345
143	Nunspeet	19,290
144	Alblasserdam	19,225
145	Oisterwijk	19,015
146	Haaksbergen	18,750
147	Putten	18,725
148	Winschoten	18,645
149	Schagen	18,600
150	Huissen	18,385
151	Driebergen-Rijsenburg	18,280
152	Cuijk	18,275
153	Enkhuizen	18,225
154	's-Gravenzande	18,145
155	Leerdam	18,065
156	Bodegraven	17,980
157	Drunen	17,960
158	Raalte	17,930
159	Wijk bij Duurstede	17,635
160	Vlijmen / Nieuwkuijk	16,895
161	Delfzijl	16,815
162	Nijverdal	16,800
163	Rijen	16,530
164	Laren / Blaricum	16,445
165	Vianen	16,170
166	Sassenheim	16,120
167	Leek	16,050
168	Zandvoort	16,030
169	Voorhout	15,900
170	Roden	15,665
171	Gemert	15,560
172	Bennekom	15,090
173	Westervoort	14,935
174	Geldermalsen / Meteren	14,785
175	Dieren	14,335

Source: Statistics Netherlands (2021 estimate), via City Population by Thomas Brinkhoff.

Why don't these match official city populations?Official figures typically count only the population within administrative boundaries. UN urban area figures cover the entire built-up area, which can include multiple cities and towns.Show moreShow less

Tokyo

33,338,852

Urban area

9,953,160

23 wards

Essen

2,709,375

Urban area

573,618

City of Essen

Ankara

3,630,865

Urban area

5,186,002

Metropolitan municipality

What counts as an urban area? The UN uses satellite imagery to map built-up land, and treats each continuous stretch of built-up land as an urban area. This means that urban areas can extend beyond official city boundaries, and may include multiple cities and towns within a single urban area.

Can an urban area be smaller than its city? Yes. While most cities have urban areas larger than their administrative boundaries, some cities have extensive administrative limits that include sparsely populated areas.

44 urban areas in the Netherlands with 50,000 or more inhabitants, ranked by the UN's population estimates for 2026.

Rank	Urban Area	Population Estimate (2026)	Yearly Change	Land Area (km²)	Density (P/km²)	World Rank	Projections (2030)	Projections (2050)
1	Amsterdam	1,243,191	+0.58%	293	4,246	412	1,272,014	1,280,170
2	Rotterdam	1,028,121	+0.44%	312	3,291	504	1,046,245	1,054,040
3	The Hague	900,919	+1.61%	175	5,142	579	958,817	909,384
4	Utrecht	525,082	+1.12%	118	4,457	1,063	548,611	560,888
5	Eindhoven	289,278	+0.15%	91	3,179	2,024	290,984	283,882
6	Leiden	279,674	+0.36%	67	4,174	2,093	283,701	284,854
7	Dordrecht	266,384	+0.39%	86	3,097	2,214	270,523	273,996
8	Haarlem	216,043	+0.30%	44	4,910	2,769	218,599	219,955
9	Tilburg	203,011	+0.14%	57	3,562	2,979	204,114	199,110
10	Heerlen	197,929	+0.15%	74	2,675	3,064	199,115	193,880
11	Nijmegen	194,701	+0.38%	52	3,744	3,121	197,649	220,708
12	Arnhem	194,209	+0.42%	56	3,468	3,132	197,475	201,053
13	Amersfoort	189,594	+0.38%	53	3,577	3,216	192,456	195,496
14	Almere	188,162	+0.47%	58	3,244	3,243	191,703	199,430
15	Breda	180,628	+0.33%	55	3,284	3,378	183,010	183,359
16	Groningen	178,138	+0.47%	42	4,241	3,435	181,507	187,024
17	Alkmaar	174,317	+0.67%	55	3,147	3,516	178,996	179,584
18	's-Hertogenbosch	146,119	+0.38%	45	3,233	4,220	148,326	144,889
19	Zoetermeer	137,917	+0.35%	31	4,449	4,466	139,823	140,186
20	Apeldoorn	136,631	+0.34%	39	3,503	4,507	138,489	140,124
21	Enschede	133,785	+0.37%	36	3,716	4,612	135,749	137,843
22	Heemskerk	133,673	+0.80%	40	3,309	4,616	137,961	143,605
23	Maastricht	129,144	+0.18%	40	3,229	4,799	130,071	126,916
24	Zwolle	122,383	+0.65%	33	3,686	5,080	125,554	131,147
25	Leeuwarden	97,003	+0.42%	24	4,042	6,454	98,633	101,809
26	Helmond	91,654	+0.13%	30	3,055	6,849	92,148	89,776
27	Purmerend	87,893	+0.65%	20	4,351	7,159	90,187	90,276
28	Deventer	86,214	+0.39%	25	3,449	7,301	87,572	90,730
29	Hilversum	86,084	+0.26%	18	4,782	7,317	86,987	90,856
30	Gouda	79,424	+0.29%	19	4,180	7,959	80,358	80,344
31	Hengelo	78,862	+6.10%	27	2,921	8,023	98,105	100,970
32	Hoorn	76,253	+0.31%	26	2,933	8,274	77,198	77,262
33	Lelystad	71,042	+0.43%	26	2,732	8,842	72,268	76,399
34	Alphen aan den Rijn	70,610	+0.68%	18	3,880	8,896	72,520	72,736
35	Veenendaal	66,220	+0.27%	18	3,679	9,480	66,929	67,589
36	Almelo	65,484	+0.37%	23	2,847	9,588	66,446	67,274
37	Roosendaal	64,197	+0.29%	21	3,057	9,786	64,939	64,914
38	Bergen op Zoom	63,026	+0.42%	27	2,334	9,970	64,076	66,125
39	Oss	61,483	+0.60%	20	3,044	10,204	62,970	60,242
40	Ede	59,281	+0.29%	17	3,487	10,548	59,971	60,627
41	Hoofddorp	58,298	+0.25%	17	3,429	10,704	58,879	58,607
42	Bussum	55,126	+0.37%	16	3,445	11,298	55,939	57,836
43	Waalwijk	51,541	+0.14%	23	2,241	11,965	51,831	–
44	Zeist	50,371	+0.35%	13	3,875	12,079	51,068	51,896

Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025). World Urbanization Prospects: The 2025 Revision, Online Edition.

Data topics

Reference

Tools

Largest Urban Centers by Population in the Netherlands

See also