Netherlands vs Portugal: Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas
Netherlands
2.77 million people
in 2020
Portugal
3.06 million people
in 2020
Netherlands rank
88th
Portugal rank
86th
Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas over time
- Netherlands
- Portugal
How they compare
Portugal currently reports 3.06 million people against 2.77 million people in Netherlands, a difference of 288,340 people.
That makes Portugal's figure about 1.1 times Netherlands's.
Across all 15 years both countries report, Portugal has been ahead every year.
Netherlands ranks 88th and Portugal ranks 86th of 236 countries.
Portugal has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Netherlands | Portugal | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 2.38 million people | 3.18 million people | 799,650 people | Portugal |
| 1960s | 2.46 million people | 3.21 million people | 758,455 people | Portugal |
| 1970s | 2.53 million people | 3.23 million people | 705,205 people | Portugal |
| 1980s | 2.63 million people | 3.31 million people | 681,545 people | Portugal |
| 1990s | 2.69 million people | 3.24 million people | 550,315 people | Portugal |
| 2000s | 2.67 million people | 3.22 million people | 548,800 people | Portugal |
| 2010s | 2.75 million people | 3.13 million people | 381,410 people | Portugal |
| 2020s | 2.77 million people | 3.06 million people | 288,340 people | Portugal |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas, Netherlands or Portugal?
- Portugal, at 3.06 million people against 2.77 million people in Netherlands as of 2020.
- What is the difference in number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas between Netherlands and Portugal?
- 288,340 people, with Portugal ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Netherlands and Portugal?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Netherlands and Portugal rank globally for number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas?
- Netherlands ranks 88th and Portugal ranks 86th of 236 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Estimated number of people living in rural areas. Rural areas are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.