Netherlands vs Sweden: Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas
Netherlands
2.77 million people
in 2020
Sweden
3.23 million people
in 2020
Netherlands rank
88th
Sweden rank
85th
Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas over time
- Netherlands
- Sweden
How they compare
Sweden currently reports 3.23 million people against 2.77 million people in Netherlands, a difference of 457,480 people.
That makes Sweden's figure about 1.2 times Netherlands's.
Across all 15 years both countries report, Sweden has been ahead every year.
Netherlands ranks 88th and Sweden ranks 85th of 236 countries.
Sweden has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Netherlands | Sweden | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 2.38 million people | 2.83 million people | 453,605 people | Sweden |
| 1960s | 2.46 million people | 2.93 million people | 470,430 people | Sweden |
| 1970s | 2.53 million people | 3.03 million people | 505,715 people | Sweden |
| 1980s | 2.63 million people | 3.13 million people | 505,970 people | Sweden |
| 1990s | 2.69 million people | 3.18 million people | 486,675 people | Sweden |
| 2000s | 2.67 million people | 3.11 million people | 442,540 people | Sweden |
| 2010s | 2.75 million people | 3.15 million people | 399,880 people | Sweden |
| 2020s | 2.77 million people | 3.23 million people | 457,480 people | Sweden |
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 Sweden?
- Sweden, at 3.23 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 Sweden?
- 457,480 people, with Sweden ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Netherlands and Sweden?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Netherlands and Sweden rank globally for number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas?
- Netherlands ranks 88th and Sweden ranks 85th 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.