Share of population living in urban and rural areas in Netherlands
Netherlands: Share of population living in urban and rural areas was 95.9% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
95.9%
Change on year
up 0.3%
World rank
21st
of 236 countries
All-time high
95.9%
in 2025
All-time low
56.6%
in 1950
Years of data
76
1950–2025
Share of population living in urban and rural areas in Netherlands, 1950–2025
Source: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2025, share of population living in urban and rural areas in Netherlands stood at 95.9%. That is the highest value across all 76 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.3% on the previous year and up 6.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in urban and rural areas in Netherlands peaked at 95.9% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 56.6%, in 1950.
Netherlands ranks 21st of 236 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 76 years of available data.
Share of population living in urban and rural areas in Netherlands, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 56.6% | — |
| 1951 | 57.0% | +0.6% |
| 1952 | 57.0% | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 57.3% | +0.5% |
| 1954 | 58.1% | +1.5% |
| 1955 | 58.5% | +0.7% |
| 1956 | 58.6% | +0.1% |
| 1957 | 58.7% | +0.2% |
| 1958 | 59.2% | +0.8% |
| 1959 | 59.8% | +1.0% |
| 1960 | 59.9% | +0.3% |
| 1961 | 60.1% | +0.3% |
| 1962 | 60.3% | +0.3% |
| 1963 | 60.3% | +0.1% |
| 1964 | 60.9% | +0.9% |
| 1965 | 61.2% | +0.5% |
| 1966 | 61.3% | +0.2% |
| 1967 | 61.6% | +0.5% |
| 1968 | 61.8% | +0.3% |
| 1969 | 61.8% | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 62.1% | +0.5% |
| 1971 | 62.8% | +1.2% |
| 1972 | 63.1% | +0.4% |
| 1973 | 63.5% | +0.7% |
| 1974 | 64.2% | +1.1% |
| 1975 | 64.4% | +0.3% |
| 1976 | 64.5% | +0.2% |
| 1977 | 64.6% | +0.1% |
| 1978 | 64.6% | +0.1% |
| 1979 | 64.8% | +0.3% |
| 1980 | 65.0% | +0.3% |
| 1981 | 65.7% | +1.2% |
| 1982 | 66.5% | +1.1% |
| 1983 | 66.9% | +0.7% |
| 1984 | 67.4% | +0.7% |
| 1985 | 67.6% | +0.4% |
| 1986 | 68.0% | +0.5% |
| 1987 | 68.2% | +0.3% |
| 1988 | 68.4% | +0.4% |
| 1989 | 68.8% | +0.5% |
| 1990 | 69.0% | +0.3% |
| 1991 | 69.2% | +0.3% |
| 1992 | 69.3% | +0.1% |
| 1993 | 69.8% | +0.6% |
| 1994 | 70.4% | +0.9% |
| 1995 | 70.7% | +0.4% |
| 1996 | 72.4% | +2.4% |
| 1997 | 75.6% | +4.3% |
| 1998 | 76.8% | +1.6% |
| 1999 | 77.1% | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 78.5% | +1.8% |
| 2001 | 80.2% | +2.2% |
| 2002 | 80.8% | +0.8% |
| 2003 | 81.3% | +0.6% |
| 2004 | 82.3% | +1.2% |
| 2005 | 83.5% | +1.5% |
| 2006 | 84.7% | +1.4% |
| 2007 | 85.4% | +0.9% |
| 2008 | 85.6% | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 86.2% | +0.7% |
| 2010 | 87.4% | +1.3% |
| 2011 | 88.0% | +0.8% |
| 2012 | 88.5% | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 89.2% | +0.7% |
| 2014 | 89.8% | +0.7% |
| 2015 | 90.3% | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 90.6% | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 91.1% | +0.6% |
| 2018 | 92.6% | +1.6% |
| 2019 | 93.9% | +1.4% |
| 2020 | 94.3% | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 94.6% | +0.4% |
| 2022 | 95.0% | +0.4% |
| 2023 | 95.3% | +0.4% |
| 2024 | 95.6% | +0.3% |
| 2025 | 95.9% | +0.3% |
Netherlands compared with similar countries
- Netherlands's 95.9% is above the median for high income countries, which is 81.3%, 1.2× the median. (85 countries reporting)
- Netherlands's 95.9% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 69.6%, 1.4× the median. (56 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 58.1% | 56.6% | 59.8% | 10 |
| 1960s | 60.9% | 59.9% | 61.8% | 10 |
| 1970s | 63.9% | 62.1% | 64.8% | 10 |
| 1980s | 67.2% | 65.0% | 68.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 72.0% | 69.0% | 77.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 82.8% | 78.5% | 86.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 90.1% | 87.4% | 93.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 95.1% | 94.3% | 95.9% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Netherlands
- 18 San Marino 97.2% compare
- 19 Martinique 96.8% compare
- 20 Guadeloupe 96.4% compare
- 22 Malta 95.7% compare
- 23 Uruguay 95.7% compare
- 24 United States Virgin Islands 95.4% compare
More population data for Netherlands
- Population regions with projections, annual growth rate -0.1961 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, annual growth rate -0.5458 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population long run with projections, annual growth rate -0.1961 % change on previous year (2100)
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate -0.1463 % change on previous year (2100)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate -0.2761 % change on previous year (2100)
- World population growth -0.2% (2100)
- Population density 519.97 people per km² (2100)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 757,165 people (2100)
- Population growth rate, by level of development -0.2% (2100)
- Number of people living in urban and rural areas, annual growth rate 0.9625 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in urban and rural areas in Netherlands?
- Share of population living in urban and rural areas in Netherlands was 95.9% in 2025, according to United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of population living in urban and rural areas recorded in Netherlands?
- The highest recorded value was 95.9% in 2025.
- What is the lowest share of population living in urban and rural areas recorded in Netherlands?
- The lowest recorded value was 56.6% in 1950.
- How does Netherlands rank for share of population living in urban and rural areas?
- Netherlands ranks 21st out of 236 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of population living in urban and rural areas rising or falling in Netherlands?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Netherlands data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population living in urban and rural areas. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 76 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of the population living in urban areas, based on each country's national definition.