10 Largest Cities in Netherlands
The Netherlands is a small country with a relatively large population. It is broken down into 342 municipalities (gemeente) of which only 8 have more than 200,000 residents. These are the 10 largest cities in Netherlands…
The western half of the country is characterized by its flat terrain that sits primarily at or just below sea level. In fact, the topography gave rise to its name, as Netherlands translates to ‘lowlands’. This low elevation has meant an ongoing fight against flood waters primarily from the North Sea over the past millennia.
The Dutch have been innovative in ways to convert marshy polders into useable land. This enabled cities to grow beyond their historic city walls and even for new communities to spring up. The Netherlands is one of the few countries in the world that continues to grow in area as land is reclaimed from the sea.
No where is this more evident than the province of Flevoland which has existed for less than half a century. Most of the land sat under water until the 1960s. After years spent draining surface water, the land was dry enough to use for farming and then residential development. The municipality of Almere in Flevoland, which has an average elevation of -3 meters (-10 feet), has only existed since 1984, but is already the 8th largest city in Netherlands with 223,000 residents. It is planned to grow to 350,000 residents by 2030.
The region of Netherlands with the largest population is the ‘Randstad‘. It is roughly a diamond-shaped area marked by Amsterdam in the north, Rotterdam in the south, The Hague in the west and Utrecht in the east. The Randstad covers 11,300 km2 and has 8.4 million inhabitants (46.5% of the entire country’s population).
10 Largest Cities in Netherlands by Population
| RANK | CITY/MUNICIPALITY | POPULATION | PROVINCE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amsterdam | 918,000 | Noord-Holland |
| 2 | Rotterdam | 664,000 | Zuid-Holland |
| 3 | The Hague | 563,000 | Zuid-Holland |
| 4 | Utrecht | 368,000 | Utrecht |
| 5 | Eindhoven | 244,000 | Noord-Brabant |
| 6 | Groningen | 238,000 | Groningen |
| 7 | Tilburg | 228,000 | Noord-Brabant |
| 8 | Almere | 223,000 | Noord-Holland |
| 9 | Breda | 187,000 | Noord-Brabant |
| 10 | Nijmegen | 183,000 | Gelderland |
10 Largest Cities in Netherlands by Area
The largest cities in Netherlands by population are not the same as the largest cities in Netherlands by land area. Amsterdam, which is the largest Dutch city/municipality in population only ranks as the 39th largest in area (219 km2 or 85 mi2). Rotterdam, the second largest city/municipality by population is the 40th largest in size (218 km2 or 84 mi2).
The 10 largest cities in Netherlands by land area are…
| RANK | CITY/MUNICIPALITY | SIZE AREA | PROVINCE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sudwest-Fryslen | 523 km2 (202 mi2) | Friesland |
| 2 | Het Hogeland | 477 km2 (184 mi2) | Groningen |
| 3 | Noordoostpolder | 458 km2 (177 mi2) | Flevoland |
| 4 | Noardeast-Fryslan | 379 km2 (146 mi2) | Friesland |
| 5 | Westerkwartier | 363 km2 (140 mi2) | Groningen |
| 6 | Hollands Kroon | 358 km2 (138 mi2) | North Holland |
| 7 | De Fryske Marren | 351 km2 (136 mi2) | Friesland |
| 8 | Land van Cuijk | 341 km2 (132 mi2) | North Brabant |
| 9 | Midden-Drenthe | 341 km2 (132 mi2) | Drenthe |
| 10 | Apeldoorn | 340 km2 (131 mi2) | Gelderland |
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