Dutch Fun Facts: Size & Population
Here are Dutch fun facts: size and population – Netherlands compared to U.S.A., Canada, UK, Cuba. Trivia about Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Holland and more…
DUTCH FUN FACTS: SIZE & POPULATION
NETHERLANDS VS. HOLLAND
Many people mistakenly believe that the Netherlands and Holland are the same thing. Here are some fun facts about the differences…
- The Netherlands is divided into 12 provinces. Holland accounts for 2 of the 12 provinces (North Holland and South Holland).
- There are 342 municipalities in the Netherlands (as of 01 January 2023). 94 municipalities are within Holland.
DUTCH CITIES & PROVINCES
- South Holland (Zuid-Holland) is the Netherlands most populated province with 3,734,481 residents (Aug 2021)
- Zeeland is the Netherlands least populated province with 383,689 residents (Nov 2019)
- Friesland is the Netherlands largest province in area (5,749 km² or 2,220 mi²)
- Utrecht is the Netherlands smallest province in area (1,449 km² or 560 mi²)
- Amsterdam is the Netherlands most populated city with 873,338 residents (Jan 2021)
- Schiermonikoog is the Netherlands least populated municipality with 931 residents (Jan 2021)
- Sudwest-Fryslan is the Netherlands largest municipality in area (522.2 km² or 201.6 mi²)
- Westvoort is the Netherlands smallest municipality in area (7.7 km² or 3 mi²)
- The Hague is the Netherlands most densely populated city with 5,754 residents/km² or 14,908/mi²
Amsterdam has 8 boroughs: Centrum, Noord, Nieuw-West, Oost, West, Zuid, Zuid-Oost and Westpoort. The largest number of residents (150,000) live in Nieuw-West (17.6% of the city’s total). Westpoort is a non-residential borough.
Rotterdam has 14 boroughs: Centrum, Charlois, Delfshaven, Feijenoord, Hillegersberg-Schiebroek, Hoogvliet, Hoek van Holland, Ijsselmonde, Kralingen-Crooswijk, Noord, Overschie, Pernis, Prins Alexander and Rozenburg. Prins Alexander is the most populated borough with 95,400 residents (15% of the city’s total).
The Hague has 8 districts: Centrum, Escamp, Haags Hout, Laak, Leidschenveen-Ypenburg, Loosduinen, Schevenginen and Segbroek. Escamp is the most populated with 124,512 residents (23.6% of the city’s total).
Utrecht has 10 districts: Centrum, Leidsche Rijn, Noordoost, Noordwest, Oost, Overvecht, Vleuten-De Meern, West, Zuid and Zuidwest. Vleuten-De Meern has the most residents – 47,801 (14% of the city’s total).
Zuidplaspolder in the town of Nieuwerkerk aan den Ijssel (near Rotterdam) has the lowest elevation in the Netherlands at 6.76 meters (22.2 feet) below sea level.
Vaalserberg near the town of Vaals (in Limburg province) is the highest point in the Netherlands at 322.4 meters (1,058 feet).
Approximately 1/3 of the Netherlands is below sea level. It is protected from flooding by an intricate system of canals, dikes, sluices and dams.
Flevoland became the 12th Dutch province in 1986. It is one of the world’s largest artificial islands – 970 km² of land which had been underwater until the mid-20th century.
INTERNATIONAL SIZE COMPARISONS
CANADA
- Canada is 268 times larger than the Netherlands in area but only 2.3 times larger in population (40.7M vs 18.0M)
- Canada has 10 provinces, the Netherlands has 12.
- Canada’s smallest province is Prince Edward Island, at 5,686 km² (2,195 mi²), which is approximately the same size as the Netherlands’ largest province… Friesland at 5,749 km² (2,220 mi²).
- The Hague‘s population (565,000) is approximately the same as that of Quebec City (560,000).
- Rotterdam‘s population (671,000) is approximately the same as that of Vancouver (680,000).
UNITED KINGDOM
- The Netherlands is almost twice the size of Wales (20,779 km²) but less than half the size of Scotland (78,387 km²).
UNITED STATES
If the Netherlands was a U.S. state:
- It would rank 42nd in size (the only states smaller in size would be Maryland, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode Island)
- It would rank 5th in population (behind only California, Texas, Florida and New York)
- It would be approximately equal in size to New Jersey and Massachusetts combined
- Amsterdam would be the 15th largest city by population (behind Columbus, Ohio and ahead of Charlotte, North Carolina)
- Utrecht has roughly the same population (361,699) as New Orleans, Louisiana (369,749).
- Eindhoven has roughly the same population (238,326) as Boise, Idaho (236,634).
SOUTH AMERICA
If the Netherlands was a country in South America:
- It would be the smallest (rank 13th) in area size
- It would rank 8th by population (ahead of Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Guyana and Suriname)
CUBA
- The Netherlands is only 1/3rd the size of Cuba but has 6 million more residents.
SWITZERLAND
- The Netherlands (41,543 km2) is almost identical in size to Switzerland (41,277 km2), but has twice the population (18.0 million vs 8.9 million).
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