Demographics of The Netherlands - Population Size

Population Size

The Netherlands is the 61st most populated country in the world and as of March 9, 2011 it has a population of 16,663,831.

Between 1900 and 1950 the population had doubled from 5.1 to 10.0 million people. From 1951 to 2000 the population increased from 10.0 to 15.9 million people, making the relative increase smaller.

The Netherlands is the twenty-seventh most densely populated country in the world. The 16,499,084 Dutch men and women are concentrated on an area of 41,526 km²; this means that the country has a population density of 397 per km², or 487 per km² if only the land area, 33,883 km², is counted.

Bangladesh and South Korea are larger and more densely populated (hence have a larger population), and only Taiwan is smaller and has a larger population (hence a larger population density). There are 21 more countries (12 independent ones and 9 dependent territories) with a larger population density, but they all have a smaller population (hence a smaller area). If the water area is not counted then Taiwan is larger, and there are 16 more countries (9 independent ones and 7 dependent territories) with a larger population density.

As a result of these demographic characteristics the Netherlands has had to plan its land use strictly. Since 1946 the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment has been occupied with the national coordination of land use. Because of its high population density the Netherlands has also reclaimed land from the sea by poldering. Between 1927 and 1968 an entire province, Flevoland was created. It currently houses 365,301 people. Because of these policies, the Dutch have been able to combine high levels of population density with extremely high levels of agricultural production.

Even though the Netherlands is so densely populated; there are no cities with a population over 1 million in the Netherlands. Instead 'four big cities' as they are called (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht) can in many ways be regarded as a single metropolitan area, the Randstad ('rim or edge city') with about 7 million inhabitants around an agricultural 'green heart' (het Groene Hart).