NUTS 3 areas of Netherlands by population

Groot-Rijnmond had the highest population of 40 areas in 2021, at 1.46 million. Delfzijl en omgeving had the lowest, at 45,587. The median was 329,680 and the figure for the Netherlands was 17.48 million. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest1,461,412Groot-Rijnmond
Median329,68040 areas
Netherlands17,475,415History

All areas, 2021

CSVChart (SVG)

Groot-RijnmondGroot-Rijnmond: 1,461,412 persons1,461,412Groot-AmsterdamGroot-Amsterdam: 1,416,684 persons1,416,684UtrechtUtrecht: 1,361,153 persons1,361,153Agglomeratie ’s-GravenhageAgglomeratie ’s-Gravenhage: 887,863 persons887,863Zuidoost-Noord-BrabantZuidoost-Noord-Brabant: 784,390 persons784,390Arnhem/NijmegenArnhem/Nijmegen: 744,715 persons744,715VeluweVeluwe: 700,975 persons700,975Noordoost-Noord-BrabantNoordoost-Noord-Brabant: 659,524 persons659,524West-Noord-BrabantWest-Noord-Brabant: 637,031 persons637,031TwenteTwente: 631,733 persons631,733Zuid-LimburgZuid-Limburg: 594,254 persons594,254Midden-Noord-BrabantMidden-Noord-Brabant: 493,004 persons493,004Agglomeratie Leiden en Bollenstre…Agglomeratie Leiden en Bollenstreek: 431,595 persons431,595FlevolandFlevoland: 428,226 persons428,226Overig GroningenOverig Groningen: 405,511 persons405,511AchterhoekAchterhoek: 402,239 persons402,239Kop van Noord-HollandKop van Noord-Holland: 379,304 persons379,304Noord-OverijsselNoord-Overijssel: 377,292 persons377,292Zuidoost-Zuid-HollandZuidoost-Zuid-Holland: 373,005 persons373,005Oost-Zuid-HollandOost-Zuid-Holland: 337,798 persons337,798Noord-FrieslandNoord-Friesland: 321,562 persons321,562Noord-LimburgNoord-Limburg: 283,350 persons283,350Overig ZeelandOverig Zeeland: 280,196 persons280,196Alkmaar en omgevingAlkmaar en omgeving: 250,477 persons250,477Zuidwest-GelderlandZuidwest-Gelderland: 248,674 persons248,674Het Gooi en VechtstreekHet Gooi en Vechtstreek: 238,664 persons238,664Midden-LimburgMidden-Limburg: 238,268 persons238,268Delft en WestlandDelft en Westland: 234,377 persons234,377Agglomeratie HaarlemAgglomeratie Haarlem: 230,734 persons230,734IJmondIJmond: 199,389 persons199,389Noord-DrentheNoord-Drenthe: 192,808 persons192,808Zuidoost-FrieslandZuidoost-Friesland: 188,096 persons188,096ZaanstreekZaanstreek: 173,234 persons173,234Zuidoost-DrentheZuidoost-Drenthe: 167,939 persons167,939Zuidwest-OverijsselZuidwest-Overijssel: 157,508 persons157,508Zuidwest-FrieslandZuidwest-Friesland: 141,777 persons141,777Oost-GroningenOost-Groningen: 135,839 persons135,839Zuidwest-DrentheZuidwest-Drenthe: 134,024 persons134,024Zeeuwsch-VlaanderenZeeuwsch-Vlaanderen: 105,204 persons105,204Delfzijl en omgevingDelfzijl en omgeving: 45,587 persons45,587
persons. Source: Eurostat. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankAreas2021
persons
Change on 2020
1Groot-Rijnmond1,461,412+0.5%
2Groot-Amsterdam1,416,684+0.3%
3Utrecht1,361,153+0.5%
4Agglomeratie ’s-Gravenhage887,863+0.5%
5Zuidoost-Noord-Brabant784,390+0.5%
6Arnhem/Nijmegen744,715+0.3%
7Veluwe700,975+0.8%
8Noordoost-Noord-Brabant659,524+0.6%
9West-Noord-Brabant637,031+0.2%
10Twente631,733+0.1%
11Zuid-Limburg594,254-0.5%
12Midden-Noord-Brabant493,004+0.5%
13Agglomeratie Leiden en Bollenstreek431,595+0.3%
14Flevoland428,226+1.2%
15Overig Groningen405,511+0.2%
16Achterhoek402,239+0.3%
17Kop van Noord-Holland379,304+0.4%
18Noord-Overijssel377,292+0.7%
19Zuidoost-Zuid-Holland373,005+0.3%
20Oost-Zuid-Holland337,798+1%
21Noord-Friesland321,562+0.3%
22Noord-Limburg283,350+0.3%
23Overig Zeeland280,196+0.7%
24Alkmaar en omgeving250,477+0.6%
25Zuidwest-Gelderland248,674+0.9%
26Het Gooi en Vechtstreek238,664+0.6%
27Midden-Limburg238,268+0.4%
28Delft en Westland234,377+0.5%
29Agglomeratie Haarlem230,734-0%
30IJmond199,389+0.1%
31Noord-Drenthe192,808+0.2%
32Zuidoost-Friesland188,096+0.2%
33Zaanstreek173,234+0.1%
34Zuidoost-Drenthe167,9390%
35Zuidwest-Overijssel157,508+0.5%
36Zuidwest-Friesland141,777+0.2%
37Oost-Groningen135,839+0.5%
38Zuidwest-Drenthe134,024+0.5%
39Zeeuwsch-Vlaanderen105,2040%
40Delfzijl en omgeving45,587-0.6%

Other periods

About this ranking

Resident population. Spain and the EU: 1 January, with Spanish figures from the official municipal register (Padrón). United States: Census Bureau population estimates for 1 July. Other countries and the World: World Bank mid-year estimates, which count all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.

For Denmark, Statistics Denmark counts the registered resident population on 1 January. Greenland and the Faroe Islands are excluded. The annual series selects the first-quarter reference date from FOLK1A. The World Bank series exists for every country, so use it (through compare) to rank countries on one basis.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the areas are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

Eurostat. Population on 1 January by NUTS 3 region (demo_r_pjanaggr3). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/demo_r_pjanaggr3/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank NUTS 3 areas of Netherlands by population using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"population","level":"province","within":"Netherlands","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=population&level=province&within=Netherlands&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which area has the highest population?

Groot-Rijnmond, with 1.46 million in 2021, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which area has the lowest population?

Delfzijl en omgeving, with 45,587 in 2021.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Eurostat, European Commission, Population on 1 January by NUTS 3 region (demo_r_pjanaggr3). Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Population: other rankings

NUTS 3 areas of Netherlands: more rankings