Regions of Netherlands (NUTS 2) by population

Zuid-Holland had the highest population of 12 regions in 2015, at 3.57 million. Zeeland had the lowest, at 380,726. The median was 1.13 million and the figure for the Netherlands was 16.9 million. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest3,565,726Zuid-Holland
Lowest380,726Zeeland
Median1,129,29712 regions
Netherlands16,900,726History

All regions, 2015

CSVChart (SVG)

Zuid-HollandZuid-Holland: 3,565,726 persons3,565,726Noord-HollandNoord-Holland: 2,761,929 persons2,761,929Noord-BrabantNoord-Brabant: 2,488,751 persons2,488,751GelderlandGelderland: 2,026,578 persons2,026,578UtrechtUtrecht: 1,297,857 persons1,297,857OverijsselOverijssel: 1,140,652 persons1,140,652Limburg (NL)Limburg (NL): 1,117,941 persons1,117,941Friesland (NL)Friesland (NL): 646,257 persons646,257GroningenGroningen: 583,942 persons583,942DrentheDrenthe: 488,576 persons488,576FlevolandFlevoland: 401,791 persons401,791ZeelandZeeland: 380,726 persons380,726
persons. Source: Eurostat. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankRegions2015
persons
Change on 2014
1Zuid-Holland3,565,726+0.6%
2Noord-Holland2,761,929+0.7%
3Noord-Brabant2,488,751+0.4%
4Gelderland2,026,578+0.3%
5Utrecht1,297,857+0.8%
6Overijssel1,140,652+0.1%
7Limburg (NL)1,117,941-0.2%
8Friesland (NL)646,257-0%
9Groningen583,942+0.2%
10Drenthe488,576-0.1%
11Flevoland401,791+0.5%
12Zeeland380,7260%

Other periods

About this ranking

Resident population. Spain and the EU: 1 January, with Spanish figures from the official municipal register (PadrĂ³n). 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 regions 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 Regions of Netherlands by population using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"population","level":"region","within":"Netherlands","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=population&level=region&within=Netherlands&limit=10

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

Questions

Which region has the highest population?

Zuid-Holland, with 3.57 million in 2015, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which region has the lowest population?

Zeeland, with 380,726 in 2015.

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

Regions of Netherlands (NUTS 2): more rankings