Urban population growth (annual %) in Netherlands
Netherlands: Urban population growth (annual %) was 0.8% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Urban population growth in Netherlands, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
Netherlands recorded 0.8% for urban population growth in 2025.
The figure is down 15.0% on the previous year and down 10.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population growth in Netherlands peaked at 4.7% in 1997 and was at its lowest, 0.6%, in 2008.
That places Netherlands 132nd out of 218 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.
Urban population growth (annual %) in Netherlands, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 1.6% | — |
| 1962 | 1.7% | +3.1% |
| 1963 | 1.4% | -17.5% |
| 1964 | 2.2% | +56.8% |
| 1965 | 1.9% | -15.0% |
| 1966 | 1.5% | -17.7% |
| 1967 | 1.7% | +7.6% |
| 1968 | 1.3% | -21.0% |
| 1969 | 1.2% | -10.1% |
| 1970 | 1.7% | +44.7% |
| 1971 | 2.3% | +37.7% |
| 1972 | 1.4% | -38.5% |
| 1973 | 1.5% | +5.5% |
| 1974 | 1.9% | +24.7% |
| 1975 | 1.2% | -38.5% |
| 1976 | 1.0% | -17.6% |
| 1977 | 0.7% | -25.5% |
| 1978 | 0.7% | -5.5% |
| 1979 | 1.0% | +45.3% |
| 1980 | 1.1% | +8.8% |
| 1981 | 1.8% | +72.1% |
| 1982 | 1.5% | -16.1% |
| 1983 | 1.1% | -30.5% |
| 1984 | 1.1% | -2.0% |
| 1985 | 0.9% | -18.9% |
| 1986 | 1.1% | +25.9% |
| 1987 | 0.9% | -14.6% |
| 1988 | 1.0% | +13.4% |
| 1989 | 1.1% | +5.5% |
| 1990 | 1.0% | -8.2% |
| 1991 | 1.1% | +10.1% |
| 1992 | 0.9% | -18.4% |
| 1993 | 1.3% | +48.9% |
| 1994 | 1.5% | +14.0% |
| 1995 | 0.9% | -41.5% |
| 1996 | 2.9% | +221.3% |
| 1997 | 4.7% | +64.9% |
| 1998 | 2.2% | -53.9% |
| 1999 | 1.1% | -51.3% |
| 2000 | 2.5% | +138.5% |
| 2001 | 2.9% | +14.0% |
| 2002 | 1.4% | -51.2% |
| 2003 | 1.1% | -23.7% |
| 2004 | 1.5% | +39.8% |
| 2005 | 1.7% | +15.8% |
| 2006 | 1.5% | -12.6% |
| 2007 | 1.1% | -27.5% |
| 2008 | 0.6% | -43.0% |
| 2009 | 1.2% | +93.8% |
| 2010 | 1.8% | +48.4% |
| 2011 | 1.2% | -33.0% |
| 2012 | 1.0% | -20.2% |
| 2013 | 1.0% | +4.9% |
| 2014 | 1.1% | +8.2% |
| 2015 | 0.9% | -15.0% |
| 2016 | 0.9% | -7.4% |
| 2017 | 1.2% | +37.2% |
| 2018 | 2.2% | +85.3% |
| 2019 | 2.0% | -7.6% |
| 2020 | 0.9% | -53.6% |
| 2021 | 0.9% | -2.1% |
| 2022 | 1.3% | +44.2% |
| 2023 | 1.3% | +1.1% |
| 2024 | 1.0% | -27.0% |
| 2025 | 0.8% | -15.0% |
Netherlands compared with similar countries
- Netherlands's 0.8% is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.6%, 1.3× the median. (85 countries reporting)
- Netherlands's 0.8% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.5%, 1.5× the median. (57 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Urban population growth (annual %) in Netherlands changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | +221.3% | 0.9% | 2.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.6% | 1.2% | 2.2% | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.3% | 0.7% | 2.3% | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.2% | 0.9% | 1.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.8% | 0.9% | 4.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.6% | 0.6% | 2.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.3% | 0.9% | 2.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.1% | 0.8% | 1.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Netherlands
More climate change data for Netherlands
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 0.2% (2100)
- Population, total, annual growth rate 0.523 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population, total, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Urban population, annual growth rate 0.8374 % change on previous year (2025)
- Urban population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Urban population, per capita 0.9594 units per person (2025)
- Precipitation anomalies, annual growth rate -175.91 % change on previous year (2025)
- Urban population 17.35 million (2025)
- Population, total 18.09 million (2025)
- Population growth 0.5% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population growth in Netherlands?
- Urban population growth in Netherlands was 0.8% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population growth recorded in Netherlands?
- The highest recorded value was 4.7% in 1997.
- What is the lowest urban population growth recorded in Netherlands?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.6% in 2008.
- How does Netherlands rank for urban population growth?
- Netherlands ranks 132nd out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population growth rising or falling in Netherlands?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Netherlands data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Urban population growth (annual %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Annual urban population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear urban population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank total population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects.