Netherlands population
Netherlands: 18.1 million people in 2025 (18,087,633), 71st of 217 countries and areas — and 18.5 million projected for 2050.
Compare Netherlands with another country
Where it stands
In 2025 the Netherlands has 18,087,633 people, which is 0.22% of the 8.19 billion counted across the 217 countries and areas on this site. That puts it 71st by population, behind Ecuador and ahead of Cambodia.
Since 1960
In 1960 the figure was 11,486,631. Since then the population has grown 1.57×, an average of 0.7% a year upward. It has not yet doubled since then.
The projection puts the peak in 2041 at 18,669,278, after which it declines. By 2050 the projected total is 18,540,404, 2.5% above the 2025 figure.
The ranking in 2050
In 2050 the projected rank is 76th, down 5 places from 71st. Rankings move when other countries grow faster or slower, not only when the Netherlands changes.
People and land
The Netherlands covers 33,670 km² of land, so 2025 density is 537 people per km² — 22nd most crowded of 216 places with an area figure. At that density a square 10 km on a side holds about 53,720 people.
The fertility rate was 1.43 births per woman in 2024, below the roughly 2.1 needed to keep a population steady without migration; life expectancy at birth was 82 years (2024); 14.9% of people were under 15 and 20.9% were 65 or older (2025); 96% of the population lived in cities. These shape the curve above: a young population keeps growing after fertility falls, an old one starts shrinking sooner.
Its nearest neighbours in the ranking are Ecuador just above, with 18.3 million (1.01× as many), and Cambodia just below, with 17.8 million (1.01× as many as Cambodia has).
How the numbers are taken. Total population from the World Bank's population estimates and projections (built from United Nations and national statistics). Values to 2025 are estimates; 2026–2050 are projections that continue current fertility, mortality and migration trends. Sources and limits.