
Our history
Facts
- Founded on 9 January 1899
- Offices in The Hague, Heerlen and Bonaire
- 600 statistical surveys per year
- 2,000 employees, the vast majority highly educated
- 75,000 mentions in the media
- 14 billion figures in StatLine
History
CBS was founded in 1899 in response to the need for independent, reliable information to facilitate a deeper understanding of societal issues. CBS fulfils that role to this day. The organisation has since evolved into an innovative knowledge organisation, constantly adopting new technologies and developments to maintain its autonomy and the quality of its data.
In 2024, CBS will be celebrating two milestones in its history: the 125th anniversary of its founding and the 50th anniversary of its Heerlen office.
The Hague office 1899-1970
Voorburg office 1970-2009
Heerlen office 1974-2009
The Hague, Leidschenveen office 2008-present
The new CBS building was designed by Pi de Bruijn’s firm De Architekten Cie. The existing urban plan and the location presented constraints on the design of the new building. The building has a total office space of 60,000 square metres, of which CBS occupies 30,000 square metres. Staff moved to the new Leidschenveen building on 23 and 24 August 2008. The official opening by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands took place on Wednesday, 8 October 2008.
Current Heerlen office 2009-present
The current office at CBS-weg 1 is a star-shaped building which consists of five office wings set around an atrium, designed by Amsterdam architects Meyer en Van Schooten. The building comprises approximately 22,000 square metres of office space and has 296 underground parking spaces. Developed and completed in a mere 29 months, the project was officially delivered in June 2009 and opened on 30 September that year by the then head of state Queen Beatrix.
The atrium contains a glass cylinder that indicates the exact position of the old shaft of Oranje Nassau Mine 1. An on-site artwork was commissioned by the building’s developer. Created by Ellen Brouwer, the work is titled Odonata Statistica (The Damselfly). It rises to a height of 15 metres and is 4 metres in diameter.
The glazing of the office wings (both inside and out) has been designed to reflect the layers of the earth. The CBS office is sustainably heated thanks to its connection with the Mijnwater project realised at the Oranje Nassau mines: water in the old mine galleries is used to heat and cool homes and buildings in the area.