Zuid-Holland is the Netherlands’ most built-up province

• The Netherlands has a total area of over 4 million hectares.
• More than half of the Netherlands is covered by agricultural land.
• Less than one-tenth of the Netherlands is built-up.

The province with the highest percentage of built-up land in 2022 was Zuid-Holland, at 23 percent. Built-up land includes both residential and industrial areas. The share of built-up land was the lowest in the province of Fryslân (Friesland), at 6 percent. Urban municipalities near the Netherlands’ four major cities (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht) often have a relatively high percentage of residential land, while industrial areas are located mainly around ports and in the vicinity of cities. This is reported by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) based on the latest edition of the Land Use Database commissioned by the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment.

In 2022, the Netherlands had a total area of 4.2 million hectares, including land and water. More than half of this (52 percent) was agricultural land (2.2 million hectares). A further 10 percent consists of open water, including the Wadden Sea and the North Sea coastal zone, and 9 percent consists of inland water, such as rivers and the IJsselmeer. Built-up land represents 9 percent of the total. The rest is made up of roads and facilities for traffic, semi-built-up areas, nature and recreational areas.

Noord-Holland and Zuid-Holland are relatively built-up

Nearly 400 thousand hectares of Dutch territory was made up of built-up land in 2022, of which 66 percent was residential and 24 percent industrial. Areas used for retail and hospitality, public facilities and social and cultural facilities are also classified as built-up land. Greenhouse horticulture is not classified as built-up land.

There are differences between the provinces of the Netherlands when it comes to their land area and the percentage of built-up land. Gelderland and Noord-Brabant are more than three times larger than Utrecht and Flevoland, for instance. In the following five provinces, the percentage of built-up land is higher than the national average (12 percent): Zuid-Holland, Noord-Holland, Utrecht, Noord-Brabant and Limburg. Noord-Brabant has the most built-up land, at 67 thousand hectares, while Flevoland has the least, at 10 thousand hectares.

Suburban areas have the highest percentage of residential land

Municipalities located close to the four major cities often have a lot of residential land. Near Rotterdam, for example, this is the case in Krimpen aan den IJssel (51 percent) and Capelle aan den IJssel (47 percent). Similarly, this is also the case close to The Hague, in Zoetermeer (37 percent) and Rijswijk (36 percent).

In the case of Amsterdam, the municipalities with a relatively large share of residential areas are located further away from the city: Haarlem (45 percent) and Heemstede (44 percent). In cities like Nijmegen, approximately 40 percent of land is used for residential purposes. The percentage of residential land is lowest on Vlieland and Schiermonnikoog, at less than 1 percent.

Significant industrial areas near Port of Rotterdam and Schiphol Airport

Municipalities with a higher percentage of industrial land are located near Schiphol Airport and ports near major cities. Of the municipalities around Schiphol Airport, Aalsmeer (17 percent) in particular has a relatively high share of industrial land. Zuid-Holland has a high concentration of industrial areas, particularly around Rotterdam. Approximately 30 percent of the municipality of Rotterdam is industrial, with most industrial land around the port. Alblasserdam, which is located nearby, also scores high, with around 19 percent industrial land.

In Amsterdam, 15 percent of the total municipal area is made up of industrial land. In the municipalities of Beverwijk and Velsen, industry represents almost 20 percent of the land area.

There is also a lot of port-related activity in Vlissingen. In the province of Utrecht, there are also a number of municipalities with a relatively high percentage of industrial land, such as Nieuwegein and Veenendaal. Industrial land includes ports, industrial estates and offices. The municipalities with the lowest percentage of industrial land are Rozendaal, Bloemendaal, Schiermonnikoog and Vlieland.

History of the Land Use Database

The Land Use Database (BBG) is a detailed digital map produced by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) that shows the primary land use in each area of the Netherlands. The database maps the country’s entire surface area, from buildings, roads and agriculture to recreational areas and nature reserves.

Statistics Netherlands has been surveying land use in the Netherlands since 1900. In the past, maps were drawn by hand and did not cover the whole of the Netherlands. Since the late 1980s, the whole of the Netherlands has been mapped using the digital geographic information system (GIS). This enables a detailed analysis of each plot of land. Since 2000, data from the Land Registry has increasingly been used in the digital land use map.

Far-reaching changes

In 2020, the production of land use statistics were revised once again. Since that year, the digital map and the figures derived from it have been produced using the new Land Use Database (NBBG). This database focuses more on the use of existing digital sources, including the Topographical Register (BRT), addresses and buildings register (BAG), crop register (BRP) and cadastral map (DKK).

Since 2000, the land use survey has been conducted at intervals of two or three years, and this is likely to be reduced to one year with effect from 2024.

Related statistics

In addition to the Land Use Database, Statistics Netherlands also publishes other statistics on land use in the Netherlands. These related statistics sometimes use the same general terms as the Land Use Database (such as ‘built-up area’ or ‘built-up environment’), but with different definitions. An example of this is the Natural Capital Accounts (NKR), which map the relationship between nature, the economy and human activities.

Because these statistics are produced for a different purpose, differences in the figures are inevitable, as they are often based on different definitions, different spatial boundaries or a different level of detail.