Land use; all categories, municipalities
| Regions | Periods | Transport Transport total (ha) | Transport Railroad (ha) | Transport Main road (ha) | Transport Airport (ha) | Inland water Inland water total (ha) | Inland water IJsselmeer / Markermeer (ha) | Inland water Enclosed estuary (ha) | Inland water Rijn and Maas (ha) | Inland water Randmeer (ha) | Inland water Water reservoir (ha) | Inland water Water with recreational usage (ha) | Inland water Water where minerals are extracted (ha) | Inland water Area for storing industrial water (ha) | Inland water Other inland water (ha) | Tidal water Tidal water total (ha) | Tidal water Waddenzee, Eems, Dollard (ha) | Tidal water Oosterschelde (ha) | Tidal water Westerschelde (ha) | Tidal water Noordzee (ha) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oudewater | 2017 | 70 | 19 | 51 | 0 | 120 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 120 | |||||||||
| Wateringen | 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Waterland | 2017 | 155 | 0 | 155 | 0 | 6,367 | 5,964 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 381 | ||||||||
| Zwartewaterland | 2017 | 206 | 0 | 206 | 0 | 550 | 80 | 0 | 20 | 24 | 0 | 426 | ||||||||
| Source: CBS. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Dataset is not available.
This table provides information about the land use of the area of the Netherlands and the changes in land use.
Data available from: 1996.
Status of the figures:
The figures in this table are final.
Changes as of 26 April 2023:
Addition of 2017 figures.
This table is based on the Bestand Bodemgebruik (BBG), which literally translates as the ‘land use file’. For intervening base years without a BBG, this table just presents total area statistics for the presented regions.
Previously published base years in this table are never revised for corrections established when a newer BBG-edition is produced. Such corrections consist of corrections of earlier misinterpretations and of improved interpretations based on new sources. The corrections are recorded in the so-called Mutatiebestand (the mutations file) which is a digital map, being a part of each BBG publication. See Bestand Bodemgebruik for further information on correction of the land use statistics and for available publications.
As of reporting year 2016, Statistics Netherlands no longer publishes data on metropolitan agglomerations and urban regions. Various social developments have rendered the philosophy and methodology underlying the delineation outdated. It furthermore appears that other agencies are using a different classification of metropolitan agglomerations and urban regions depending on the area of application. This means there is no longer a consensus on which standard applies.
The metropolitan agglomerations and urban regions will not be published anymore from 2015 onwards as a default regional figure.
When will new figures be published?
After the addition of the 2017 land use figures all updates to this table will be stopped.
The methodology of the land use statistics, as it has been in use up to the 2017-edition, is being redesigned. See for further information on this redesign and the availability of land use statistics based on the new methodology the web page Bestand Bodemgebruik.
Description topics
- Transport
- Area in use for traffic and transport on roads, on railways and in the air.
- Transport total
- Total area of the main group ‘Transport’.
- Railroad
- Area in use for traffic and transport on railways.
Including
- slopes;
- dead end rails to industrial area;
- shunting area;
- railway yard including station buildings and adjacent parking areas.
Excluding
- narrow gauge, this is included at the adjacent land use.
- Main road
- Area in use for traffic and transport over the main road network.
Including
- roads with function of transportation artery;
- included green in connections with roads and inside roundabouts;
- parking areas;
- busstation;
- gasoilstation;
- storages for road maintenance.
Excluding
- included green, larger than 1 ha in use of agriculture or woodland;
- included water larger than 1 ha;
- main road under construction.
- Airport
- Area in use for traffic and transport in the air.
Including
- paved and unpaved airstrips;
- associated buildings and parking areas.
Excluding
- unpaved soil inside the enclosed airport (not belonging to airstrips);
- adjacent areas with services and industries.
- Inland water
- Inland water in use as waterway, recreational water, mining area, sewage or sludge farm, water reservoir, including IJsselmeer.
- Inland water total
- Total area of the main group ‘Inland water’.
- IJsselmeer / Markermeer
- The water enclosed at the Afsluitdijk, the Ketelbrug, the Hollandsebrug at Muiderberg and the Oranjesluizen at Amsterdam.
- Enclosed estuary
- From the sea closed estuary. Haringvliet, Hollands Diep (until Moerdijkspoorbrug), Volkerak, Krammer, Grevelingenmeer, Veerse meer and Lauwersmeer.
- Rijn and Maas
- Waters from the river Rhine and the river Meuse, including their tidal riviers.
The area is limited by the Keteldiep (IJssel), the piers of Hoek van Holland (Nieuwe Waterweg) and the railway of the Moerdijkbruggen (Amer), and the transitions of the Dordtse Kil and the Spui of the Haringvliet.
- Randmeer
- The water enclosed by the Hollandsebrug at Muiderberg, the Ketelbrug between the Noordoostpolder and Oostelijk Flevoland, the Kattendiep and the Keteldiep.
- Water reservoir
- Area in use for storing water.
Including
- water storage for drinking water;
- water storage for the industry.
- Water with recreational usage
- Inland water for recreation, like water in parks and golf area’s, rowing tracks and recreational ponds.
Including
- water in parks;
- beachwater, swimming pond;
- recreation pond (surfing, swimming etc);
- water in golf area;
- water in yacht basins;
- rowing course, water ski.
The shores of these areas are at least three quarter a sport ground, an area of holiday recreation, an area for day trips, or park. An exception on this are the rowing courses and water ski.
Minimum size of yacht basins of 0,5 hectare of the water part.
- Water where minerals are extracted
- Inland water for the extraction of minerals like sand.
The water is assigned to this category as long as sand suckers are present.
- Area for storing industrial water
- Area for separing water and sediments, or for storage of (polluted) harboursludge.
Including
- storage area of the segregation of water and sediment;
- storage area of (polluted) harboursludge.
- Other inland water
- Inland water, more broad than six meter, that does not belong to another category of land use.
Including
- waterways (rivers, canals etc);
- lakes;
- ditches;
- harbours, if not yacht basins.
- Tidal water
- Water outside the average high tide.
- Tidal water total
- Total area of the main group ‘Tidal water’.
- Waddenzee, Eems, Dollard
- The water in between the Waddenislands, the Afsluitdijk and the shore of North-Holland, Friesland and Groningen.
- Oosterschelde
- The water in between the Oosterscheldekering, the Grevelingendam, the Philipsdam and the Oesterdam.
- Westerschelde
- The water at the land side of the imaginary line between Vlissingen and Breskens.
- Noordzee
- The water at the sea side of the shore of Zeeland, North-Holland, Zuid-Holland and the Waddenislands.
Only the part of the North Sea is taken that has a municipal assignment.
At the Nieuwe Waterweg, a free into sea streaming river, the division between tidal water and inland water has been made by an imaginary connection between the ending points of the breakwater piers.