Estimate of the number of eligible voters

Residents of the Netherlands are eligible to vote in the municipal elections if they are 18 years of age or older, hold Dutch or EU nationality, or hold some other nationality and have been legally resident in the Netherlands for five years or more. The estimate of the eligible population on 18 March 2026 is based on the provisional population on 1 January 2026, which is based on data known to Statistics Netherlands (CBS) up to and including mid-February. To calculate the voting-age population, the nationality and the period for which people have been registered as residents without interruption were used, rather than residence permits.

Between 1 January 2026 and 18 March 2026, the voting-age population will change slightly. For example, an estimated 41,000 17-year-olds will become eligible to vote and an estimated 40,000 adults will die. These changes have not been included in the estimate of the voting-age population. There will also be domestic and foreign migration during that period, and people will be officially granted Dutch nationality.

The estimate of the number of young people eligible to vote for the first time in municipal elections includes all young people who will be old enough to vote on 18 March, but who were not eligible to vote in the previous municipal elections. This may also include young people who were not yet resident in the Netherlands at that time. An estimated 70,000 young people with Dutch nationality have turned 18 since the House of Representatives elections on 29 October 2025 and are eligible to vote for the first time.

Residents of the Caribbean Netherlands will also go to the polls for the Island Council elections on 18 March. This group has been excluded from this report, as have groups that are not present in the population register, such as diplomats or NATO military personnel.

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