Number of cross-border commuters working in the Netherlands has risen

© Hollandse Hoogte / Nederlandse Freelancers
  • There are almost as many incoming cross-border commuters from Belgium as from Germany.
  • The number of cross-border commuters from the Netherlands who work in Germany is decreasing.
  • Over half of cross-border commuters coming from Belgium are Dutch nationals.

In 2024, close to 91.9 thousand people living across the border in Belgium or Germany had jobs in the Netherlands: 45.3 thousand from Belgium and 46.6 thousand from Germany. In total, this was 3.4 thousand more than in 2023. The number of cross-border commuters who work in the Netherlands has risen for the fourth consecutive year. There was a particular increase in the number of cross-border commuters of central or eastern European nationality. This is according to newly released figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS).

Various figures regarding the border regions of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany can be found in the Portaal Grensdata. This article focuses primarily on incoming commuters: people who live in Germany or Belgium but work in the Netherlands. The highest share of incoming commuters as a percentage of all workers in 2024 was recorded in the province of Limburg: 7.0 percent in Noord-Limburg, 6.2 percent in Zuid-Limburg and 5.1 percent in Midden-Limburg. The percentage of cross-border commuters was also relatively high in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, at 4.5 percent.

Cross-border commuting to the Netherlands has increased for four consecutive years

In 2024, 45.3 thousand workers commuted from Belgium to the Netherlands and 46.6 thousand from Germany. This figure has risen for the fourth consecutive year: in 2020, the numbers were 38.5 thousand and 40.2 thousand, respectively.

The number of people commuting from the Netherlands to Germany (Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia) is much smaller than the number of people commuting in the opposite direction, and is decreasing. In 2024, 6.5 thousand employed persons commuted to Germany for work, compared with 8.2 thousand in 2020. Figures on cross-border commuting from the Netherlands to Belgium are not yet available.

34 percent of cross-border commuters from Germany are of central or eastern European nationality

There was a particular increase in the number of cross-border commuters of central or eastern European nationality in recent years. The increase was most pronounced among commuters from Germany: from 9.4 thousand in 2020 to 15.7 thousand in 2024. 34 percent of cross-border commuters from Germany were EU citizens with central or eastern European nationality.

The proportion of incoming commuters from Belgium who have Dutch nationality is higher than the share of commuters from Germany who have Dutch nationality (54 percent compared with 36 percent).

Many people commute between Belgium and Zuid-Limburg

Almost 8 in 10 commuters living in the Belgian border region work in Limburg and Noord-Brabant. Zuid-Limburg received the largest number of commuters from Belgium (11.7 thousand). Zuidoost-Noord-Brabant — which includes Eindhoven— also attracts many Belgian commuters (10.2 thousand). Outside the border regions, there were roughly 4.0 thousand Belgian commuters working in the greater Rijnmond (Rotterdam) and Amsterdam areas, as well as in Utrecht.

Many people commute from Germany to Noord-Limburg

Cross-border commuters from Germany mainly work in the provinces of Limburg, Gelderland, Overijssel, and to a lesser extent in Noord-Brabant. Looking by region, Noord-Limburg and its biggest city Venlo received the largest number of commuters from Germany: 9.6 thousand people. Of these, 3.1 thousand were German nationals and 4.8 thousand were EU citizens of central or eastern European nationality.

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