Introduction

The Netherlands in numbers answers questions about the Netherlands in 36 infographics. This third edition once again presents fun facts and figures about our country, about today as well as about the past. Nationwide, and sometimes by municipality. This web publication forms part of the booklet that shares the same name and that looks more closely at the questions in the form of text and images.

Facts about the Netherlands

Statistics Netherlands (CBS) has a myriad of data on the Netherlands. This publication displays a tiny selection of data in a short and sweet way. Infographics provide answers to a total of 36 different questions, complemented by short texts, images or charts. Those seeking more detail will find tables and related articles under the links.

More than 120 years

CBS was established in 1899 and can look back on a long tradition of publishing annual figures and yearbooks. The oldest serial publication was the Statistical Yearbook of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, dated 1898. The first Statistical Pocket Yearbook was issued in 1924, a publication primarily designed to providing policymakers with relevant statistics. Its successor, the Statistical Yearbook, served that same purpose. Following the advent of the internet, a book on numbers was no longer necessary and the publication, now titled ‘Trends in the Netherlands’, took on a more popular character. In 2020, the yearbook changed into ‘The Netherlands in numbers’, which answers a small selection of questions in the paper edition entirely in infographics. The web publication offers more depth to the booklet.

Infographics from the old days

CBS currently devotes a lot of attention to infographics to present complex information in an accessible way. However, this is not exactly a new development: the first CBS infographic dates back to the year 1902. An illustration to statistics on crime to be precise. From 1940, Gerd Arntz created pictorial illustrations for the Statistical Pocket Yearbook. Some of these beautiful illustrations have been included in this 2022 edition.

More information

The CBS website cbs.nl features almost daily news items with up-to-date figures. It also has dossiers and dashboards on Dutch economy and society, and of course more information on CBS as an organisation. All figures can be found at CBS StatLine. For more infographics, animations or videos, follow CBS (@statistiekcbs and @statisticscbs) on social media.

Have fun reading this third edition of The Netherlands in numbers!

The questions

1. How does CBS collect data?
2. How much do we cycle per week on average?
3. Who are most likely to work part-time?
4. How many people visited Bonaire by cruise ship?
5. Are people happy with the house they live in?
6. How many young women encounter street harassment?
7. What do the over-65s do online?
8. How many wind turbines in the Netherlands?
9. How far is school by bike?
10. How many museums are there?
11. How much electricity in the Caribbean Netherlands is renewable?
12. How many adults are overweight?
13. How many cargo ships dock at Dutch seaports?
14. What did we listen to on the radio in 1953?
15. What is the average lifespan in the Netherlands?
16. Where did we go for a holiday in 1947?
17. How much fish is landed?
18. Where were people in the Netherlands born?
19. What do we spend money on?
20. How old are Dutch first-time mothers on average?
21. How much cheese do we produce?
22. How are goods transported through the Netherlands?
23. How many people fall victim to cybercrime?
24. What is the most spoken language or dialect at home?
25. How many shops are there?
26. What is the value of Dutch beer exports?
27. How often do we have a goosebump moment?
28. How many cows graze in fields?
29. What are the most popular majors?
30. How tall are Dutch people?
31. How is the urban bird population doing?
32. Where do most people work?
33. What colour is our car?
34. How does CBS handle your privacy?