Netherlands · province

Drenthe population 2026

Q: What is the population of Drenthe in 2026?

The latest official figure is 506,529, for 1 January 2025 (Eurostat). If last year’s change continues, Drenthe would have about 510 thousand people by 1 July 2026; that is our arithmetic, not an official figure. Eurostat updates regional populations once a year.

Drenthe has 506,529 people on the latest official figure, for 1 January 2025, 2,400 more than a year earlier (+0.48%). It is 10th of the Netherlands’s 12 provinces by population, home to 2.8% of the Netherlands’s people.

If last year’s change continues: about 510 thousand by 1 July 2026. That is our arithmetic, not an official figure.

Drenthe in numbers

Population: 507 thousand 1 January 2025
Change in a year: +0.48% +2,400 people
Change since 2020: +2.60% from 494 thousand
Share of the Netherlands: 2.8% 10th of 12 provinces
Population density: 189per km² 2,680 km²

That is about as many people as Cabo Verde (530 thousand).

Population of Drenthe by year

507k

› Show the numbers as a table

Year	Population
2012	490,807
2013	489,918
2014	488,988
2015	488,576
2016	488,629
2017	491,792
2018	492,100
2019	492,167
2020	493,682
2021	494,771
2022	497,743
2023	502,051
2024	504,129
2025	506,529

Year	Population	Change	%
2025	506,529	+2,400	+0.48%
2024	504,129	+2,078	+0.41%
2023	502,051	+4,308	+0.87%
2022	497,743	+2,972	+0.60%
2021	494,771	+1,089	+0.22%
2020	493,682	+1,515	+0.31%
2019	492,167	+67	+0.01%
2018	492,100	+308	+0.06%
2017	491,792	+3,163	+0.65%
2016	488,629	+53	+0.01%
2015	488,576	−412	−0.08%
2014	488,988	−930	−0.19%
2013	489,918	−889	−0.18%
2012	490,807	–	–

Drenthe among the Netherlands’s provinces

Full ranking →

Provinces of the Netherlands by population
#
1	South Holland	3,863,397	+0.60%	21.4%	1,130
2	North Holland	2,992,016	+0.52%	16.6%	731
3	North Brabant	2,664,047	+0.73%	14.8%	542
4	Gelderland	2,161,358	+0.57%	12.0%	421
5	Utrecht	1,409,144	+0.65%	7.8%	1,017
6	Overijssel	1,195,789	+0.57%	6.6%	359
7	Limburg	1,135,328	+0.18%	6.3%	527
8	Friesland	664,222	+0.35%	3.7%	116
9	Groningen	602,833	+0.25%	3.3%	204
10	Drenthe	506,529	+0.48%	2.8%	189
11	Flevoland	456,395	+1.24%	2.5%	322
12	Zeeland	392,969	+0.34%	2.2%	134

Largest cities in Drenthe

City proper, not the wider metro area; latest figure in GeoNames (CC BY 4.0), so years differ.

Assen68,836
Emmen57,010
Hoogeveen38,754
Meppel30,697

Questions

What is the population of Drenthe in 2026?

The latest official figure is 506,529, for 1 January 2025 (Eurostat). If last year’s change continues, Drenthe would have about 510 thousand people by 1 July 2026; that is our arithmetic, not an official figure. Eurostat updates regional populations once a year.

Is Drenthe’s population growing or shrinking?

It grew by 2,400 people (+0.48%) in the latest year, and has changed +2.60% since 2020.

How does Drenthe rank in the Netherlands?

Drenthe is 10th of the Netherlands’s 12 provinces, with 2.8% of the people. South Holland is the largest, with 3.9 million.

What is the population density of Drenthe?

About 189 people per km², on 2,680 km². Total area, Wikidata.

What is the largest city in Drenthe?

Assen, with about 69 thousand people in the city proper. Metro areas are larger, and years differ (GeoNames).

Source and method

Eurostat, population on 1 January by NUTS region (demo_r_d2jan). Eurostat reuse policy (CC BY 4.0). Total area, Wikidata. Eurostat updates regional populations once a year. Ranks, shares and changes are our arithmetic on the published figures. National figures can differ from the UN’s projection for the Netherlands, which uses a different method. The 2026 figure above carries last year’s change forward; it does not come from the source.

Cite this page: Drenthe population, Eurostat, 1 January 2025. GlobeMetrics, https://globemetrics.org/world-population/netherlands/drenthe/

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