Netherlands · province

Friesland population 2026

Q: What is the population of Friesland in 2026?

The latest official figure is 664,222, for 1 January 2025 (Eurostat). If last year’s change continues, Friesland would have about 668 thousand people by 1 July 2026; that is our arithmetic, not an official figure. Eurostat updates regional populations once a year.

Friesland has 664,222 people on the latest official figure, for 1 January 2025, 2,318 more than a year earlier (+0.35%). It is 8th of the Netherlands’s 12 provinces by population, home to 3.7% of the Netherlands’s people.

If last year’s change continues: about 668 thousand by 1 July 2026. That is our arithmetic, not an official figure.

Friesland in numbers

Population: 664 thousand 1 January 2025
Change in a year: +0.35% +2,318 people
Change since 2020: +2.19% from 650 thousand
Share of the Netherlands: 3.7% 8th of 12 provinces
Population density: 116per km² 5,749 km²

That is about as many people as Suriname (645 thousand).

Population of Friesland by year

664k

› Show the numbers as a table

Year	Population
2012	647,214
2013	646,862
2014	646,317
2015	646,257
2016	646,040
2017	646,874
2018	647,268
2019	647,672
2020	649,957
2021	651,435
2022	654,019
2023	659,551
2024	661,904
2025	664,222

Year	Population	Change	%
2025	664,222	+2,318	+0.35%
2024	661,904	+2,353	+0.36%
2023	659,551	+5,532	+0.85%
2022	654,019	+2,584	+0.40%
2021	651,435	+1,478	+0.23%
2020	649,957	+2,285	+0.35%
2019	647,672	+404	+0.06%
2018	647,268	+394	+0.06%
2017	646,874	+834	+0.13%
2016	646,040	−217	−0.03%
2015	646,257	−60	−0.01%
2014	646,317	−545	−0.08%
2013	646,862	−352	−0.05%
2012	647,214	–	–

Friesland 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 Friesland

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

Leeuwarden124,481
Drachten45,186
Heerenveen43,094
Sneek32,811
Harlingen16,119

Questions

What is the population of Friesland in 2026?

The latest official figure is 664,222, for 1 January 2025 (Eurostat). If last year’s change continues, Friesland would have about 668 thousand people by 1 July 2026; that is our arithmetic, not an official figure. Eurostat updates regional populations once a year.

Is Friesland’s population growing or shrinking?

It grew by 2,318 people (+0.35%) in the latest year, and has changed +2.19% since 2020.

How does Friesland rank in the Netherlands?

Friesland is 8th of the Netherlands’s 12 provinces, with 3.7% of the people. South Holland is the largest, with 3.9 million.

What is the population density of Friesland?

About 116 people per km², on 5,749 km². Total area, Wikidata.

What is the largest city in Friesland?

Leeuwarden, with about 124 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: Friesland population, Eurostat, 1 January 2025. GlobeMetrics, https://globemetrics.org/world-population/netherlands/friesland/

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