Updated the 5th of March 2019

Regional gap in GDP per capita, 2000-16 Index of regional disparity in GDP per capita, 2016

Differences between regions of Netherlands in terms of GDP per capita have slightly increased over the last sixteen years. However, they remain moderate compared to other OECD countries, with North Holland having 84% higher GDP per capita than Friesland, also due to the exploitation of natural resources in the former region.

With a productivity growth of 1.1% per year over the period 2000-16, Flevoland is catching-up with respect to North Holland, the frontier region in terms of productivity in the country. Drenthe experienced the lowest productivity growth in the same period (0.4% per year).

While the youth unemployment rate has declined in practically all regions since 2014, in Flevoland it was 12.6% in 2017, more than 7 percentage points higher than in Zeeland, but below the OECD average of 16.4%.

Productivity trends, most and least dynamic regions, 2000-16 Youth unemployment rate, 15-24 years old, 2011-17

Source: OECD Regional Database. Notes: (1) Figure on regional gap in GDP per capita: OECD regions refer to the administrative tier of subnational government (large regions, Territorial Level 2); the Netherlands is composed of 12 large regions. (2) Figure on index of regional disparity: top (bottom) 20% regions are defined as those with the highest (lowest) GDP per capita until the equivalent of 20% of national population is reached, this indicator provides a harmonised measure to rank OECD countries, using data for small regions (Territorial Level 3) when available. (3) Productivity is measured as GDP per employee at place of work in constant prices, constant Purchasing Power Parities (reference year 2010).

10 000

20 000

30 000

40 000

50 000

60 000

70 000

2000 2005 2010 2016

GDP per capita in USD PPP

Lowest regionFriesland

Highest regionNorth Holland

32 220 USD

59 410 USD

46 250 USDNetherlands

1

2

3

4

Top 20 % richest over bottom 20% poorest regionsRatio

Country (number of regions considered)

Small regions(TL3)

Large regions (TL2)

2016 2000

Netherlands

50 000

60 000

70 000

80 000

90 000

100 000

110 000

2000 2005 2010 2016

GDP per worker in USD PPP

Drenthe: lowest productivity growth (+0.4% annually)

Flevoland: highest productivity growth (+1.1% annually)

N. Holland: highest productivity in 2016 (+1% average annual growth over 2000-16)

OECD

0

5

10

15

20

25

2011 2014 2017

rate (%)

Lowest rateZeeland

Highest rateFlevoland

5%

12.6%

8.9%Netherlands

Regions and Cities at a Glance 2018 – NETHERLANDS http://www.oecd.org/regional

Economic trends in regions

Updated the 5th of March 2019

Relative ranking of the regions with the best and worst outcomes in the 11 well-being dimensions, with respect to all 402 OECD regions. The eleven dimensions are ordered by decreasing regional disparities in the country. Each well-being dimension is measured by the indicators in the table below.

The widest regional disparities in the Netherlands are found in the well-being dimension community (perceived social network support), with Drenthe ranking in the top 5% of OECD regions and Zeeland in the bottom half. All twelve Dutch regions rank in the top 10% of OECD regions in access to broadband. Considering all regions in the Netherlands, Zeeland is the top region in jobs, life satisfaction and health.

The high performing Dutch regions fare better than the OECD median region in all well-being indicators, except for air pollution. In the low performing regions, 96% of households have access to broadband connection, 18 percentage points more than the OECD median region.

Source: OECD Regional Database. Visualisation: https://www.oecdregionalwellbeing.org.

Notes: (1) OECD regions refer to the first administrative tier of subnational government (large regions, Territorial Level 2); the Netherlands is composed of 12 large regions. (2) Household income per capita data are based on USD constant PPP, constant prices (year 2010).

Drenthe Zeeland

Groningen

Zeeland

Zeeland

Utrecht

Utrecht

North Holland

Friesland

Groningen

Flevoland

ZeelandGroningen

Overijssel

Flevoland

Groningen

Limburg

Drenthe

Groningen

Zeeland

Overijssel

Overijssel

Community Jobs Safety LifeSatisfaction

Health CivicEngagement

Education Income Environment Housing Access toservices

Top region Bottom region

Ra

nkin

g o

f O

EC

D r

eg

ion

s(1

to

40

2)

top

20

%b

otto

m 2

0%

mid

dle

60

%

North Holland Provinces

Top 20% Bottom 20%

Community

Perceived social netw ork support (%), 2013 93.9 91.4 96.3 92.0

Jobs

Employment rate 15 to 64 years old (%), 2017 75.1 67.7 77.2 72.3

Unemployment rate 15 to 64 years old (%), 2017 5.0 5.5 4.2 5.8

Safety

Homicide Rate (per 100 000 people), 2016 0.9 1.3 0.5 1.3

Life Satisfaction

Life satisfaction (scale from 0 to 10), 2013 7.5 6.8 7.6 7.4

Health

Life Expectancy at birth (years), 2016 81.7 80.4 82.0 81.4

Age adjusted mortality rate (per 1 000 people), 2016 7.6 8.1 7.5 7.8

Civic engagement

Voters in last national election (%), 2017 or lastest year 81.6 70.9 83.9 79.5

Education

Labour force w ith at least upper secondary education (%), 2017 78.4 81.7 82.0 75.6

Income

Disposable income per capita (in USD PPP), 2016 18 631 17 695 19 981 17 629

Environment

Level of air pollution in PM 2.5 (µg/m³), 2015 13.8 12.4 13.6 15.3

Housing

Rooms per person, 2016 2.0 1.8 2.1 2.0

Access to services

Households w ith broadband access (%), 2017 98.0 78.0 98.8 96.0

Dutch regionsCountry

Average

OECD median

region

Differences in well-being across regions

Updated the 5th of March 2019

OECD population is concentrated in cities* Percentage of population in cities, 2016

Source: OECD Metropolitan Database. Number of cities: 35 in the Netherlands and 1 138 in the OECD.

In the Netherlands, 77% of the population lives in cities of more than 50 000 inhabitants. The share of population in cities with more than 500 000 people is 45% compared to 55% in the OECD area.

Importance of metropolitan areas Cities above 500 000 people, 2016

Contribution of metropolitan areas to GDP growth Cities above 500 000 people, 2000-16

Metropolitan areas in the Netherlands account for 54% of national GDP and 48% of employment. Between 2000 and 2016 they generated 64% of the national GDP growth, half of which was generated in Amsterdam.

Four Dutch metropolitan areas are among the top 20% in the OECD in terms of GDP per capita: Amsterdam, Groningen, Eindhoven and Utrecht.

Except Groningen, the metropolitan areas of the Netherlands have higher air pollution than the median of the 327 OECD metropolitan areas.

OECD Metropolitan areas ranking Cities above 500 000 people

GDP per capita, 2016

Air pollution (PM2.5), 2017

Source: OECD Metropolitan Database. Number of metropolitan areas with a population of over 500 000: 6 in the Netherlands compared to 327 in the OECD.

* Note: Cities are defined here as functional urban areas, which are composed by high-density urban centres of at least 50 000 people and their areas of influence (commuting zone). For more information, see: http://www.oecd.org/cfe/regional-policy/functionalurbanareasbycountry.htm.

45%

18%

14%

23%

United States

people in citieswith population above 500 000

peopleoutside cities

United States

people in cities withpopulation between50 000 and 250 000

17 million people - 77% live in cities

United StatesNetherlands

people in cities with population between 250 000 and 500 000

OECD average

1.2 billion people - 70%live in cities

people in citieswith population

above 500 000

people in cities withpopulation between

50 000 and 250 000

peopleoutside cities

55%

9%

30%

people in cities with populationbetween 250 000 and 500 000

6%

54%48% 45%

63%58% 55%

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

% of nationalGDP

% of nationalemployment

% of nationalpopulation

Netherlands OECD average%

64%68%

Am

ste

rda

m

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

1 2

%

All metropolitan areas Largest contributor

Netherlands OECD average

32

7 m

etr

op

olit

an

are

as

0

20 000

40 000

60 000

80 000

100 000USD PPP

Top 20% richest metropolitan areas

Bottom 20% poorest metropolitan areas

0

10

20

30

Lev el of air pollution in PM 2.5 (µg/m³)

Top 20% least polluted metropolitan areas

Bottom 20% most polluted metropolitan areas

Metropolitan areas in the national economy

Updated the 5th of March 2019

Subnational government expenditure by function As a share of total subnational government expenditure, 2016

Subnational government expenditure amounts to USD 6 961 per capita in the Netherlands compared to an OECD average of USD 6 817. In the Netherlands, this is equivalent to 31.7% of total public expenditure and to 13.8% of GDP. In comparison, across the OECD, subnational government expenditure accounts for 40.4% of total public expenditure and for 16.2% of GDP. Education and social protection are the two largest spending items for subnational governments in the Netherlands: together they represent 53% of subnational expenditure compared to 39% in the OECD area.

In the Netherlands, 47.8% of total public investment was carried out by subnational governments compared to an OECD average of 56.9%.

Role of subnational governments in public investment Subnational government public investment per capita, 2016

Source: OECD Subnational Government Structure and Finance Database.

Note: The function ‘Other’ includes housing and community amenities, recreation, culture and religion; environment; public order and safety.

OECD Regions and Cities at a Glance 2018

The 2018 edition of OECD Regions and Cities at a Glance shows how regions and cities contribute to national growth and the well-being of societies. It updates its regular set of region-by-region indicators, examining a wide range of policies and trends and identifying those regions that are outperforming or lagging behind in their country.

Consult this publication on line: https://oe.cd/pub/2n9

EducationEducation 30% 25%

Social protection 23% 14% Social protection

Other 23% 15% Other

Economic affairs 14% 14% Economic affairs

General public services 7% 14% General public services

HealthHealth 3% 18%

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Netherlands OECD average

Subnational expenditure per capita: USD 6 961 USD 6 817

0

200

400

600

800

1 000

1 200

1 400

1 600

1 800

Total public investmentUSD 1 603 per capita3.2% of GDP

Total public investmentUSD 1 278 per capita3.0% of GDP

Subnational governmentinvestmentUSD 765 per capita47.8% of public invest.

USD per capita

Subnational government investmentUSD 727 per capita 56.9% of public invest.

OECD averageNetherlands

Subnational government finance