CBS figures on neighbourhoods and municipalities
Where the figures for neighbourhoods, districts and municipalities come from, which year they are from and why CBS sometimes keeps a figure secret.
The figures in Dutch Neighbourhood Statistics, Dutch District Statistics, Dutch Municipality Statistics, Compare Dutch Neighbourhoods and Dutch Municipalities Ranked come from Statistics Netherlands (CBS, Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek). This page explains which files these are, from which year, and why a figure is sometimes missing.
Which figures we use
| CBS source | What it contains | How often |
|---|---|---|
| Wijk- en buurtkaart (district and neighbourhood map; page in Dutch), with the key figures of districts and neighbourhoods | the boundaries of every municipality, district and neighbourhood, with around 40 key figures: residents, age, households, origin, area and density | yearly |
| Regionale kerncijfers (regional key figures, table 70072ned; in Dutch) | per municipality, among other things residents, households, average WOZ value (official property value), passenger cars and disposable income; we use the years from 2018 | CBS updates the table irregularly; we fetch it every week |
| Neighbourhood, district and municipality per address (page in Dutch) | which neighbourhood, district and municipality each address belongs to, by postcode and house number; CBS derives this from the BAG (the Dutch register of addresses and buildings) | yearly |
Dutch Neighbourhood Statistics also shows the figures of your postcode, such as homes and WOZ value. These come from the CBS postcode figures.
The difference between neighbourhood, district and municipality
A municipality (gemeente) is divided into districts (wijken) and a district into neighbourhoods (buurten). The neighbourhood is the smallest unit in these figures. Municipalities report the neighbourhood boundaries to CBS themselves, and the size of a neighbourhood varies. Figures for a municipality therefore say little about a neighbourhood in that municipality, and the other way round. A postcode is yet another division: it does not always coincide with a neighbourhood.
Which year the figures are from
- Neighbourhoods and districts. CBS produces the key figures per year. Each year comes in three versions: a first, small set in the autumn, and then two supplements with more figures. We show the year with the figures.
- Municipalities. The latest year differs per figure. At the moment the number of residents is from 1 January of this year, the WOZ value and the number of cars are from last year, and income is from a year earlier still. We show the year with every figure.
- Divisions. Municipalities, districts and neighbourhoods sometimes change. Municipalities merge, neighbourhoods are split. The division of the addresses can therefore be a year ahead of the figures. A neighbourhood that is brand new then has no figures of its own yet.
Why a figure is sometimes missing
- Secret. If a figure is too uncertain, or concerns so few people that something could be inferred about a single household, CBS does not publish it. We then show not known. Small neighbourhoods therefore often have empty cells.
- Later. CBS publishes some subjects only in a later version of the same year.
- Rounding. Because of rounding, a total is sometimes slightly different from the sum of its parts.
- Charts. If part of a breakdown is missing, such as an age group, we leave out the chart. The table below it shows everything.
The meaning of the empty values is explained in the CBS notes (in Dutch).
Rounding to multiples of five for a postcode
Numbers per postcode, such as the number of homes, are rounded to multiples of five. As a result, the parts do not always add up exactly to the total.
Boundaries on the map
The boundaries come from the same Wijk- en buurtkaart. CBS compiles it from three sources: the municipal boundaries from the Kadaster's registration, the neighbourhood boundaries as municipalities report them, and the large bodies of water from CBS's Land Use file (Bestand Bodemgebruik).
For the map we simplify the boundaries a little so that they load quickly. As a result, neighbourhoods on the map do not always fit together exactly. Where the background map comes from is explained in Maps and addresses.
Things to keep in mind
- The figures concern the whole neighbourhood, district or municipality, not a single address or street.
- If you search with a postcode only, we pick the neighbourhood where most of the addresses of that postcode are located.
Why some municipalities have many cars
Passenger cars are counted at the owner's address. A lease car is therefore counted in the municipality of the leasing company, not where the driver lives. As a result, a municipality with a leasing company appears to have many cars per resident. For a comparison per resident, that is a distortion.
Do we store your search? No
We use your postcode and house number only to find your neighbourhood. We do not store them; we only count how often a neighbourhood, district or municipality has been looked up.
Licence and source
CBS publishes these figures under CC BY 4.0: use is allowed, with attribution. That is why every result carries Source: CBS, and the boundaries Source: CBS, Kadaster. CBS is not involved in our tools.
How we update and monitor the data is explained in How we keep everything up to date.
The Sumish editorial team
More guides
- DataMaps and addresses: PDOK and the KadasterWhere the map, the addresses and the postcodes on Sumish come from, and why the map runs through our own server and passes nothing on about you.
- How we workHow we keep everything currentWhich data updates itself, which rates we check by hand every year and what Last reviewed means on a tool.
- DataCurrent prices in the calculatorsWhich price is already filled in for fuel, charging and energy, which CBS series it comes from and what happens when it is not available.