Land use; main categories; regional, 1900 onwards
Regions | Periods | Transport Transport total (km2) | Transport Railroad (km2) | Transport Main road (km2) | Transport Airport (km2) | Recreation Park and public garden (km2) | Woodland and nature Woodland and nature total (km2) | Woodland and nature Woodland (km2) | Woodland and nature Natural open area (km2) | Water Inland water total (km2) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Netherlands | 2022 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
Flevoland (PV) | 2022 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
Gelderland (PV) | 2022 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
Noord-Holland (PV) | 2022 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
Zuid-Holland (PV) | 2022 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
Zeeland (PV) | 2022 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
Source: CBS. |
Table explanation
This table provides information about the land use of the area of the Netherlands and the changes in land use.
This table is based on the Bestand Bodemgebruik (BBG), which literally translates as the ‘land use file’. For intervening base years without a BBG, this table just presents total area statistics for the presented regions.
Previously published base years in this table are never revised for corrections established when a newer BBG-edition is produced. Such corrections consist of corrections of earlier misinterpretations and of improved interpretations based on new sources. The corrections are recorded in the so-called Mutatiebestand (the mutations file) which is part of each BBG publication. See Bestand Bodemgebruik for further information on correction of the land use statistics and for available publications.
Due to the longstanding tradition of these statistics (since the year 1900) this table contains some composite categories. These composite categories consist of two or more of the land use categories as they are in use in the contemporary Bestand Bodemgebruik. These composite categories are the subtotals ‘Industry, business, public institutions’, ‘Other semi built-up area’, ‘Other recreation usage’, ‘Natural open area’ and ‘Water total’. See the ‘Topics/Classifications’ section of this table for further specifications of these composite categories.
Data available since: 1900.
Status of the figures:
The figures in this table are final.
Changes as of November 2022:
Addition of land use statistics of 2017.
Addition of total area statistics of 2016, 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2022.
When will new figures be published?
For the base years 2000 to 2017 this table is based on the Bestand Bodemgebruik (BBG). The production methods and the specifications of the Bestand Bodemgebruik are currently subject of process redesign. The first publications of the thus re-newed land use statistics are expected in the year 2024. Whether or not this table will be supplemented with these new statistics has not yet been decided upon. See Bestand Bodemgebruik for further information on the redesign of these land use statistics.
Description topics
- Transport
- Area in use for traffic and transport on roads, on railways and in the air.
- Transport total
- Total area of the main group ‘Transport’.
- Railroad
- Area in use for traffic and transport on railways.
Including
- slopes;
- dead end rails to industrial area;
- shunting area;
- railway yard including station buildings and adjacent parking areas.
Excluding
- narrow gauge, this is included at the adjacent land use.
- Main road
- Area in use for traffic and transport over the main road network.
Including
- roads with function of transportation artery;
- included green in connections with roads and inside roundabouts;
- parking areas;
- busstation;
- gasoilstation;
- storages for road maintenance.
Excluding
- included green, larger than 1 ha in use of agriculture or woodland;
- included water larger than 1 ha;
- main road under construction.
- Airport
- Area in use for traffic and transport in the air.
Including
- paved and unpaved airstrips;
- associated buildings and parking areas.
Excluding
- unpaved soil inside the enclosed airport (not belonging to airstrips);
- adjacent areas with services and industries.
Since the 2017 land use edition of the Bestand Bodemgebruik, unpaved areas within airport grounds that are actively used for flying related activities (e.g. taking of, landing, or parking of gliders, ultra-light planes) are categorised as Airport.
- Recreation
- Area in use for recreation.
- Park and public garden
- Green area in use for relaxation.
Including
- area for the public with lawns, playing fields, sunbathing areas, paths, shrubs, flowerbeds and waterponds;
- greenbelts.
Parts of the parks that can be assigned to woodland (also larger than 1 hectare) will be assigned to park and public garden.
- Woodland and nature
- Area with forest or natural open area.
- Woodland and nature total
- Total area of the main group ‘Woodland and nature’.
- Woodland
- Area with trees for wood production and nature conservation.
Including
- area with trees of which the crowns are a closed entity;
- cutting field;
- fire lane;
- forest path;
- nursery of forests;
- storage of wood;
- scattered houses, if placed inside the woodland;
- poplar fields.
Excluding
- wooded areas of parks;
- forest nurseries that are outside the woodland;
- residential areas (with a pattern of streets) and areas of recreational houses inside the woodland.
- Natural open area
- Open area with a wet or dry surface, mainly nature.
- Water
- Inland water total
- Inland water in use as waterway, recreational water, mining area, sewage or sludge farm, water reservoir, including IJsselmeer.