More than half of employees commute to work

At the end of 2011, nearly 56 percent of employees did not work in their municipality of residence. Larger cities in particular attract many commuters. Half of the busiest commuter routes lead to Amsterdam.

Nearly 4.5 million commuters

Nearly 4.5 million employees had to travel to another municipality to work; 3.6 million people worked in their municipality of residence. This implies that nearly 56 percent of all employees are commuters. In 2006, the share of commuters was approximately the same.

Major cities attract many commuters

The major Dutch cities attract most commuters. They usually live in adjacent municipalities. With a share of more than nine in ten, the largest share of commuting employees was found in the (small) municipality of Onderbanken in the south of Limburg. On the West Frisian Islands, on the other hand, three-quarters were employed on their island of residence. In the major cities, the proportion of residents working in another municipality is also relatively low.

Share commuters by municipality of residence, end of 2011

Nieuwegein and Haarlemmermeer have largest number of incoming commuters

Among the twenty largest cities in the Netherlands, the number of incoming commuters is relatively high in the municipalities of Nieuwegein and Haarlemmermeer. Approximately three-quarters of employees in these municipalities live elsewhere. Nieuwegein has the Sint Antonius ziekenhuis (hospital) and is situated in the centre of the country. The high number of incoming commuters in Haarlemmermeer is largely due to the presence of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. The differences between the other larger cities are fairly insignificant. Among the twenty largest municipalities, The Hague has the lowest percentage of incoming commuters.

Share incoming commuters twenty largest municipalities, end of 2011

Almere-Amsterdam busiest commuter route

In the top fifteen of busiest routes in the Netherlands in 2011, Amsterdam has by far the highest number of incoming commuters. Nearly 100 thousand people living in Almere, Zaanstad, Amstelveen, Purmerend, Haarlemmermeer and Haarlem commute to Amsterdam on a regular basis, i.e. one sixth of all jobs available in Amsterdam. With 21 thousand, the route between Almere and Amsterdam was the busiest in the Netherlands.

Top fifteen busiest commuter routes

Jan van der Worp and Duncan Beeckman