Over half of voting population aged 50 and over

© Hollandse Hoogte / Bas Quaedvlieg
An estimated 13.3 million inhabitants of the Netherlands are eligible voters in the upcoming parliamentary elections on 22 November 2023. This is equivalent to 91 percent of the population aged 18 and over. Over half of them are aged 50 and over. This is reported by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) on the basis of provisional population figures as at 1 October 2023.

Almost all Dutch nationals who are aged 18 or older on election day are allowed to vote; they constitute the voting-age population. Nearly 500 thousand young people are eligible to elect a member of the House of Representatives for the first time. They had not reached the age of 18 yet in the previous parliamentary elections. Earlier this year during the provincial council elections, around 130 thousand young people were not eligible to vote yet, but they will be on 22 November.

Under age 35: eligibility 85 percent

The group of inhabitants aged 18 to 34 includes proportionately many who are not eligible to vote as they were not born in the Netherlands and do not, or not yet, have Dutch nationality. In the group aged 65 and over, almost everyone (98 percent) gets to vote; of the 18 to 34-year-olds, it is 85 percent.

Over half of the adults who were not born in the Netherlands may still go to the polls; they are Dutch citizens. The majority (57 percent) have lived in the country for 25 years or more. In the same group, over a quarter have lived here for at least 10 years. Nearly 15 percent have either one or two Dutch-born parents.

How the voting-age population was estimated

To estimate the number of eligible voters on 22 November 2023, CBS used provisional population figures as at 1 October 2023. These figures are based on population data available to CBS over the period up to mid-October.

There are still some changes in the population between early October and election day. For example, in the period 1 October to 22 November inclusive, an estimated 22 thousand 17-year-olds turn 18 and become eligible to vote. At the same time, an estimated 24 thousand people pass away. During the same period, Dutch citizens living abroad may remigrate while some inhabitants may adopt Dutch citizenship. These changes are not taken into account in the estimation of the voting-age population.

Voting entitlement also applies to Dutch adults living in the Caribbean Netherlands, but it is not included in this news release. Likewise, Dutch citizens living outside the Netherlands are not taken into account here, nor those who are not listed in the population register, such as diplomats or NATO military.

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