Since 1 January 2023, there have been 342 regular municipalities^[1] (Dutch: gemeenten) and three special municipalities (Dutch: bijzondere gemeenten) in the Netherlands. The latter is the status of three of the six island territories that make up the Dutch Caribbean. Municipalities are the second-level administrative division, or public bodies (Dutch: openbare lichamen), in the Netherlands and are subdivisions of their respective provinces. Their duties are delegated to them by the central government and they are ruled by a municipal council that is elected every four years. Municipal mergers have reduced the total number of municipalities by two-thirds since the first official boundaries were created in the mid 19th century. Municipalities themselves are informally subdivided into districts and neighbourhoods for administrative and statistical purposes.^[2]

Quick Facts Municipalities of the Netherlands Nederlandse gemeenten (Dutch), Category ...

Municipalities of the Netherlands Nederlandse gemeenten (Dutch)
Map of regular municipalities of the Netherlands, as of 1 January 2024
Category	Municipality
Location	Kingdom of the Netherlands
Found in	Provinces
Number	342 + 3 (as of 1 January 2024)
Possible types	Regular municipalities (342) Special municipalities (3)
Government	Municipal council

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These municipalities come in a wide range of sizes, Westervoort is the smallest with a land area of 7.01 km² (2.71 sq mi) and Súdwest-Fryslân the largest with a land area of 522.7 km² (201.8 sq mi). Schiermonnikoog is both the least populated, with 972 people, and the least densely populated municipality at 23/km² (60/sq mi). Amsterdam has the highest population with 931,298 residents as of January 2024, whereas The Hague is the most densely populated with a density of 6,868/km² (17,790/sq mi).