The average resident of The Hague has just over 44 square metres of living space, according to new figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS). That number remains unchanged compared to ten years ago.
The figure puts The Hague behind the national average of 55 square metres, which rose by two metres over the past decade.
It is also lower than the nearly 47 square metres recorded across fifteen socio-economically comparable Dutch municipalities, as living space across the Randstad stays noticeably tighter than in the rest of the country.
More singles and smaller flats
The city’s stable average is driven by two competing trends. The Hague has seen a substantial increase in single residents, growing from almost 120,000 in 2014 to more than 140,000 today, which statistically raises the floor space available per person.
At the same time, newly built housing has become significantly smaller.
Three-quarters of all new builds in the Netherlands are now apartments, up from half a decade ago, with The Hague seeing a relative increase in homes under 50 square metres alongside a dip in those between 51 and 75 square metres.
How demographics shape space
Living space also shifts sharply by age group. Young adults living alone without children typically have relatively generous space, which falls as families expand, before rising again once children leave home.
While men generally occupy more living space than women up to age 55, women over 70 live in noticeably larger spaces. The statistical agency notes that this is largely because men have a lower average life expectancy, leaving surviving women living alone in their homes.
