For the municipal elections, 96.6 percent of the adult population is eligible to vote. More than half of them are 50 years or older. For about 820 thousand young people, this is their first municipal election; they were not yet 18 years old four years ago. This is according to preliminary figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS).
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The share of eligible voters is lowest in Amstelveen (89 percent), followed by Diemen and Wageningen (90 and 91 percent). Also in and around other (student) cities, the share of 18+ who may vote is relatively low. In these municipalities, there are proportionally more people with a nationality from outside the EU who have not lived in the Netherlands for five years yet. This also applies to municipalities where relatively many people are registered due to asylum in the Netherlands, such as Gilze-Rijen.
In the younger age groups, the share of eligible voters is smaller than in the older age groups. Among 18- to 35-year-olds, 93 percent may vote, while almost all 65+ are eligible to vote in the municipal elections.
Slightly more than half of eligible voters are 50 years or older. A quarter are between 50 and 65 years, and nearly 27 percent are 65 years or older. The eligible voting population is getting older. In the 2014 municipal elections, slightly less than half of voters were 50 years or older, and 22 percent were 65 years or older.
Bergen and Laren have the highest proportion of eligible voters aged 65 and over (each 41 percent). Zeeland, Limburg, and the (northern) east of the Netherlands also have relatively many municipalities with an older eligible voting population. In Utrecht (14 percent), Urk (16 percent), and Amsterdam (18 percent), there are relatively few eligible voters aged 65 or older.
26 percent of eligible voters are younger than 35 years. These young voters often live in cities, especially student cities. Besides Groningen (43 percent), Wageningen, Delft, Utrecht, and Leiden are also in the top five (each around 40 percent). Other municipalities with relatively many young eligible voters are Urk (36 percent) and Staphorst (30 percent).
6.4 percent of the eligible voting population has a nationality other than Dutch. This share is often larger in cities, but also in municipalities in the southern border region. The top three consists of Vaals (32 percent), The Hague (18 percent), and Amsterdam (18 percent). In the north and east of the country, the eligible voting population usually consists of a small part of people with a nationality other than Dutch.
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