How international a place feels depends less on the city than on the street. Across the neighbourhoods we cover, the share of residents born abroad runs from about 4 percent to 63 percent. In the Transvaalkwartier in The Hague, nearly two in three residents were born outside the Netherlands. In a village on the edge of Groningen, it is one in twenty-five.
The word international covers a lot here, from tech workers to long-established immigrant communities. But the map of where the born-abroad Netherlands actually lives is remarkably concentrated.
The most international neighbourhoods
The table ranks the districts where the largest share of residents were born abroad, with each district set against its city average. Figures from official open data.
| District | City | Born abroad | vs city average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transvaalkwartier | The Hague | 63% | +24pp |
| Centrum | Eindhoven | 58% | +27pp |
| Schildersbuurt | The Hague | 57% | +18pp |
| Laakkwartier | The Hague | 57% | +19pp |
| Stationsbuurt | The Hague | 56% | +17pp |
| Groente- en Fruitmarkt | The Hague | 55% | +17pp |
| Rustenburg-Oostbroek | The Hague | 53% | +14pp |
| Zuidoost | Amsterdam | 52% | +14pp |
| Moerwijk | The Hague | 51% | +12pp |
| Oud-Woensel | Eindhoven | 51% | +20pp |
| Almere Stad Centrum | Almere | 50% | +22pp |
The Hague dominates, taking seven of the top ten. Its inner south-western belt, the Transvaalkwartier, Schildersbuurt, Laakkwartier and Stationsbuurt, is the most international stretch of the country, all above 55 percent.
Concentrated in the inner cities
The pattern is concentration. In the centre of Eindhoven, 58 percent of residents were born abroad, 27 points above the city as a whole, the widest gap in our data. Oud-Woensel nearby and the centre of Almere show the same jump.
Internationals cluster in dense, inner, transport-connected districts with a large rental market, close to work and to each other. The city average smooths this out; the neighbourhood shows where people really are. Amsterdam's Zuidoost, at 52 percent, is the capital's clearest example.
And the most homogeneous corners
At the other end are the rural-edge districts. In Ten Boer on the fringe of Groningen, just 4 percent of residents were born abroad. Villages absorbed into Tilburg and Breda, like Berkel-Enschot and Prinsenbeek, sit at 5 to 7 percent.
These are older, settled, family-oriented places, further from the stations and the rental market that draw new arrivals. The same municipality can hold both a 5 percent district and a 50 percent one.
What the number does and does not say
Born abroad is a broad measure. It counts a British engineer and a family that arrived decades ago the same way, and a high share reflects housing history and the rental market as much as anything else. It is a map of where internationals live, not a ranking of anywhere.
For someone moving here it answers a practical question: where will I find a large international community, and where will I be more of an exception? You can see the international share, alongside the six expat profiles, for any neighbourhood in the neighbourhood explorer, or start from the city overviews.