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Netherlands vs Switzerland

Netherlands vs Switzerland
Netherlands is larger; Netherlands has more people
41,543 km² vs 41,277 km² · 18,087,633 vs 9,092,436

Netherlands is slightly larger, by 0.6% — 41,543 against 41,277 km². Netherlands is 2.0 times more populous than Switzerland — 18,087,633 against 9,092,436 people.

Side by side

Netherlands Switzerland
Capital Amsterdam Bern
Area 41,543 km² 41,277 km²
Population 18,087,633 (2025) 9,092,436 (2025)
Density 435.4 /km² 220.3 /km²
Currency Euro (EUR) Swiss franc (CHF)
Official languages Dutch German, French, Italian, Romansh
Time zones UTC+01:00 UTC+01:00
Calling code +31 +41
Drives on the right right
Continent Europe Europe
ISO codes NL / NLD CH / CHE

Population density

Netherlands is 2.0 times more densely populated than Switzerland — 435 against 220 people per km². Density is where area and population interact, and it often reverses the impression the headline figures give — a large country with a small population can feel emptier than a small crowded one by an enormous margin.

Practical differences

  • Different currencies: the Euro and the Swiss franc.

Netherlands

About a quarter of the Netherlands lies below sea level and roughly a fifth of its present land area has been reclaimed from sea, lake and marsh. Flevoland, a province of some 1,400 km², was drained from the Zuiderzee in the 20th century and is the largest artificial island in the world. The lowest point, in Zuidplaspolder, is about 6.8 m below sea level.

Switzerland

The most mountainous country in Europe: the Alps cover about sixty percent of it and it has 48 peaks over 4,000 m. The Gotthard Base Tunnel, 57 km long, is the longest and deepest rail tunnel in the world. Switzerland has four official languages and about 1,500 lakes.

Neutral facts only. Nothing here addresses politics, government, economics or which country is preferable in any respect — population is the one figure that dates, and it carries its year.

Common questions

Is Netherlands bigger than Switzerland?
Netherlands is larger — 41,543 km² against 41,277 km².
Which has more people, Netherlands or Switzerland?
Netherlands, with 18,087,633 against 9,092,436.
What is the time difference between Netherlands and Switzerland?
Netherlands is UTC+01:00 and Switzerland is UTC+01:00. Daylight saving shifts the gap during the year in places that observe it.

Related pages

Sources

  1. The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency (Public domain (US Government))
  2. World Bank Open Data — The World Bank (CC BY 4.0)

How these figures are compiled and checked