This city has the highest equity per inhabitant in the Netherlands

There are significant differences between the equity of municipalities. Equity is the difference between the value of assets and liabilities. It is lowest in Vlissingen, at 129 euros per inhabitant. Amsterdam has relatively the highest equity of all Dutch municipalities. At the end of 2022, Amsterdam’s equity amounted to 9,046 euros per inhabitant.

Of the four major cities, equity is also high in Rotterdam in addition to Amsterdam. At the end of 2022 it amounted to 4,294 euros per inhabitant. That of Utrecht and The Hague was close to the national average of 2,254 euros per inhabitant. The assets amounted to an average of 5,666 euros per inhabitant, the debts amounted to 3,412 euros per inhabitant. Statistics Netherlands reports this based on an article in the series The regional economy.

Amsterdam has a lot of land and a lot of debt
The fact that Amsterdam has such a high equity is mainly due to the extensive property of the municipality. For example, Amsterdam owns a lot of land, which is related to the prevalence of leasehold in the municipality. In addition, Amsterdam has valuable infrastructure and commercial buildings such as educational buildings and parking garages. The municipality also has financial assets such as participating interests in Schiphol, network company Alliander and the Municipal Transport Company. All assets are also accompanied by significant debts, although these do not outweigh the assets. Rotterdam, on the other hand, has little debt. The municipality does not have a particularly large amount of land, but it does have above-average financial assets. This includes participations in Schiphol, network operator Stedin and the port authority.

Even the smallest municipalities have high equity
Municipalities with high equity are not always large. For example, the smallest municipalities often have relatively high equity. This applies to four of the five municipalities with fewer than 5 thousand inhabitants: Rozendaal and the Wadden Islands of Vlieland, Ameland and Schiermonnikoog. Rozendaal even has the third highest equity per inhabitant. Terschelling is the only Wadden municipality where equity does not exceed the national average.

The equity in these four small municipalities is high for various reasons. Vlieland and Ameland, for example, have homes and commercial buildings. Vlieland, Schiermonnikoog and Rozendaal also have relatively large amounts of financial assets. Ameland, Schiermonnikoog and especially Vlieland also have relatively high debts. Rozendaal, on the other hand, hardly has this.