Drenthe

This article is about the Dutch province. For other uses, see Drenthe (disambiguation).

Province of Drenthe
Provincie Drenthe (Dutch)
Province of the Netherlands
Flag of Province of Drenthe
Flag
Coat of arms of Province of Drenthe
Coat of arms
Official logo of Province of Drenthe
Brandmark
Anthem: "Mien Drenthe"
"My Drenthe"
Location of Drenthe in the Netherlands
Location of Drenthe in the Netherlands
Topography map of Drenthe
Topography map of Drenthe
Coordinates: 52°55′N 6°35′E / 52.917°N 6.583°E / 52.917; 6.583
CountryNetherlands
CapitalAssen
Largest cityEmmen
Government
 • King's CommissionerJetta Klijnsma (PvdA)
 • CouncilStates of Drenthe
Area
 (2023)[1]
 • Total
2,680 km2 (1,030 sq mi)
 • Land2,633 km2 (1,017 sq mi)
 • Water48 km2 (19 sq mi)
 • Rank9th
Population
 (1 January 2023)[1]
 • Total
502,051
 • Rank10th
 • Density191/km2 (490/sq mi)
  • Rank12th nationally
GDP
[2]
 • Total€16.388 billion
 • Per capita€33,300
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNL-DR
HDI (2021)0.917[3]
very high · 10th
Websitewww.provincie.drenthe.nl

Drenthe (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈdrɛntə] ⓘ) is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of January 2023, Drenthe had a population of about 502,000, and a total area of 2,680 km2 (1,030 sq mi).[1]

Drenthe has been populated for 15,000 years. The region has subsequently been part of the Episcopal principality of Utrecht, Habsburg Netherlands, Dutch Republic, Batavian Republic, Kingdom of Holland and Kingdom of the Netherlands. Drenthe has been an official province since 1796. The capital and seat of the provincial government is Assen. The King's Commissioner of Drenthe is Jetta Klijnsma. The Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB) is the largest party in the States-Provincial, followed by the Labour Party (PvdA) and the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD).

Drenthe has the lowest population density in the European Netherlands. It is a predominantly rural area, unlike many other parts of the Netherlands; except for the small cities of Assen (pop. 67,963[4]) and Emmen (pop. 107,113), the land in Drenthe is mainly used for agriculture and it has a notable amount of forests and nature.[5][6]

  1. ^ a b c Statistieken provincie Drenthe - Gegevens over meer dan 100 onderwerpen!, AlleCijfers.nl
  2. ^ "EU regions by GDP, Eurostat". Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  3. ^ "Sub-national HDI – Area Database – Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  4. ^ "CBS Statline".
  5. ^ Drenthe. "Drentse loofbossen zijn van topkwaliteit!". Provincie Drenthe (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  6. ^ wandelverhaal (3 June 2021). "Drenthe, de oerprovincie van Nederland". WANDELVERHAAL (in Dutch). Retrieved 16 September 2022.