Amstelveen

The city of Amstelveen

(Amstelveenweb.com collectie - 2004)

The heart of the city

Population

On the 1st of January, 2006, Amstelveen had 78,806 inhabitants, that is 37,325 men and 41,481 women (including children). In the Netherlands the average age of the population is 38.7; whereas it is 39.8 years in Amstelven. Nevertheless, relatively many senior citizens live in Amstelveen. In fact, as much as 19% of the population is 65 years of age or older. In the Netherlands, on a nation-wide basis, this figure is 14%. The number of inhabitants increased in 2006 by 107. This small increase is, among other things, attributed to little or no housing activities and to the rapid ageing of the Amstelveen population. The number of elderly in Amstelveen has increased for years: as much as 18% of the Amstelveen population is 65 years of age or older.

Amstelveen households are rather small: only one or two persons live in almost 71% of the households. A family with children live in more than 30% of the households. On 1 January 2006, as many as 7,495 persons of a nationality other than Dutch lived in Amstelveen. Japanese have been the largest group for years, followed by Americans, Germans and other west Europeans. The age structure of non-Dutch citizens differs heavily from that in the Netherlands. People between 25 and 44 years of age and children have a high representation among the expatriates, whereas the elderly are nearly non-existent.

Unemployment figures

Dwellings and businesses

The real estate properties include 37,089 homes and 4,415 units in various buildings, including student apartments, nursing homes and hostel for the homeless. The houses in Amstelveen are relatively new: some 70% of the houses has been built since 1960.
In Amstelveen, as many as 6,062 companies and institutions are registered. They employ about 40.638 persons; this represents 7 people per company on average. In addition to homes, many offices have been built in Amstelveen over the past decades, particularly for trading, banking, insurance companies and KLM. Amstelveen is the home of large computer centres and the head offices of national and international institutions. Many people who work at Schiphol Airport live in Amstelveen, as the city is only a few kilometres away. The proximity of the airport is considered by many companies to be an advantage when selecting an office site.

Nature and art

(Amstelveenweb.com collectie - 2006)

De Braak

Amstelveen has many nature parks: namely Bovenkerkerpolder, de Braak, Broersepark, the children’s farm Elsenhove, Jac.P. Thijssepark, Middelpolder, Ouderkerkerplas and the Amstelveense Poel. The Poel is part of the Amsterdam Forest which stretches over an area of 935 hectares.
Art and culture were prominent in Amstelveen last year. The museums had almost 99,000 visitors and the library, with its four departments, were visited by 725,000 people. In 2003, the shows in Schouwburg Amstelveen had attracted 96,008 visitors. This means 392 people per show on average. Cinema Amstelveen had 17,000 visitors representing an average of 31 visitors per show.

The relatively new pop stage P60 has built a very good name within some years through well planned programming. The number of visitors is therefore high. Annual cultural events such as the Atelierroute, the Town Square Festival and the book market make the city tick. The works of art throughout Amstelveen may not be overlooked either: traditional and modern works, large and small, are on display around the town.

Restaurants and shops

Relatively small hotels have been established in Amstelveen. All in all, 143 rooms with 297 beds are available. There are not too many shops in the old village of Amstelveen. Several have been converted to restaurants, such as Argentinian or Indian, French or Italian. Amstelveen has a shopping centre with restaurants in every district practically. From the 90’s, the centre of Amstelveen has been gradually transformed to a large so-called “heart of town” with shops to appeal to all tastes. Around the town square (Stadshart) there are also restaurants, where customers can sit outside in summertime.

Sports

Amstelveen can offer a lot to sports fans. The majority of the 236 sport centres have football, hockey, handball, korfball, softball, rugby and cricket facilities. Furthermore, there are swimming pools in Meerkamp, with several pools indoors and outdoors. There are also bicycle training centres, and you can play golf in the neighbouring municipalities in Amsterdam and Haarlemmermeer. These sports facilities are used by approximately 85 sports associations established in Amstelveen, and also by many individuals. In addition, Amstelveen has top sports players: among other sports clubs, some Amstelveen hockey, volleyball and badminton clubs are amongst the top Dutch teams.

Politics

VVD is the largest political party in the Council of Amstelveen. The VVD, PvdA and CDA form the general assembly with the mayor and the ‘aldermen’. The Municipality of Amstelveen employs 798 civil servants.

Contributing parties in the Council of Amstelveen: