The number of people in the Netherlands holding a political party membership has reached 448,100, surpassing 1982 levels for the first time in over four decades. According to an annual survey by the Documentation Centre for Dutch Political Parties (DNPP) at the University of Groningen, 2025 saw a remarkable influx of 57,000 new members—a growth of nearly 15 per cent.
The FVD remains the largest party by membership, boasting over 70,000 adherents. However, significant gains were also recorded by the PvdA and GroenLinks, which saw their memberships surge by 33.5 per cent and 35 per cent respectively throughout the year. Other notable increases included JA21, which grew by 33.6 per cent to reach 4,860 members, and DENK, which welcomed enough newcomers to boost its total by almost 30 per cent to 5,300.
Researchers suggest this trend aligns with a typical pattern where political parties perform well during election years due to increased media exposure. Nevertheless, the DNPP described last year’s rise as “particularly substantial,” especially considering that no major new parties broke onto the scene, in contrast to the surges seen by the BBB in 2021 and the NSC in 2023.
@anp | NEWS BRAINPORT
