The relatively new city of Almere has been the fastest growing part of the Netherlands over the past 20 years in terms of its economy, jobs and population.

Almere, created on reclaimed land in the 1960s, is a planned city and got its first houses in 1976. It became an independent local authority area in 1984.

The new CBS figures show Almere’s economy grew 144% between 1996 and 2016, compared with average national growth of 50%. Its population has gone up by 75% and the number of jobs by 90% over the same period.