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TheDutch Top 40 (Dutch:Nederlandse Top 40) is a weeklymusic popularity chart compiled byStichting Nederlandse Top 40.[1] It was first published and broadcast on 2 January 1965 byRadio Veronica, a Dutchoffshore radio station that had been looking for a reliable weekly chart based on Dutch record sales. TheVeronica Top 40 - as the chart was titled until 1974 - was conceived by Veronica DJJoost den Draaijer while on a business trip to New York in 1964. The chart was broadcast every Saturday afternoon and was issued as a printed leaflet ("Het gedrukte exemplaar") (something Den Draaijer had seen in the US) which fans could get for free from their local record store.
It is currently broadcast by Dutch radio stationQ Music every Friday afternoon. In 2025 it celebrated its 60th anniversary, making it one of the oldest music charts in the world that did not change format or length during its existence.
On January 2, 1965, the first Top 40 was compiled, with its first #1 hit "I Feel Fine" byThe Beatles. In September 1974, Radio Veronica was forced to stop its offshore broadcasts, but the Top 40 continued nevertheless. Its name changed toNederlandse Top 40, to indicate it was now run by an independent organisation rather than a radio station (although theStichting Nederlandse Top 40 was operated by former Veronica DJ's). The Top 40 was temporarily broadcast byTROS, one of the Netherlands' public broadcasters on pop stationHilversum 3. This was ironic, as Radio Veronica and Hilversum 3 had always been each other's big competitors.
In 1976, Veronica - now an official radio and television public broadcaster - took over the Top 40 from TROS again, this time broadcasting the chart on Fridays.
Due to thecomplicated Dutch system of having several public broadcasters sharing airtime on one radio station (Hilversum 3 - and later Radio 3), there were several charts on Radio 3 for years. In 1993, the broadcasters wanted to end this situation by abolishing all charts and replace them by one new pop chart, theMega Top 50. By the end of 1993, the last Top 40 on Radio 3 was broadcast.
It didn't mean the end of the Top 40, however. Commercial radio stationRadio 538, initiated by several former Veronica-DJ's and personnel, took over the Top 40 and remained broadcasting it until December 2018.
A week after the final Top 40 on Radio 538, Q Music adopted the chart and has since broadcast it every Friday afternoon.
For most of its history, the Top 40 was based on sales figures of record stores. These were collected through telephone surveys. As of 1999, theairplay of a limited number of radio stations was included.[2] Between 2006 and 2014, download figures were added to the mix. They were removed again because supposedly, download sales could be easily manipulated by record companies or artists.[3]
As of February 2014, the chart is a combination of airplay, streaming, and social media trends.[4] The more often a song gets played on the radio, the higher its ranking in the Top 40.
To compute year-end chart positions, the weekly #1 positions get 40 points, the #2 positions get 39 points, etc. These weekly scores are then added up and sorted by single to determine the ranking.
TheTipparade, a 'bubbling under' chart for the Top 40, is based on sales, streaming, airplay, and recommendations from both the general public and the music industry.[5][6] It started in 1967 as a random list of "tips" for the Top 40, compiled by Veronica's DJ's. It wasn't included in the Top 40 printed leaflet until 1970.
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There is a set of rules, of which some have existed since 1972, that has been maintained up until 2012. Some of these have been criticized as a hindrance.
This is a listing ofsignificant achievements and milestones based upon the Dutch Top 40 charts.
Source:[7]
Source:[8]
Apart from a few number one entries in the 1960s, it had been impossible to enter the Top 40 at number one for many years due to restrictions in the compilation rules. These were relaxed in the 1990s after Jantje Smit's "Ik zing dit lied voor jou alleen" becamed the first record in almost 30 years to enter at number one. In recent years, however, number one debuts have become rarer again, possibly due to the influence of streaming and airplay factors.
As of the chart dated 23 January 2026
| Number of singles | Artist |
|---|---|
| 16 | The Beatles |
| 15 | Marco Borsato |
| 8 | ABBA |
| 7 | Justin Bieber |
| 6 | Michael Jackson |
| 6 | George Michael |
| 6 | Jan Smit |
| 6 | Queen |
| 6 | Ed Sheeran |
| 6 | Bruno Mars |
Source:[9]
| Artist | Record |
|---|---|
 The Beatles | 74 weeks |
 Marco Borsato | 72 weeks |
 Justin Bieber | 47 weeks |
 Bruno Mars | 44 weeks |
| Ed Sheeran | 37 weeks |
| Lady Gaga | 29 weeks |
| Adele | 27 weeks |
| George Michael | 26 weeks |
| Jan Smit | 25 weeks |
| Elton John | 25 weeks |
| Calvin Harris | 25 weeks |
 ABBA | 24 weeks |
Source:[10]
| Artist | Year | Record |
|---|---|---|
| The Beatles | 1965 | 30 weeks |
| Marco Borsato | 2006 | 22 weeks |
| Ed Sheeran | 2017 | 21 weeks |
| The Beatles | 1966 | 19 weeks |
| Harry Styles | 2022 | 18 weeks |
| Alex Warren | 2025 | 17 weeks |
| Calvin Harris | 2018 | 16 weeks |
| Dua Lipa | 2018 | 16 weeks |
| Miley Cyrus | 2023 | 16 weeks |
| Justin Bieber | 2016 | 15 weeks |
| 2017 | ||
| Avicii | 2013 | 15 weeks |
| Pharrell Williams | 2013 | 15 weeks |
| Bruno Mars | 2024 | 15 weeks |
| Lady Gaga | 2024 | 15 weeks |
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| Asia |
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| Europe | |
| North America | |
| Oceania | |
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| Other | |
