Osdorp has about 45.000 inhabitants with the half of them being Dutch and 10 % expatriats or western foreigners. Osdorp is situated in Amsterdam West, consisting of former city parts of Osdorp, Geuzenveld/Slotermeer and Slotervaart, the Westelijke Tuinsteden (Western Horticulture Cities), and the former village of Sloten, all located along the lake Sloterplas.

Most of the area was formerly the lake of Slotermeer, which was reclaimed in 1644. In 1956 the Sloterplas was dug to obtain sand to build the Western horticulture cities. Osdorp was probably called "Oostdorp" – East village and could also be seen from Haarlem. Old manuscripts and maps of Holland mention it as "Ostdorp" or "Oostdorp" around 1.100 ad.

The inhabitants of Osdorp were pretty oriented on Haarlem. In 1529 the Lord of Brederode sold Osdorp to Amsterdam and Haarlem’s influence vanished. In 1921 Amsterdam annexed the area for real and effective building began in 1957.

To most Amsterdammers Osdorp is at the end of the world, although one can get there fast by taking tram line 1. Recently it gained popularity because of the Bunker, which is the best guarded court in Holland where big criminals go on trial. Another well known building is the Meervaart Theatre, situated in the centre of Osdorp along the Sloter lake.

Osdorp is the district with the highest percentage of owner-occupied houses (30,2%). The average number of rooms is 3 – 4. This is fairly high. The average value of an Osdorp home is €184,000.

The oxen’s face, framed in the flag, represents the popular etymology of Osdorp, the three crosses represent Amsterdam, while the colours represent the city part, possibly derived from Sloten.

Osdorp is easy to reach by car, tram and bus. Parking your car is free and should not be considered as a problem.