It is a part of the municipality of Borsele, and lies about 19 km southeast of Middelburg.

The village was first mentioned in 1312 as "in Badickendorpe ende in Oudelant aen die zuudtzyde", and means "old land", because it was not flooded in 1014.

[3] Oudelande is a church village which developed on a ridge which was elevated to a terp (artificial living hill) in the 13th century.

[4] The Dutch Reformed church was originally dedicated to Saint Eligius.

[7] After running a test for one year, the city council decided to remove all traffic signs in the beginning of 2007 to improve the look of the historical village.