The population of the Netherlands is growing more slowly due to reduced immigration

The population of the Netherlands grew by 19,800 inhabitants to 17.97 million in the first quarter of this year, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported on Friday. 7,600 fewer people were added than in the same period in 2023.

This is mainly because immigration was lower and emigration was higher, because the number of births and deaths remained approximately the same. Immigration was also significantly lower compared to the first three months of 2022.

In the first quarter, 74,800 people settled in the Netherlands and 47,700 thousand left abroad. This means that on balance 27,100 people were added through foreign migration.

Because more people died than babies were born, the total population growth in the first months of this year amounted to 19,800 inhabitants.

Fewer immigrants from Ukraine and the rest of Europe

In particular, fewer migrants from Ukraine and the rest of Europe came to the Netherlands. However, 3,600 migrants still came from Ukraine and more migrants came from Syria alone: ​​5,700. The other countries where a thousand or more migrants came from were Turkey (2,300) and Poland and Romania with both 1,000.

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