The Dutch population has grown by 191,000 inhabitants in the first nine months of this year to almost 17.8 million, the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) reported on Thursday. The growth is almost entirely caused by immigration.
Population growth in the first three quarters of 2022 was more than twice as high as in the same period the year before. Up to and including September, almost 318,000 immigrants settled in the Netherlands, but more than 129,000 people also left abroad. This brings the migration balance to 188,500 inhabitants.
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Of the immigrants, 30 percent came to the Netherlands in connection with the war in Ukraine. According to the CBS, the number of Asian immigrants also increased compared to last year. More people came to the Netherlands from countries such as India, Turkey, Syria and Afghanistan.
Fewer children were born in the first nine months than in the same period last year, while mortality was relatively high. Yet on balance 2,500 more children were born than people died.