Recent figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reveal that the population of the Netherlands grew by 27.400 people in the first quarter of 2023, solely as a result of immigration. 

CBS: Population growing despite low birth rate and high death rate

Over the course of January, February and March of this year, the number of people who call the Netherlands home rose by 27.400. CBS notes that this growth was solely driven by migration, as the country’s death rate in the first quarter of 2023 was higher than the national birth rate, meaning the country recorded a negative natural increase.

During the three-month period, 39.000 babies were born, compared to the 47.000 deaths that were registered. The Netherlands has recorded a negative natural increase every quarter since 2017.

80.000 people relocated to the Netherlands in Q1

Between the beginning of January and the end of March, 80.000 people relocated to the Netherlands, while 45.000 people moved abroad, leading to a net migration of 35.000 - around 18.000 fewer than during the same period last year. This is unsurprising as, following the outbreak of war in Ukraine last February, the Netherlands welcomed around 25.000 Ukrainian refugees. 

In the first three months of this year, on the other hand, only 9.2000 Ukrainian people arrived in the Netherlands. Other groups to relocate to the Netherlands were people from Syria (2.800), Turkey (2.800) and India (2.100). CBS expects that thanks largely to high levels of migration over the course of the coming years, the population of the Netherlands will reach 20 million by 2056.

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