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Record numbers of immigrants and emigrants in 2011

2011 was the Netherlands’ busiest ever year for migration, with the number of people arriving in country and the number leaving both reaching new record figures.

Net migration increased by 27,000 as the population reached 16.7 million. A total of 160,000 new migrants arrived, while 133,000 left the country.

The figures from Statistics Netherlands (Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek/CBS) showed that migrants from the European Union accounted for the bulk of the increase.

Overall the Dutch population grew by 72,000, as 180,000 children were born while 135,000 people died.

The birth rate has been falling slowly since the peak year of 2000, when more than 200,000 Dutch babies were born.

The CBS said the economic downturn was mostly responsible for the drop of 4,000 births since 2010, as well as a slight drop in the number of women of childbearing age.

However, despite the ageing population, the number of people dying has hardly changed in the last six years.

Source: De Volkskrant: Recordhoogte immigratie en emigratie in 2011

Photo by Shirley de Jong

See also: Statistics Netherlands (in English)