This is according to estimates from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). The population increased more in 2019 than in the past three years.
–
–
Growth through migration
Although not all figures have been processed yet, Statistics Netherlands expects 272,000 people to settle in the Netherlands last year. 158,000 people left the Netherlands, which means that the population grew by 114,000 as a result of migration.
The population also grew because 18,000 more children were born than people died.
Half from Europe
Of all the people who settled in the Netherlands from abroad in 2019, almost half came from Europe. 18 percent of immigrants came from Asia. An estimated 16,000 asylum migrants came to the Netherlands, which is almost 6 percent of total immigration.
The population growth is therefore the largest since the beginning of this century. More and more people came to live in and around the big cities.
–
–
Ten largest cities
According to the statistical office, Amsterdam had almost 11,000 inhabitants in 2019, The Hague nearly 8,000, Rotterdam almost 7,000 and Utrecht almost 5,000.
In relation to the number of inhabitants, Almere grew the fastest of the ten largest cities, with 18 new residents per thousand inhabitants.
Rand municipalities
The municipality that grew relatively fastest in the past year was Diemen. 54 new residents per thousand inhabitants came to that municipality. This is mainly due to a few large new-build projects that attracted many families from Amsterdam.
According to the CBS, people elsewhere in the country also moved from the big city to suburbs. The number of inhabitants in Zuidplas (near Rotterdam), Beemster and Blaricum (near Amsterdam) and Son en Breugel (near Eindhoven) increased rapidly.
–
–
Shrinking regions
For the second year in a row, the number of municipalities where the population is shrinking decreased. Of the 355 municipalities in the Netherlands, the population in 63 places (18 percent) decreased last year. In 2017 there was another decline in 91 places (23 percent).
The municipalities where the population is declining are mainly in East Groningen, Drenthe, Zeeland Flanders, South Limburg and the Achterhoek.
According to the CBS, the fact that in the last two years fewer and fewer municipalities have to deal with a decreasing number of inhabitants is due to increased immigration. Virtually all municipalities gained inhabitants in 2019 as a result of foreign migration.
–
–
