Strong rise in mortality in first half of 2012

09/08/2012 15:00

Percent more deaths
Number of births falling
Emigration continues to increase
Immigration down

According to figures released by Statistics Netherlands today, the population of the Netherlands rose by 14.7 thousand people in the first half of 2012. This is half the increase in the same period last year. The population increase is entirely accounted for by the difference between the number of births and the number of deaths. Net migration was almost zero in the first six months of 2012.

More deaths

Over 72 thousand people died in the Netherlands in the first half of 2012. This is just over 4 thousand more than in the first half of 2011, an increase of 6 percent. It is the first time in years that the number of deaths has shown such a considerable rise. In spite of the increase in the number of elderly people in the Netherlands in the last decade, mortality had been quite stable until this year.

The remarkable rise occurred mainly among men aged over 80 and women aged over 90. The increase in mortality at these elderly ages was partly caused by the extreme cold period in February, and to a lesser extent by influenza.