Births and marriages both fall in 2013

• Number of marriages drops sharply, civil partnerships rise slightly
• Fewer births, people in their twenties in particular postponing childbirth
• Number of house removals rises somewhat, but not for all groups
• Immigration increases slightly, emigration stable

Fewer marriages, more partnerships

Fewer than 74 thousand marriages and partnership registrations took place in the Netherlands in 2013. This 6 thousand down on 2012. The decrease was completely accounted for by the fall in the number of marriages: the number of civil partnerships rose from 9.2 thousand to 10 thousand.  Relatively more partnership registrations than marriages take place on Mondays. Getting married or registering a partnership on a Monday is often cheaper, and sometimes even free. The downward trend in the number of marriages and the number of births can be seen as a reaction to the economic crisis in recent years.

Fewer babies, especially for people in their twenties

The number of babies born in 2013 was 5 thousand lower than in 2012, at 171 thousand. The decrease that began in 2010 is still continuing. Women in their twenties in particular had fewer babies. The fall in the number of births is not related to the number of women of childbearing age, but seems to be related to the economic situation: people are postponing childbirth and sometimes even deciding not to have a baby, or another baby, at all.

Number of house removals rises slightly, but not in all groups  

Nearly 1.49 million people in the Netherlands moved house in 2013. This was 7 thousand more than in 2012, but still around 9 percent fewer than in 2008, before the start of the economic crisis. Compared with 2012, the number of single people and unmarried couples moving house rose by 3 percent. The number of married couples moving to a new address fell by nearly 4 percent.

Immigration increases marginally, emigration remains stable

In 2013, 162 thousand immigrants arrived in the Netherlands, 4 thousand more than in 2012. The number of emigrants remained stable at 144 thousand. The largest group of emigrants came from Poland. Net immigration from Poland was nearly 10 thousand in 2013. Immigration form the PIGS countries (Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain) also continued in 2013.