Population growth picks up again

The population growth is similar to the growth in the first half of 2018 but lower than in the peak year of 2019, when 45.8 thousand new inhabitants were added in the first six months. The number of immigrants in particular was lower than in 2019. Mortality was relatively high in the first half of 2021.

More live births

In the first half of 2021, 86.2 thousand children were born, i.e. 4.5 thousand more than in the same period last year. Particularly in the months of February, March and April, there were relatively many births compared to previous years. The increase partly compensates for the still high mortality rate. There were 83.8 thousand deaths in the first six months, 2.4 thousand fewer than in the same period last year but 6.6 thousand more than in 2019. On balance, there were 2.4 thousand more births than deaths, against 5.0 thousand in the first half of 2019. In the first half of 2020, natural population growth was negative, with deaths exceeding births by 4.6 thousand.

More immigrants with a non-EU background

During the first six months of 2021, nearly 92.8 thousand immigrants registered with a Dutch municipality. This number was 2.1 thousand higher than in the first half of 2020, but 20.7 thousand lower than in the same period in 2019. There were more immigrants with a non-EU background than in the first six months of 2020, when this group saw the largest decline. Intra-EU immigration remained virtually the same. The number of immigrants from EU countries fell less sharply after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and was relatively high in the months prior to this. This was especially true for immigrants with a migration background in one of the Central and Eastern European countries, including Poland and Bulgaria. The number of immigrants with a Dutch background was lower than in the first half of previous years.

Less emigration

The number of residents moving from the Netherlands to other countries was lower than in the first half of 2020. Emigration was down particularly in Q1 2021 and picked up again in the second quarter. Last year, the number of emigrants dropped following the implementation of COVID-19 measures in March. In the preceding months, the number of emigrants was higher than in previous years. Because fewer people left the Netherlands, on balance more people arrived through external migration in the first six months than in 2020. This balance is similar to the first six months of 2018, but still lower than in the peak year of 2019.

After the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, there were mainly fewer emigrants with a Dutch background. Unlike in previous years, on balance more Dutch people settled than left. In the first half of 2021, the balance was negative again, due to the lower number of immigrants and the rising number of emigrants.