CBS introducing new population classification by origin

Component 1: Born in the Netherlands or abroad

The classification Born in the Netherlands or abroad first looks at whether a resident was born in the Netherlands or abroad, and then where the parents were born. From now on, foreign-born residents are called migrants by CBS; residents born in the Netherlands with one or two parents born abroad are called children of migrants.

The classification of persons by their own country of birth and that of their parents will replace the concepts of first and second generation. Greater emphasis will also be placed on whether one or both parents were born in the Netherlands or abroad. The term ‘migration background’ will no longer be used in this regard.

Component 2: Country of origin

For the country of origin, a new classification has been created which is based on continents and a few countries with a specific migration history. This will replace the concepts of western/non-western migration background. Traditional countries of origin, with which the Netherlands shares a special migration history and where relatively many inhabitants and/or their parents were born, are distinguished separately in the classification.

The classification by country of origin comprises four levels:

• Level 1: The Netherlands, Europe (excluding the Netherlands), Outside Europe
• Level 2: Outside Europe consists of two categories: traditional countries of origin (Turkey, Morocco, Suriname, Indonesia and the Dutch Caribbean) and Other – Outside Europe.
• Level 3: Other – Outside Europe is broken down further by Other – Africa, Other – Asia, and Other – Americas and Oceania.
• Level 4: individual countries

14 percent of the population were born abroad

Of the 17.5 million people who lived in the Netherlands on 1 January 2021, 2.5 million (14 percent) were not born in the Netherlands. Under the new classification, two thirds of them (1.6 million people) have their origins outside Europe. Among the traditional countries of migration, the group born in Turkey is the largest (201 thousand), followed by migrants born in Suriname (178 thousand) and Morocco (173 thousand). The Netherlands is also home to a relatively large group of migrants born in Other - Asia (497 thousand). 2 million inhabitants born here are children of migrant(s).

On 1 January 2021, the Netherlands had 15.1 million residents born in the Netherlands, 2 million of whom are children of migrants. They have one or two parents who were born abroad. Just over half (1.1 million) have one foreign-born and one Netherlands-born parent; just under half (890 thousand) have two foreign-born parents.
Of the 890 thousand residents born in the Netherlands with two foreign-born parents, by far the largest group comes from Outside Europe. One-fifth (188 thousand) are of Moroccan origin, and a slightly lower number (164 thousand) are of Turkish origin.
Of the 1.1 million residents born in the Netherlands with one foreign-born parent, 44 percent have a parent who was born in another European country. In the Outside Europe category, the largest group (191 thousand) has a father or mother born in Indonesia.