Population growth in first three quarters lower than in 2023

In the first nine months of 2024, 243 thousand people came to live in the Netherlands, while 154 thousand people left the Netherlands to live elsewhere. Net migration (immigration minus emigration) thus stood at 89 thousand. That was around 20 thousand lower than in the same period of 2023. The number of immigrants arriving was down by 18 thousand, while the number of people emigrating was up by 4 thousand.

As in 2023, more people died than were born, meaning that all population growth has been entirely due to immigration from other countries.

Most immigrants from Syria; immigration from Europe down sharply

On balance, in the first nine months of 2024 the Netherlands gained the most new residents from countries in Asia. The number of immigrants from Syria and Iraq grew, compared to the previous year. New arrivals from these two countries were mainly asylum seekers. The number of immigrants from India fell sharply, by contrast. Most people arriving from India are migrant workers. On balance, the largest number of migrants came from Syria. In the first nine months of 2024, nearly 18 thousand Syrians came to the Netherlands, which was 4 thousand more than in the same period of 2023; at the same time, 700 Syrians emigrated.

The most noteworthy change compared with 2023 involves migrants from within Europe. Net migration from other European countries fell by over a third. Fewer immigrants from Russia and Ukraine arrived in the Netherlands. The number of people coming to the Netherlands from other countries in the European Union (excluding Dutch nationals) was also down, while more people emigrated.

Fewer immigrants from the EU and higher emigration

Most migration within the European Union is related to work, study or family. In recent years, the Netherlands has seen positive net migration from almost all other EU countries, meaning that immigration was higher than emigration. In the first nine months of 2024, the Netherlands gained almost 17 thousand residents as a result of migration among EU citizens (excluding Dutch nationals): around 83 thousand EU citizens came to live in the Netherlands, while around 66 thousand left.

In recent years, net migration from other EU countries has fallen sharply as the number of people arriving in the Netherlands has declined and the number of people emigrating has risen. Net migration from other EU countries in the same period of 2023 was plus 28 thousand, while in 2022 it was around plus 35 thousand.

The fall in net migration has involved most countries in the EU, but particularly Poland and Bulgaria. In the first three quarters of 2024, 1,800 people from Poland came to the Netherlands. In 2023, that number was more than three times higher (5,600), and in 2022 it was higher still (7,300). And just as immigration from Poland has dropped, more Poles have also left the Netherlands. Fewer Bulgarians have arrived in the Netherlands in recent years, too, and more have left. The same is true of Southern European countries such as Spain and Italy, as well as closer neighbours such as Belgium, Germany and France. So far in 2024, slightly fewer Germans have come to live in the Netherlands than have left.

Death rate is higher than birth rate

In the first nine months of 2024, over 128 thousand people died and nearly 125 thousand new babies were born. As such, the rate of natural increase (RNI) was negative by around 3 thousand. The number of live births fell significantly between 2010 and 2015, and has remained low since then. In addition, mortality has been increasing for some time as our population ages. The death rate rose sharply at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, and has remained relatively elevated in the years since. In 2023, for the first time, more people died in the first three quarters than were born. The rate of natural increase has turned more markedly negatively in 2024, as the death rate has continued to rise. This is due to the continued ageing of our population.