Lower population growth in 2024
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Population growth in 2024 was lower than in both 2023 (+132 thousand) and 2022 (+221 thousand). This was mainly due to a fall in immigration and a rise in emigration: in 2024, 314 thousand people came to live in the Netherlands from elsewhere (22 thousand fewer than in 2023), and 205 thousand left the Netherlands to live in another country (7 thousand more). There was a peak in immigration in 2022 due to a large influx of refugees from Ukraine.
Annual population growth of over 100 thousand is not a new phenomenon: between 1950 and 2000, the Dutch population grew by an average of 118 thousand people per year. But during that period most growth was due to natural increase: there were more live births than deaths in the population. Net migration (immigration minus emigration) played a smaller role, and seldom exceeded 50 thousand per year. Starting in the mid-1960s, however, and again after 2000, the birth rate declined while mortality continued to rise due to the ageing population. In every year since 2022, the death rate has exceeded the birth rate. Now, population growth is attributable entirely to migration: more people have been coming to live in the Netherlands than emigrating. Net migration has increased sharply since 2014.
Natural growth (x 1,000) | Net migration (x 1,000) | Total population growth (x 1,000) | |
---|---|---|---|
1950 | 153.8 | 19.9 | 173.5 |
1951 | 150.8 | -22.4 | 128.1 |
1952 | 155.5 | -47.7 | 107.3 |
1953 | 147.1 | -31.6 | 115.1 |
1954 | 148.6 | -19.0 | 129.3 |
1955 | 147.5 | -5.2 | 141.6 |
1956 | 146.7 | -11.0 | 135.4 |
1957 | 150.9 | -12.5 | 138.7 |
1958 | 152.4 | 12.1 | 182.3 |
1959 | 156.4 | -16.9 | 139.2 |
1960 | 151.3 | -12.8 | 138.8 |
1961 | 159.1 | 6.4 | 165.4 |
1962 | 152.2 | 17.0 | 168.5 |
1963 | 154.1 | 8.4 | 152.0 |
1964 | 157.5 | 13.7 | 170.3 |
1965 | 147.2 | 18.8 | 164.9 |
1966 | 139.1 | 20.0 | 158.1 |
1967 | 138.9 | -11.5 | 125.8 |
1968 | 132.1 | 6.0 | 137.3 |
1969 | 140.0 | 20.2 | 159.3 |
1970 | 129.3 | 33.5 | 161.8 |
1971 | 116.9 | 33.0 | 150.1 |
1972 | 100.6 | 19.1 | 118.1 |
1973 | 84.3 | 21.1 | 103.4 |
1974 | 76.7 | 33.1 | 108.1 |
1975 | 64.1 | 72.1 | 134.5 |
1976 | 62.6 | 21.4 | 80.9 |
1977 | 63.2 | 20.3 | 83.4 |
1978 | 61.1 | 26.6 | 87.7 |
1979 | 62.4 | 43.0 | 105.5 |
1980 | 67.0 | 50.6 | 117.6 |
1981 | 63.1 | 14.4 | 77.2 |
1982 | 54.8 | -1.3 | 53.7 |
1983 | 52.5 | 2.3 | 55.0 |
1984 | 54.6 | 5.1 | 59.2 |
1985 | 55.4 | 19.9 | 75.6 |
1986 | 59.2 | 26.8 | 85.7 |
1987 | 64.5 | 35.1 | 99.8 |
1988 | 62.5 | 27.2 | 90.3 |
1989 | 60.1 | 26.9 | 87.3 |
1990 | 69.1 | 48.4 | 117.9 |
1991 | 68.7 | 49.6 | 118.7 |
1992 | 66.8 | 43.1 | 110.0 |
1993 | 58.0 | 44.4 | 102.4 |
1994 | 62.1 | 20.1 | 82.6 |
1995 | 54.8 | 13.9 | 69.8 |
1996 | 52.0 | 16.8 | 73.2 |
1997 | 56.7 | 27.9 | 87.1 |
1998 | 61.9 | 43.1 | 106.0 |
1999 | 60.0 | 40.4 | 103.7 |
2000 | 66.1 | 53.9 | 123.1 |
2001 | 62.2 | 50.8 | 118.2 |
2002 | 59.7 | 24.3 | 87.3 |
2003 | 58.4 | -0.3 | 65.5 |
2004 | 57.5 | -16.2 | 47.5 |
2005 | 51.5 | -27.4 | 28.7 |
2006 | 49.7 | -31.3 | 23.8 |
2007 | 48.3 | -5.8 | 47.4 |
2008 | 49.5 | 25.7 | 80.4 |
2009 | 50.7 | 34.5 | 89.2 |
2010 | 48.3 | 33.1 | 80.8 |
2011 | 44.3 | 29.8 | 74.5 |
2012 | 35.1 | 13.9 | 49.2 |
2013 | 30.1 | 19.1 | 49.7 |
2014 | 36.0 | 35.1 | 71.4 |
2015 | 23.4 | 55.1 | 78.4 |
2016 | 23.5 | 79.2 | 102.4 |
2017 | 19.6 | 80.7 | 99.6 |
2018 | 15.2 | 86.4 | 101.1 |
2019 | 17.8 | 108.0 | 125.4 |
2020 | 0.0 | 68.4 | 67.8 |
2021 | 8.5 | 107.2 | 115.3 |
2022 | -2.6 | 223.8 | 220.6 |
2023 | -5.0 | 137.4 | 131.7 |
2024* | -6.5 | 109.1 | 102.6 |
*provisional figures |
Fewer immigrants from other European countries
Compared to previous years, in 2024 fewer people from European Union (EU) countries (where there is free movement of people) settled in the Netherlands. Immigration from these countries fell to 106 thousand, while emigration from the Netherlands to other EU countries rose to 87 thousand. On balance then, migration from other EU countries contributed 19 thousand extra people to the population of the Netherlands in 2024. In 2023 that figure was 33 thousand, and in 2022 it was 44 thousand. Fewer migrants from Poland, Bulgaria, France and Germany, in particular, came to the Netherlands.
Migratie | 2022 (x 1,000) | 2023 (x 1,000) | 2024* (x 1,000) |
---|---|---|---|
Immigration | 117.3 | 114.2 | 105.7 |
Emigration | 73.0 | 81.5 | 86.8 |
Net migration | 44.3 | 32.8 | 18.9 |
* provisional figures |
Migration from Syria saw the largest increase among non-EU countries
Among people arriving in the Netherlands from non-EU countries, the number of Syrians increased the most. Most Syrians arriving in the Netherlands were refugees who applied for asylum. Nearly 24 thousand Syrians (net) came to the Netherlands in 2024, up from 18 thousand in 2023. Immigration from Iraq, Somalia and Eritrea also increased slightly, while immigration from Afghanistan fell sharply. Most migrants from these countries also applied for aslyum in the Netherlands.
Additionally, 13 thousand Ukrainian refugees (net) came to the Netherlands in 2024: 29 thousand Ukrainians arrived in the Netherlands, while 16 thousand left. In 2022, the year in which Russia first invaded Ukraine, 83 thousand Ukrainian refugees (net) arrived in the Netherlands. Meanwhile, arrivals from India, South Africa and the United States have been falling over the past two years. Most people from these countries come to the Netherlands in order to work. Immigration among Russians has also decreased sharply since 2022.
Top 10 landen buiten de EU | 2024* (x 1,000) | 2023 (x 1,000) | 2022 (x 1,000) |
---|---|---|---|
Syria | 23.9 | 17.9 | 16.2 |
Ukraine | 13.1 | 17.2 | 82.7 |
India | 3.8 | 7.7 | 10.8 |
China | 3.4 | 4.2 | 3.0 |
Iran | 3.0 | 3.1 | 2.8 |
South Africa | 2.7 | 3.9 | 4.6 |
Iraq | 2.7 | 1.2 | 0.9 |
Yemen | 2.2 | 2.4 | 1.4 |
Somalia | 2.0 | 1.3 | 0.4 |
Eritrea | 2.0 | 1.4 | 1.0 |
* provisional figures |
Death rate is higher than birth rate
Over 165 thousand babies were born in the Netherlands in 2024, slightly more than in 2023. However, the average number of children born per woman remains low, at 1.42 children per woman in the first estimate for 2024, a similar level to 2023 when it was 1.43. Nearly 172 thousand people passed away, over 2 thousand more than in 2023. The rise in the death rate compared with 2023 is attributable to ageing in the population: there are ever more people in the oldest age groups.Sources
- StatLine - Population dynamics; month and year
Related items
- Dashboard - Population dashboard
- News release - Population of the Netherlands reaches 18 million