The Netherlands: paradigm or exception in Western Europe's demography?

David Coleman (University of Oxford) and Joop GarssenThis article reviews the position of the population of the Netherlands in the context of the demographic characteristics of the other seventeen major Western European countries. It attempts to show the ways in which the population of the Netherlands is part of the European mainstream and where it diverges in various interesting ways. Where possible, a (partial) explanation for this divergence will be given.