Question: How many people live in Netherlands?

Demography of the Netherlands



This article is about the demographic features of the population of the Netherlands, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the population, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
Population size
The Netherlands is the 66th most populated country in the world, and as of March 21, 2016, it has a population of 17,000,000.
Between 1900 and 1950 the population doubled from 5.1 to 10.0 million people. From 1951 to 2000 the population increased from 10.0 to 15.9 million people, increasing by a smaller proportion.[1]


The Netherlands is the thirty-first most densely populated country in the world. The 17,000,000[2] Dutch men, women and children are concentrated on an area of 41,526km²;[3] this means that the country has a population density of 409 per km² (August 2018:415 per km2), or over 502 per km² if only the land area, 33,883km²,[3] is counted. If only the land area of the provinces, 33,718km², is counted, 500 inhabitants/km² were reached in the first half of 2014 or possibly in the last few days of 2013. 511 inhabitants per square kilometer were reached in August 2018.
Bangladesh and South Korea are larger and more densely populated (hence have a larger population). There are twenty-one more countries (twelve independent ones and nine dependent territories) with a larger population density, but they all have a smaller population (hence a smaller area). If the water area is not counted then Taiwan is larger, and there are sixteen more countries (nine independent ones and seven dependent territories) with a larger population density.
As a result of these demographic characteristics the Netherlands has had to plan its land use strictly. Since 1946 the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment has been occupied with the national coordination of land use. Because of its high population density the Netherlands has also reclaimed land from the sea by poldering. Between 1927 and 1968 an entire province, Flevoland was created. It currently (2015) houses more than 400,000 people. Because of these policies, the Dutch have been able to combine high levels of population density with extremely high levels of agricultural production.
Even though the Netherlands is so densely populated, it has no municipalities with a population over one million, although the two largest municipalities of the country do score well over a million if the complete city region is counted, including the neighbouring satellite towns that often are physically connected to the main municipality. Moreover, the "four big cities" (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht) can in many ways be regarded as a single metropolitan area, the Randstad ("rim city" or "edge city") with about 7 million inhabitants around an agricultural "green heart" (het Groene Hart).


































vt Largest municipalities in the Netherlands
Statistics Netherlands[4]RankNameProvincePop.RankNameProvincePop.
Amsterdam

Rotterdam1AmsterdamNorth Holland862,96511ApeldoornGelderland162,445
The Hague

Utrecht2RotterdamSouth Holland644,61812HaarlemNorth Holland161,2653The HagueSouth Holland537,83313ArnhemGelderland159,2654UtrechtUtrecht352,86614EnschedeOverijssel158,9865EindhovenNorth Brabant231,64215AmersfoortUtrecht156,2866TilburgNorth Brabant217,25916ZaanstadNorth Holland155,8857AlmereFlevoland207,90417's-HertogenboschNorth Brabant154,2058GroningenGroningen203,81918HaarlemmermeerNorth Holland148,0689BredaNorth Brabant183,87319ZwolleOverijssel127,49710NijmegenGelderland176,75620ZoetermeerSouth Holland124,944
Births and deaths

Historical populationYearPop.±%1900 5,104,000—1910 5,858,000+14.8%1920 6,754,000+15.3%1930 7,825,000+15.9%1940 8,834,000+12.9%1950 10,026,773+13.5%1960 11,417,254+13.9%1970 12,957,621+13.5%1980 14,091,014+8.7%1990 14,892,574+5.7%2000 15,863,950+6.5%2010 16,574,989+4.5%2019 17,291,000+4.3%Source: Statistics Netherlands[5]
The Dutch population is ageing. Furthermore, life expectancy has increased because of developments in medicine, and in addition to this, the Netherlands has seen increasing immigration. Despite these developments combined with the population boom after the Second World War, the low birth rate has caused extremely low population growth: 2005 saw the lowest absolute population growth since 1900.
This demographic development has consequences for health care and social security policy. As the Dutch population ages, the proportion of people of working age, as a percentage of the entire population, decreases. Important policy advisors like the CBS (Statistical Office) and the CPB (Planning Office) have pointed out that this will cause problems with the current system of old age pensions: fewer people will work to pay for old age pensions, while there will be more people receiving those pensions. Furthermore, the costs of health care are also projected to increase. These developments have caused several cabinets, most notably the recent second Balkenende cabinet to reform the system of health care and social security to increase participation in the labour market and make people more conscious of the money they spend on health care.
In 2003, the annual birth rate per thousand was highest in the province of Flevoland (15.9). The overall lifelong Total fertility rate (TFR), was highest in the province of Flevoland (2.0) and lowest in the province of Limburg (1.6). The municipality with the highest TFR was Urk (3.23) followed by Valkenburg (2.83), Graafstroom (2.79) and Staphorst (2.76). The lowest TFRs were recorded in Vaals (1.11) and Thorn (1.21).[6]
The total population at December 31, 2006 was 16,356,914. The population loss due to net emigration was 35,502 (an estimated 40-50% of emigrants were ethnic non-Dutch).
In 2007, there were 117,000 immigrants (including 7000 Germans, 6000 Poles, 5000 Bulgarians, 3000 Turks and 2000 Moroccans) and 123,000 emigrants. Nearly half the emigrants were native Dutch, followed at a distance by nearly 5000 Poles and more than 3000 Germans. There was an observable increase in net immigration from the former USSR, Bulgaria and Romania.[7]
The annual death rate was lowest in the municipalities of Valkenburg (2.9 per 1000), Zeewolde (3.2), Renswoude (3.4), Westervoort and Zeevang (both 3.9). The highest annual death rates were recorded in Warmond (22.3 per 1000), Laren (19.9) and Doorn (18.8).[8]
16.4% of the total births in 2003 were to parents of non-European origin, although they account for only 12.4% of the population in the 25-34 age group. For example, 3.8% of the births were ethnic Moroccan, although they were only 2.26% of the 25-34 age group. Respective figures were 3.27% and 3.0% for Turks. The TFR for Moroccans in 2003 was 3.3 while the general TFR was 1.73. TFR was 2.3 for Turks, 1.7 for Surinamese, 1.8 for Arubans, 3.0 for Africans and 1.8 for Americans.[9] (These figures compare with a figure of around 2.1 required to maintain a stable overall population figure.)
According to Statistics Netherlands, for the year 2007, the TFR for those born in Netherlands was 1.72[10] (1.65 in 2000). TFR of Moroccan immigrants was 2.87 (3.22 in 2000) and that of Turkish immigrants was 1.88 (2.18 in 2000).[11]
Life expectancy from 1850 to 1950
Sources: Our World In Data
1850-1950










Vital statistics
The following table presents the evolution since 1900; click on "show" to display the table:[13]

(p) = preliminar results
Current natural increase
[14]
Number of births for January–November 2017 =  156,123
Number of births for January–November 2018 =  154,887
Number of deaths for January–November 2017 =  136,474
Number of deaths for January–November 2018 =  140,111
Natural growth for January–November 2017 =  19,649
Natural growth for January–November 2018 =  14,776
Migration and ethnicity

Between 1590 and 1800 the estimated share of foreign-born population was consistently above 5%.[15]
According to Eurostat, in 2010 there were 1,800,000 foreign-born residents in the Netherlands, corresponding to 11.1% of the total population. Of these, 1,400,000 (8.5%) were born outside the EU (including those from Dutch colonies) and 428,000 (2.6%) were born in another EU member state. The most common countries of birth being: Belgium, Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom.[16]
As the result of immigration from overseas, the Netherlands have a sizeable minority of non-indigenous peoples. There is also a considerable level of emigration, in majority consisting of former immigrants. In 2005, some 121,000 people left the country, while 94,000 entered it. Out of a total of 101,150 people immigrating into the Netherlands in 2006, 66,658 were from Europe, Oceania, the Americas or Japan, and 34,492 were from other (mostly developing) countries. Out of a total of 132,470 emigrants, 94,834 were going to Europe, Oceania, the Americas or Japan and 37,636 to other countries.[17]
A large number[15] of immigrants come from countries in Western Europe, mostly from the neighbouring countries of Germany and Belgium. There were five subsequent waves of immigration to the Netherlands in recent history.
In the late-1940s and into the 1950s, following the end of the Second World War, people from the newly independent Republic of Indonesia repatriated or emigrated to the Netherlands - mainly Indo-European (people of mixed European and Indonesian ancestry of Dutch nationality) and supporters of the Republic of South Maluku.
Between 1960 and 1974, migrants from Southern Europe (i.e. Italy, Portugal, Spain), Turkey and Morocco came to work in the Netherlands as guest workers. They were expected to return to their own country and many did, but others remained and in the 1970s and 1980s were joined by their families. Until 2004, when marriage immigration was restricted, their children usually married others from their home country.
After 1974, people emigrated from the newly independent Suriname and from the Netherlands Antilles, which remained part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In 1974, about forty thousand Surinamese migrated while still retaining Dutch citizenship; between 1975 and 1980 there was a transitional arrangement allowing migration. Antilleans have the Dutch nationality and behave like typical labour migrants, travelling to and from the country in response to the employment available.
During the 1970s and 1980s, the number of asylum seekers was low, consisting e.g. of Chileans fleeing from political oppression and/or persecution. In the 1990s, asylum migration sharply increased,[18] largely consisting of Yugoslavs, Somalis, Iraqis and Iranians fleeing war or famine. Between 2000 and 2014 asylum migration strongly decreased due to the strict "Cohen Law". However, the Syrian Civil War of 2011 resulted in a large influx of Syrian asylum seekers in 2015 and 2016; about ninety thousand Syrians had been granted asylum by 2018.
In the 2000s, migrant workers from the newly-joined EU member states in Central and Eastern Europe, including: Poland, Romania and Bulgaria, and non-EU states Moldova, Ukraine and the former Yugoslavia. In 2005, non-Western ethnic population comprised 1.7 million individuals, about 10% of the population in the country.[19]
Illegal immigration to the Netherlands results in automatic deportation[20] but this is often not enforced for various reasons such as unknown country of origin, etc. Many Dutch provinces in 2012 had quotas for deporting illegal immigrants.[21][22][23][24]
By 2017, persons with an immigration background, both western and non-western, formed a majority in Amsterdam (2011), Rotterdam (2013) and The Hague, the three largest cities of the Netherlands.[25]
In 2005, the governmental Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau in its annual report, noted recurring integration problems for ethnic minorities. While during the economic boom of the 1990s their unemployment and dependence on welfare had strongly decreased, the economic downturn between 2001 and 2004 disproportionally affected immigrant groups. This would be explained by their functioning as a labour reserve, by their lower educational levels and by lower language skills. The report also noted that per capita social interactions between native Dutch and immigrant populations tended to decline over time, partly explainable by the size growth of immigrant groups. Integration levels strongly varied between groups. Surinamese and Antilleans were well economically integrated, but the latter less so culturally. Cultural integration was limited for Turks, but better for Moroccans. Of the asylum seekers, Somalis were among the least integrated into Dutch society, while Iranians were the best integrated with the highest education levels and modern lifestyles. Though the educational levels of the second generation were a significant improvement over those of the first generation, they still lagged behind the native Dutch who themselves on average had been attending ever higher school types. While half of all native Dutch pupils in 2005 proceeded to higher secondary education (HAVO and VWO), for Turks and Moroccans the share was a fifth and for Somali pupils even lower.[19]
In 2007, non-Western groups were generally socio-economically disadvantaged and of the four largest non-Western groups, Turks and Moroccans were the most disadvantaged. In 2006 38.7% of Moroccans and 43.9% of Turks aged 15-64 were in employment, their unemployment rate was about four times the level of the native Dutch (17.2% for Moroccans and 15.1% for Turks), and 30% received some type of social welfare.[15]
After 2008, the financial crisis and the eurocrisis again hit immigrant groups particularly hard. In 2012, at 12% non-Western migrants were six times more likely than native Dutch to receive social welfare benefits, with 2% for the Dutch.[26]

According to a 2010 Statisics Netherlands report, the third generation of non-Western immigrants was predominantly young with 80% being younger than 15, while growing with 10% evey year. The third generation have a similar employment rate as the native Dutch and receive a similar amount of social benefits. The third non-Western generation follow adult education more frequently than both the native Dutch and non-Western immigrants. The non-Western immigrant population as a whole has 1.5 to 2 times the benefit dependence compared to the natives. The non-Western third generation had a rate slightly higher than the native Dutch as crime suspects, but lower than for non-Western immigrants as a whole.[28][29]
According to Statistics Netherlands, nearly 53% of refugee households have a low income, six times the Netherlands average (8.2%).[27] For Syrian and Eritrean househoulds the share is about 80%. At 33% the poverty risk is lowest among Iranian refugee households. The group of Syrian households at risk of poverty grew from ten thousand (76% of all Syrian households in 2016) to eighteen thousand (79% of all Syrian households) in 2018. Households of Polish, Romanian or Bulgarian origin have a greater than average risk of poverty even though households from these Eastern European countries generally depend on work for their income. Migrant workers from Eastern Europe generally perform low-skilled work while migrants fro Western Europe are often highly educated.[27]
Immigrants from foreign countries are divided into several ethnic groups. For example, there are both Russians and Chechenians from Russia, Turks and Kurds from Turkey, Serbs and Albanians from Serbia and immigrants from Iran are divided into Persians, Azeris and Kurds.[30]
Ethnic groups

With the huge expansion of the European Union during the 2000s, the Netherlands has seen a rise in the number of immigrants coming from new member states. Migrant workers from these countries are estimated to be about 100,000 as of 2007.[31] Legal migrants from new EU-member states doubled between 2007-11 to 200,000,[32] with estimates totaling up to 300,000. Of the Poles who initially moved to the Netherlands in 2004, about a quarter had returned to Poland by 2006.[33]

As of 1January2018:[34]


Emigration

The Netherlands has seen considerable emigration. In the 1950s 560,000 people migrated to the United States, South Africa, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, leaving their war-torn and overpopulated home country behind. At least 60,000 of these migrants were Indo-European (mixed Dutch-Indonesian) repatriants that moved on, mostly to the United States, after being repatriated to the Netherlands from the former Dutch East Indies during and after the Indonesian revolution.
In 2005 some 121,000 people migrated from the Netherlands. There is considerable migration towards neighbouring states, Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom and to the Netherlands Antilles. Furthermore, almost half of the current emigration consists of people returning to their country of birth, including rejected asylum seekers, after the more stringent migration laws were implemented.
Religion

In 2013, Statistics Netherlands found that 26% of the population identified as Roman Catholic, 16% as Protestant, 5% as Muslim, and 6% as "other" (the last includes other Christian denominations, Hindus 0.6%, Jews 0.1%, and Buddhists 0.4%). The agency interviewed 355,237 people in the period 2010-2013.
[35]

Language

The main language is Dutch, while Frisian (known as West Frisian outside of the Netherlands) is also a recognized language in the province of Fryslân and is used by the government and schools there. Several dialects of Low Saxon (Nedersaksisch in Dutch) are spoken in much of the north and east and are recognized by the Netherlands as regional languages according to the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. This includes the Tweants dialect. Another Dutch dialect granted the status of regional language is Limburgish, which is spoken in the south-eastern province of Limburg. Major immigrant languages are Indonesian, Turkish, Arabic, Berber, Papiamento, German and Polish.
See also
Dutch people
Islam in the Netherlands
Immigration to Europe
List of countries by immigrant population
Netherlands
Indo people
Notes






 Dutch Bureau of Statistics