Demography of the Netherlands

The Netherlands is the 67th most populated country in the world, and as of March 21, 2016, it has a population of 17,000,000. As of December 31, 2020 the Netherlands has population of 17,474,677.[1]

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.[2]

Population density per province in 2006

Population density by municipality as of 2020

Dutch provinces as European countries by population

The Netherlands is the 16th most densely populated country in the world, and the 5th most densely populated country in Europe. The 17.4 million[3] Dutch inhabitants are concentrated on an area of 41,545 km² (16,041 sq mi) including water surface, the land surface being 33,481 km² (12,927 sq mi). This means that the country has a population density of 521/km² (1,350/sq mi). The density of 500 inhabitants/km² was reached in the first half of 2014.

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 over 7.5 million inhabitants around an agricultural "green heart" (het Groene Hart).

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]

Between 1590 and 1800 the estimated share of foreign-born population was consistently above 5%.[16]

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.[17]

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.[18]

A large number[16] 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.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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,[19] largely consisting of Yugoslavs, Somalis, Iraqis, Iranians, Ethiopians, Eritreans, Afghans and Vietnamese, fleeing war or famine.[20] Between 2000 and 2014 asylum migration strongly decreased due to the strict "Cohen Law". However, the Syrian Civil War from 2011 resulted in a large influx of Syrian asylum seekers in 2015 and 2016; about ninety thousand Syrians had been granted asylum by 2018.
5. Since the 2000s, migrant workers and their families 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 addition, a number of Spaniards, Greeks, Italians, and Portuguese also migrated due to the impact of the Great Recession in those countries. In 2005, non-Western ethnic population comprised 1.7 million individuals, about 10% of the population in the country.[21]

Illegal immigration to the Netherlands results in automatic deportation[22] 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.[23][24][25][26]

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.[27]

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.[21]

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.[16]

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.[28]

Western and non-Western fraction of low-income households and source of income. Data sourced from Statistics Netherlands.[29]

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.[30][31]

According to Statistics Netherlands, nearly 53% of refugee households have a low income, six times the Netherlands average (8.2%).[29] For Syrian and Eritrean households 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 from Western Europe are often highly educated.[29]

Immigrants from foreign countries are divided into several ethnic groups. For example, there are both Russians and Chechens from Russia, Turks and Kurds from Turkey, Serbs and Albanians from Serbia and immigrants from Iran are divided into Persians, Azeris and Kurds.[32]

Ethnic groups

Further information: Integration law for new immigrants to the Netherlands

As of 1 January 2020, about 4.22 million citizens are of non-Dutch/Frisian origin. A majority of these (51%) are from six backgrounds alone: Turks (inc. Kurds), Moroccans (inc. Berbers), Indonesians (inc. Moluccans), Surinamese, Germans and Poles.[33]

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.[34] Legal migrants from new EU-member states doubled between 2007–11 to 200,000,[35] 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.[36] In addition, a large number of Syrians moved to the Netherlands in the 2010s mostly as refugees, with the population increasing seven-fold between 2014 and 2019. Both Poles and Syrians have overtaken the population of Antilleans during the decade.[33]

Population of the Netherlands by country of birth

As of 1 January 2019:[33]

National origins or ethnic group	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013	2012	2010	2009
Dutch (& Frisians)	13 196 025 (76.36%)	13 209 225 (76.88%)	13 218 754 (77.39%)	13 226 829 (77.90%)	13 235 405 (78.31%)	13 234 545 (78.64%)	13 236 494 (78.89%)	13 236 618 (79.12%)	13 215 458 (79.72%)	13 196 916 (80.05%)
Turks (& Kurds)	409 877 (2.37%)	404 459 (2.35%)	400 367 (2.34%)	397 471 (2.34%)	396 555 (2.35%)	396 414 (2.36%)	392 923 (2.34%)	392 923 (2.35%)	384 164 (2.32%)	378 400 (2.30%)
Moroccans (& Berbers)	402 492 (2.33%)	396 539 (2.31%)	391 088 (2.29%)	385 761 (2.27%)	380 755 (2.25%)	374 996 (2.23%)	368 838 (2.20%)	362 954 (2.17%)	349 270 (2.11%)	341 640 (2.07%)
Indos (& Moluccans)	358 773 (2.08%)	361 594 (2.10%)	364 328 (2.13%)	366 849 (2.16%)	369 661 (2.19%)	372 233 (2.21%)	374 847 (2.23%)	377 618 (2.26%)	382 319 (2.31%)	384 553 (2.33%)
Surinamese	353 909 (2.05%)	351 681 (2.05%)	349 978 (2.05%)	349 022 (2.06%)	348 662 (2.06%)	348 291 (2.07%)	344 734 (2.05%)	344 734 (2.06%)	342 016 (2.06%)	338 519 (2.05%)
Germans	351 552 (2.03%)	354 136 (2.06%)	356 875 (2.09%)	360 116 (2.12%)	364 125 (2.15%)	368 512 (2.19%)	?	?	379 017 (2.29%)	379 518 (2.30%)
Poles	185 497 (1.07%)	173 050 (1.01%)	161 158 (0.94%)	149 831 (0.88%)	137 794 (0.82%)	123 003 (0.73%)	111 121 (0.66%)	100 775 (0.60%)	77 178 (0.47%)	68 844 (0.42%)
Dutch Caribbean people ("Antilleans")	155 492 (0.90%)	153 469 (0.90%)	150 981 (0.89%)	148 926 (0.88%)	146 855 (0.87%)	145 499 (0.87%)	143 992 (0.86%)	138 113 (0.83%)	134 486 (0.82%)
Belgians	119 769 (0.69%)	118 725 (0.69%)	117 495 (0.69%)	116 389 (0.69%)	115 687 (0.68%)	?	?	?	?	112 529 (0.68%)
Syrians	98 090 (0.57%)	90 771 (0.53%)	72 903 (0.43%)	43 838 (0.26%)	22 568 (0.13%)	13 744 (0.08%)	11 665 (0.07%)	11 025 (0.07%)y	10 263 (0.06%)	9 976 (0.06%)
Former Soviets[lower-alpha 1]	92 128 (0.53%)		84 498 (0.49%)	80 013 (0.47%)	76 102 (0.45%)	?	?	?	?	52 563 (0.32%)
British	91 154 (0.53%)	88 390 (0.51%)	86 293 (0.51%)	84 466 (0.50%)	82 879 (0.49%)	?	?	?	?	77 733 (0.47%)
Former Yugoslavs[lower-alpha 2]	87 536 (0.51%)		85 504 (0.50%)	84 243 (0.50%)	83 261 (0.49%)	?	?	?	?	77 995 (0.47%)
Chinese	77 648 (0.45%)	74 234 (0.43%)	71 229 (0.42%)	68 697 (0.40%)	66 088 (0.39%)	?	?	?	?	50 681 (0.31%)
Iraqis	63 008 (0.36%)	61 255 (0.36%)	59 497 (0.35%)	56 269 (0.33%)	?	?	?	?	?	49 234 (0.30%)
Italians	56 645 (0.33%)	53 703 (0.31%)	50 925 (0.30%)	48 366 (0.28%)	?	?	?	?	?	?
Afghans	49 122 (0.28%)	47 776 (0.28%)	46 701 (0.27%)	44 339 (0.26%)	?	?	?	?	?	37 739 (0.23%)
Indians	48 724 (0.28%)		36 818 (0.22%)	32 682 (0.19%)	?	?	?	?	?	?
French	47 009 (0.27%)	45 558 (0.27%)	43 836 (0.26%)	42 070 (0.25%)	?	?	?	?	?	?
Spaniards	46 741 (0.27%)		42 926 (0.25%)	41 572 (0.24%)	?	?	?	?	?	?
Americans	44 399 (0.26%)		40 022 (0.23%)	38 494 (0.23%)	?	?	?	?	?	?
Iranians (Persians, Azeris and Kurds)	44 379 (0.26%)	42 464 (0.25%)	40 893 (0.24%)	38 458 (0.23%)	?	?	?	?	?	30 617 (0.19%)
Somalis	39 947 (0.23%)	39 737 (0.23%)	39 457 (0.23%)	39 465 (0.23%)	?	?	?	?	?	21 753 (0.13%)
Bulgarians	34 809 (0.20%)		27 729 (0.16%)	25 520 (0.15%)	?	?	?	?	?	?
Romanians	34 185 (0.20%)		25 551 (0.15%)	23 020 (0.14%)	?	?	?	?	?	?
Brazilians	30 104 (0.17%)		24 725 (0.14%)	23 675 (0.14%)	?	?	?	?	?	?
Portuguese	27 450 (0.16%)		25 637 (0.15%)	24 930 (0.15%)	?	?	?	?	?	?
Egyptians	26 152 (0.15%)		23 956 (0.14%)	23 198 (0.14%)	?	?	?	?	?	?
Greeks	25 709 (0.15%)		22 141 (0.13%)	20 769 (0.12%)	?	?	?	?	?	?
Hungarians	24 898 (0.14%)		22 870 (0.13%)	22 080 (0.13%)	?	?	?	?	?	?
Ghanaians	24 460 (0.14%)		23 430 (0.14%)	23 168 (0.14%)	?	?	?	?	?	?
Pakistanis	23 855 (0.14%)	22 897 (0.13%)	22 137 (0.13%)	21 447 (0.13%)	?	?	?	?	?	18 636 (0.11%)
Ethiopians	23 777 (0.14%)		19 528 (0.11%)	16 347 (0.10%)	?	?	?	?	?	?
South Africans (Afrikaners)	23 738 (0.14%)		20 859 (0.12%)	19 877 (0.12%)	?	?	?	?	?	?
Vietnamese (Kinh)	23 488 (0.14%)		22 023 (0.13%)	21 435 (0.13%)	?	?	?	?	?	18 913 (0.11%)
Filipinos	23 128 (0.13%)	22 000 (0.13%)	20 937 (0.12%)	20 073 (0.12%)	?	?	?	?	?	?
Cape Verdeans	22 632 (0.13%)		22 285 (0.13%)	22 157 (0.13%)	?	?	?	?	?	?
Thai	21 364 (0.12%)		20 106 (0.12%)	19 513 (0.11%)	?	?	?	?	?	?
Hong Kongers	18 367 (0.11%)		18 357 (0.11%)	18 300 (0.11%)	?	?	?	?	?	?
Colombians	18 351 (0.11%)		16 607 (0.10%)	15 892 (0.09%)	?	?	?	?	?	?
Australians	17 349 (0.10%)		16 597 (0.10%)	16 127 (0.09%)	?	?	?	?	?	?
Canadians	16 614 (0.10%)	16 240 (0.09%)	15 944 (0.09%)	15 625 (0.09%)	?	?	?	?	?	?
Austrians	16 055 (0.09%)		15 777 (0.09%)	15 674 (0.09%)	?	?	?	?	?	?
Rest of Sub-Saharan Africa	108 621 (0.63%)		97 026 (0.57%)	91 797 (0.54%)	?	?	?	?	?	?
Rest of Europe	77 245 (0.45%)		68 592 (0.40%)	65 849 (0.39%)	?	?	?	?	?	?
Rest of Americas (except Caribbean)	52 425 (0.30)		47 048 (0.28%)	45 256 (0.27%)	?	?	?	?	?	?
Rest of North Africa and Middle East	55 180 (0.32%)		46 231 (0.27%)	44 059 (0.26%)	?	?	?	?	?	?
Rest of East and Southeast Asia	38 279 (0.22%)		34 562 (0.20%)	33 473 (0.20%)	?	?	?	?	?	?
Rest of Caribbean	28 861 (0.17%)		21 514 (0.13%)	20 956 (0.12%)	?	?	?	?	?	?
Rest of South Asia	18 672 (0.11%)		17 448 (0.10%)	16 762 (0.10%)	?	?	?	?	?	?
Rest of Oceania	6 479 (0.04%)		6 062 (0.04%)	5 916 (0.03%)	?	?	?	?	?	?
Others					1 094 826 (6,48%)	1 587 433 (9,43%)	1 437 462 (8,57%)	1 437 462 (8,59%)	1 387 255 (8,37%)	715 055 (4,34%)
Total	17 282 163	17 181 084	17 081 507	16 979 120	16 900 726	16 829 289	16 779 575	16 730 348	16 577 612	16 486 587

Region of the World	2019	2018	2017	2016
Netherlands	13 196 025 (76.36%)	13 209 225 (76.88%)	13 218 754 (77.39%)	13 226 829 (77.90%)
Europe (Except Netherlands)	1 318 382 (7.63%)		1 237 807 (7.25%)	1 204 908 (7.10%)
North Africa and Middle East	1 148 300 (6.64%)		1 081 636 (6.33%)	1 033 393 (6.09%)
East and South East Asia	561 047 (3.25%)		551 542 (3.23%)	548 340 (3.23%)
Caribbean and Suriname	538 262 (3.11%)		524 961 (3.07%)	520 959 (3.07%)
Sub-Saharan Africa	243 175 (1.41%)		222 585 (1.30%)	212 811 (1.25%)
Americas (Except Caribbean and Suriname)	161 893 (0.94%)		144 346 (0.85%)	138 942 (0.82%)
South Asia	91 251 (0.53%)		76 403 (0.45%)	70 891 (0.42%)
Oceania	22 828 (0.14%)		22 659 (0.13%)	22 043 (0.13%)

Immigrants and people of migrant backgrounds

Nationality	Population (2020)[37]
Turkey	416,864
Morocco	408,864
Suriname	356,402
Indonesia	356,029
Germany	349,284
Poland	198,024
Belgium	121,019
Syria	105,440
United Kingdom	94,915
China	81,534
Iraq	64,653
Italy	60,013
India	56,462
Afghanistan	50,403
Spain	49,116
France	48,926
Iran	47,797
United States	46,807
Somalia	40,251
Bulgaria	40,216
Romania	39,340
Brazil	33,348
Portugal	28,802
Greece	28,100
Egypt	27,504
South Africa	26,354
Hungary	26,172
Ethiopia	25,642
Ghana	25,453
Pakistan	25,050

Sources of immigration

Net immigrants in the Netherlands 2019[38]

Rank	Country	Number	Percentage
1	Poland	10,352	9.6
2	India	7,041	6.5
3	Syria	5,244	4.9
4	Turkey	4,920	4.6
5	Bulgaria	4,885	4.5
6	Romania	4,800	4.4
7	United Kingdom	3,506	3.2
8	China	3,308	3.1
9	Italy	3,187	2.9
10	Iran	2,935	2.7
	Top 10 total	50,178	46.4
	Other	57,857	53.6
	Total	108,035	100

Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2019.[40]

• One birth every 3 minutes
• One death every 4 minutes
• One net migrant every 31 minutes
• Net gain of one person every 11 minutes

Animated population pyramid of the Netherlands: 1950-2010

The following demographic statistics are from Cia World Factbook.[41]

Population

17,337,403 (February 2021 est.) Country comparison to the world: 70th

Age structure

Population pyramid of Netherlands in 2017

0-14 years: 16.11 (male 1,425,547 /female 1,358,894)

15-24 years: 11.91% (male 1,049.000 /female 1,008,763)

25-54 years: 38.47% (male 3,334,064 /female 3,313,238)

55-64 years: 13.69% (male 1,177,657/female 1,188,613)

65 years and over: 19.82% (male 1,558,241/female 1,866,380) (2020 est.)

Birth rate

11.0 births/1,000 population (2021 est.) Country comparison to the world: 178st

Death rate

9.22 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.) Country comparison to the world: 60th

Total fertility rate

1.78 children born/woman (2021 est.) Country comparison to the world: 157th

Net migration rate

1.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.) Country comparison to the world: 53th

Median age

total: 42.8 years. Country comparison to the world: 32th

male: 41.6 years

female: 44.0 years (2020 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth

29.8 years (2017 est.)

Ethnic groups

Dutch 76.9%, EU 6.4%, Turkish 2.4%, Moroccan 2.3%, Indonesian 2.1%, German 2.1%, Surinamese 2%, Polish 1%, other 4.8% (2018 est.)

Population growth rate

0.37% (2021 est.) Country comparison to the world: 168th

Languages

Dutch (official)

note: Frisian is an official language in the province of Friesland; Frisian, Low Saxon, Limburgish, Romani, and Yiddish have protected status under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages; Dutch is the official language of the three special municipalities of the Caribbean Netherlands; English is a recognized regional language on Sint Eustatius and Saba; Papiamento is a recognized regional language on Bonaire

Religions

Roman Catholic 23.6%, Protestant 14.9% (includes Dutch Reformed 6.4%, Protestant Church of The Netherlands 5.6%, Calvinist 2.9%), Islam 5.1%, other 5.6% (includes Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish), none 50.7% (2017 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 81.9 years (2020 est.) Country comparison to the world: 30th

male: 79.7 years (2020 est.)

female: 84.3 years (2020 est.)

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 55.6 (2020 est.)

youth dependency ratio: 24.4 (2020 est.)

elderly dependency ratio: 31.2 (2020 est.)

potential support ratio: 3.2 (2020 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 19 years

male: 18 years

female: 19 years (2018)

Unemployment, youth ages 15–24

total: 7.2%. Country comparison to the world: 130th

male: 7.7%

female: 6.6% (2018 est.)

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. [42] In 2019 the Central Bureau of Statistics reported that for the first time non-religious people were in the majority in The Netherlands. Only 49% of people older than 15 years reported to be religious; in 2012 that was still 54%. The largest religion was still Catholicism (24%), while 5% identified with Islam.[43]

The main language is Dutch, while Frisian (known as West Frisian outside of the Netherlands) is also a recognized language in the province of Friesland 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.

• Dutch people
• Islam in the Netherlands
• Immigration to Europe
• List of countries by immigrant population
• Netherlands
• Indo people

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Demographics of the Netherlands.

• CIA World Factbook data
• CBS Dutch Bureau of Statistics