According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), the population of the Netherlands grew to 17,1 million people in the first 11 months of 2016. According to Echt Amsterdams Nieuws (At5), the speed of growth has hit a record for this century. 

The big four

Whilst most municipalities have declined in growth, with deaths outnumbering births and more people moving to urban areas, the population of cities has most definitely made up for the loss.

Since 2008, the population has grown in Amsterdam, The Hague, Utrecht, and Rotterdam as live births and migrants to the cities outnumbered the amount of deaths and people who left.

Population statistics

On average, there were six new arrivals for every 1.000 people in the country. When looking at the major cities however, these numbers were considerably higher.

In Amsterdam it was 18 per thousand, 13 for Rotterdam, 12 for Utrecht and nine for The Hague.

Last year the population of the Netherlands grew by 111.000 people, which was higher than the number predicted. In 2015, the population grew by 78.000.  

In Amsterdam along, the new immigrant population grew by 13.000, taking the total to 850.000. 

Data and graphs

To view a more detailed compilation of the information, graphs demonstrating migration can be found on the CBS website (in Dutch).