In 2022, the largest foreign group of immigrants to the Netherlands came from Ukraine, with 99,700 immigrants. Polish, Dutch, Syrian and Turkish rounded out the top five foreign nationalities for immigrants to the Netherlands in that year.

From 2008 onwards, the migration balance in the Netherlands was positive, meaning that more people settled in the Netherlands than leaving for newer pastures. In 2022, the migration balance was 223,800. In 2022, the number of people in the Netherlands with a migration background (defined as someone who has at least one parent born abroad) was over 4.4 million.

 Regions of origin 

In 2020, the largest group of immigrants in the Netherlands came from other European countries, followed by migrants from Asian countries and the Americas. Over 1.4 million immigrants in the Netherlands were either born in another European country themselves or had a parent coming from here one. The Polish were especially well-represented, with over 25,000 immigrants in 2020.  

Attitudes towards immigration  

In a 2017 survey, respondents were asked how they feel about immigration from other EU countries. 70 percent stated to be fairly or very positive about this. By comparison, only five percent of the respondents answered to feel very negative about EU migration. Respondents were less positive about migration from non-EU countries, but the share of people feeling fairly or very positive about this still reached 45 percent.

Immigration and emigration in the Netherlands and the administrative corrections by country of birth, sex, age and marital status.

CBS is in transition towards a new classification of the population by origin. Greater emphasis is now placed on where a person was born, aside from where that person’s parents were born. The term ‘migration background’ is no longer used in this regard. The main categories western/non-western are replaced by categories based on continents and a few countries that share a specific migration history with the Netherlands. The new classification by origin is being introduced gradually in tables and publications on population by origin.

Data available from: 2020

Status of the figures: All data recorded in this publication are final data.

Changes as from 4 July 2025: Final figures of 2024 have been added.

When will new figures be published? The final figures of 2025 will be added in the third quarter of 2026 in this publication.

In 2022, the large majority of the immigrants to the Netherlands came from other European countries, clocking in at almost 280,200 immigrants. There were over 403,100 total immigrants to the Netherlands in 2022.

Netherlands Number of Immigrants data was reported at 234,957.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 230,739.000 Person for 2016. Netherlands Number of Immigrants data is updated yearly, averaging 132,850.000 Person from Dec 1995 (Median) to 2017, with 23 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 234,957.000 Person in 2017 and a record low of 92,297.000 Person in 2005. Netherlands Number of Immigrants data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Statistics Netherlands. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Netherlands – Table NL.G005: Number of Immigrants: by Country.

This table includes figures about the migration on the islands of Bonaire, Saba and St Eustatius broken down by sex, age and country of birth.

Since 10 October 2010, the islands of Bonaire, Saba and St Eustatius have been given the status of 'special municipality' of the Netherlands. On the grounds of their new status as 'special municipality', they are officially classified as public bodies of the Netherlands.

Data available from: 2011.

Status of the figures: The figures are final.

Changed on 27 May 2025: The figures of ‘Immigration’ by ‘Country of birth’ for the year 2020 have been corrected for Aruba (-1) and Bonaire (+1). This also changed the figures for ‘Net migration including administrative corrections’ by ‘Country of birth’ for ‘Born outside the Caribbean Netherlands’, ‘Aruba, Curacao, St Maarten’ and ‘Caribbean Netherlands’. Figures for 2024 have been added.

Changed on 5 December 2024: This is a revised table. The following changes have been implemented: - By using place of birth (municipality of birth) it was determined on which of the six islands someone was born in the (former) Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. That method has been applied in this table for all publication years (2011 to present) the same way. - Persons born in countries that have since disintegrated (e.g. the Soviet Union) have been assigned to one of the countries that emerged from these old countries based on birthplace information. See also notes on 'Country of birth'; - The origin countries Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Turkey have been assigned to continent Asia (was Europe).

When will new figures be published? In the second quarter of 2026 figures of 2025 will be added.

Netherlands Number of Immigrants: China data was reported at 6,724.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 5,975.000 Person for 2016. Netherlands Number of Immigrants: China data is updated yearly, averaging 3,948.000 Person from Dec 1995 (Median) to 2017, with 23 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 6,724.000 Person in 2017 and a record low of 1,464.000 Person in 1995. Netherlands Number of Immigrants: China data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Statistics Netherlands. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Netherlands – Table NL.G005: Number of Immigrants: by Country.

The New Immigrant Survey (NIS2NL) is a longitudinal panel study on early integration processes of recent migrants to the Netherlands. NIS2NL is targeted at Bulgarian, Polish, Spanish and Turkish immigrants who recently moved to the Netherlands and contains questions about demographic characteristics, living situation, education, employment, income, language, identification, contact, and perceived discrimination.The data collection for the first wave of NIS2NL was carried out in late 2013 and early 2014. Data for the second wave were collected in late 2014 and early 2015. The third wave was conducted in late 2016 and the fourth in early 2018. Answers were collected in written format either online or on paper. All correspondence with the respondents took place in their native (country of origin) language.

This statistic shows the total number of immigrants in the Netherlands from 1995 to 2022, by age. It shows that the majority of the immigrants to the Netherlands in 2022 was between 20 and 65 years old.

Graph and download economic data for Net migration for the Netherlands (SMPOPNETMNLD) from 1962 to 2017 about migration, Netherlands, Net, 5-year, and population.

Statistics Netherlands collects data about people in the Netherlands from various registers. This table contains information on non-Dutch immigrants aged 16 to 65 who settled in the Netherlands between 1999 and 2003. The information consists of data on the migration motive, year of residence, gender and the main source of income. In the table, the most important sources of income are expressed per migration motive as a percentage of the total (selected) group with that migration motive. Data available from: 1999 Frequency: discontinued Status of the figures All figures included in the table are final.

Netherlands NL: Net Migration data was reported at 80,000.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 62,687.000 Person for 2012. Netherlands NL: Net Migration data is updated yearly, averaging 109,874.000 Person from Dec 1962 (Median) to 2017, with 12 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 186,745.000 Person in 1972 and a record low of 11,589.000 Person in 1962. Netherlands NL: Net Migration data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Netherlands – Table NL.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Net migration is the net total of migrants during the period, that is, the total number of immigrants less the annual number of emigrants, including both citizens and noncitizens. Data are five-year estimates.; ; United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision.; Sum;

Netherlands Number of Immigrants: Switzerland data was reported at 904.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 815.000 Person for 2016. Netherlands Number of Immigrants: Switzerland data is updated yearly, averaging 441.000 Person from Dec 1995 (Median) to 2017, with 23 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 904.000 Person in 2017 and a record low of 303.000 Person in 2005. Netherlands Number of Immigrants: Switzerland data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Statistics Netherlands. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Netherlands – Table NL.G005: Number of Immigrants: by Country.

Historical dataset showing Netherlands immigration statistics by year from 1960 to 2015.

The current panel describes and explains the life-courses of immigrant and native young adults in the Netherlands. The survey covers three central themes: (A) progress in school and in the labour market, (B) the development of norms, values, lifestyle and attitudes, (C) changes in social networks and social participation. This panel is a continuation of the 3-wave panel study CILS4EU (which followed these immigrant and native children at age 14, 15 and 16 in the Netherlands, England, Germany and Sweden) and CILSNL (which followed these respondents at age 17 in the Netherlands). Wave 5 interviews these respondents of around 18 years old.The reduced version includes reduced and aggregated information for some variables. Data, codebook, and technical report in English.Original questionnaire in Dutch.The .DTA format of the file 'cilsnl_w5_ym_nl_v5.0.0_rv' was deposited by Utrecht University. DANS added the .SAV and .POR formats of this file to ensure preservation and accessibility.

The current panel describes and explains the life-courses of immigrant and native young adults in the Netherlands. The survey covers three central themes: (A) progress in school and in the labour market, (B) the development of norms, values, lifestyle and attitudes, (C) changes in social networks and social participation. This panel is the second of a 3-wave panel study CILS4EU, which follows these immigrant and native children at age 14, 15 and 16 in the Netherlands, England, Germany and Sweden. Later waves were conducted in the Netherlands under the CILSNL project. Wave 2 interviews respondents of around 15 years old.The reduced version includes reduced and aggregated information for some variables.When citing this data, please also cite the international data of which it is a part:Kalter, Frank, Anthony F. Heath, Miles Hewstone, Jan O. Jonsson, Matthijs Kalmijn, Irena Kogan, and Frank van Tubergen. 2016b. Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Survey in Four European Countries (CILS4EU) – Full version. Data file for on‐site use. GESIS Data Archive, Cologne, ZA5353 Data file Version 2.3.0, doi:10.4232/cils4eu.5353.2.3.0.

This statistic shows the total number of Western and non-Western immigrants in the Netherlands from 2009 to 2020. In 2020, approximately 69 thousand non-Western migrants immigrated to the Netherlands.

The current panel describes and explains the life-courses of immigrant and native young adults in the Netherlands. The survey covers three central themes: (A) progress in school and in the labour market, (B) the development of norms, values, lifestyle and attitudes, (C) changes in social networks and social participation. This panel is the first of a 3-wave panel study CILS4EU, which follows these immigrant and native children at age 14, 15 and 16 in the Netherlands, England, Germany and Sweden. Later waves were conducted in the Netherlands under the CILSNL project. Wave 1 interviews respondents of around 14 years old.The full version includes full available information for all variables and 4-digit postal code information.When citing this data, please also cite the international data of which it is a part:Kalter, Frank, Anthony F. Heath, Miles Hewstone, Jan O. Jonsson, Matthijs Kalmijn, Irena Kogan, and Frank van Tubergen. 2016a. Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Survey in Four European Countries (CILS4EU) – Full version. Data file for on‐site use. GESIS Data Archive, Cologne, ZA5353 Data file Version 1.2.0, doi:10.4232/cils4eu.5353.1.2.0.

This statistic displays the number of people from the twenty largest immigrant groups in the Netherlands as of 2023. At this time, Poles were the largest group of foreign-born residents in the Netherlands with approximately ******* people.

Netherlands Number of Immigrants: Argentina data was reported at 627.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 488.000 Person for 2016. Netherlands Number of Immigrants: Argentina data is updated yearly, averaging 274.000 Person from Dec 1995 (Median) to 2017, with 23 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 627.000 Person in 2017 and a record low of 117.000 Person in 1995. Netherlands Number of Immigrants: Argentina data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Statistics Netherlands. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Netherlands – Table NL.G005: Number of Immigrants: by Country.