Population in The Netherlands on 1 January by sex, age, marital status, generation and migration background.

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 being replaced by categories based on continents and a few countries that share a specific migration history with the Netherlands. The new classification is being implemented gradually in tables and publications on population by origin.

Data available from 1996 to 2022.

Status of the figures: All figures in the table are final.

Changes per 13 January 2023: None, this table was discontinued.

When will new figures be published? No longer applicable. This table is succeeded by the table Population; sex, age, country of origin, country of birth, 1 January. See section 3.

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.

In 2022, the province most inhabited by first generation migrants in the Netherlands is South Holland (which includes cities such as The Hague and Rotterdam) housing over 717,000 first generation migrants. North Holland (which includes the city of Amsterdam), has the second most migrants living in its province with 576,000. The province which houses the least first generation migrants is Drenthe at 26,000 first generation immigrants.

Of the total non-Western population of approximately 2.53 million people in the Netherlands, people of Turkish origins formed the largest group with 430,000 people. The Dutch of Moroccan and Surinamese descent form the second and third-largest groups, with 419,300 and 359,800 people respectively.

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.

This table contains key figures for the population of the Netherlands.

The table distinguishes the following: — Population by gender; — Population according to marital status; Population by age; — Population by migrant background; — Private households; — Persons in institutional households; — Population growth; — Population density.

CBS is moving on to a new classification of the population by origin. From now on, it is more decisive where someone was born, in addition to where one’s parents were born. The word ‘migration background’ is no longer used. The main division of Western/Non-Western is replaced by a classification based on continents and common immigration countries. This classification is gradually introduced in tables and publications with population by origin.

Data available from 1950 to 2022.

Status of the figures: All figures in the table are final.

Amendments as of 23 March 2023: None, this table has been discontinued.

When will new figures come out? No longer applicable. This table is followed by the Population table; key figures. See paragraph 3.

These table concerns jobs of foreign-born employees within the age range of 18 up to 74 years. A distinction is made between employees who are registered as a resident in the Dutch population register (BRP; formerly known as the GBA) and those not registered as a resident in the BRP.Furthermore, the table can be broken down into origin background, gender, age, hourly wage class, employment contract type, and the Dutch standard industrial classification (SBI 2008).

All employees registered as resident were at least 18 years old when they immigrated to the Netherlands. Similarly, the non-resident employees were at least 18 years old at the start of their stay in the Netherlands. The variable “origin background” is included as a background variable. Because the target population consists of both resident and non-resident employees, it is not always possible to directly derive the origin background. Missing data in this respect are imputed using information on someone’s country of permanent residence or someone’s nationality. Data available from:2010.

Status of the figures: The statistics in this table are definite.

Changes as of 14 April 2023:

None of them. This is a new table and is the successor to foreign-born employees. resident/non-resident, demographic variables, (2010-2020). (See section 3). When will new figures be published?

New figures for 2022 will be published in the first quarter of 2024.

This table contains information on the population with migration background of the Netherlands broken down by generation, gender, age and migration background, as of 1 January.

Data available from 1972 to 2022.

Status of the figures: All figures in the table are final. The figures from 1972 to 1995 are estimated based on a reconstruction of the past.

Amendments as of 26 May 2023: None, this table has been discontinued. The data in this table can be compared to 'Population; gender, age, country of origin and country of birth (parents), 1 Jan’. See paragraph 3.

When will there be new figures? No longer applicable.

In 2022 there were approximately ******* first generation immigrants living in Amsterdam, approximately ****** more than the previous year. The population of migrants in Amsterdam fluctuated between the years of 1996 and 2007 from ******* in 1997 to ******* in 2005. It then gradually increased from 2007 until 2022, from ******* to *******.

As recorded by the source, Moroccans ranked as the foreign nationality with more residents in Spain in 2023, closely followed by Romanians. After years of losing its foreign population, Spain’s immigration figures started to pick up in 2015, with the number of people that moved to the Mediterranean country surpassing the number of foreigners that decided to leave.

A matter of balance The net migration rate of Spain changed its course mainly due to the great inflow of foreigners that move to reside in the Mediterranean country. Spain’s immigration flow slowed down after the 2008 financial crisis, albeit the number of foreigners that opted to change their residence saw a significant growth in the last years. In 2022, Colombians ranked first as the foreign nationality that most relocated to Spain, distantly followed by Moroccans and Ukranians.

Spain does not have the highest number of immigrants in Europe In recent years, the European Union confronted a rising number of refugees arriving from the Middle East. Migration figures show that Germany accommodated approximately 15 million foreign-born citizens, ranking it as the country that most hosted immigrants in Europe in 2022. By comparison, Spain’s foreign population stood slightly over seven million, positioning the Western Mediterranean country third on the European list of foreign-born population. Unfortunately, thousands of persons have died ore gone missing trying to reach Spanish territory, as more and more irregular migrants opt to use dangerous maritime routes to arrive at Southern Europe from Africa's coasts.

Over 1.2 million refugees from Ukraine due to the Russian invasion fled to Germany as of April 2025. Furthermore, the second-highest number was recorded in Poland. In total, around 5.1 million Ukrainian refugees were registered across Europe and 5.6 million worldwide as of May 2025. Most of them fled the country by crossing the border with Poland. Ukrainian refugees in Germany The first increases in the number of Ukrainian refugees in Germany were registered in March and April 2022. The figure exceeded one million refugees in September of that year. Germany had the highest monthly financial allowance for Ukrainians who fled the war compared to other European countries as of June 2022. Temporary protection for Ukrainian refugees in the EU European Union (EU) members implemented the Temporary Protection Directive (TPD), which guaranteed access to accommodation, welfare, and healthcare to refugees from Ukraine. People fleeing the war had a right to a residence permit in the EU, enter the labor market, and enroll children in educational institutions. The protection is granted until March 4, 2026, but it can be extended in the future depending on the situation in the country.

The number of people with Russian citizenship living in European countries as of January 1, 2023, was by far the highest in Germany. The country's population includes around 260,000 Russian citizens. That was more than double the number of Russian citizens living in Spain. To compare, over 35,400 Russian nationals resided in Czechia.

In 2020, cumulative South African emigrants amounted to roughly 915,000. The vast majority settled in the United Kingdom (around 247,000), followed by Australia (nearly 200,000). Together, the two countries constituted roughly 49 percent of the total South African migrants living abroad. Moreover, the third major country of destination for South Africans was the United States, with about 117,000 people living there. Overall, the 21 countries presented covered 94.4 percent of all South African migrants.

Language: a primary driver of emigration destinations

Language is a factor that helps ease communication and integration for individuals within a new society. Noticeably, the five leading destinations for South African emigrants had English as an official language. In South Africa, English was the second most spoken language outside households. Furthermore, the Netherlands ranked seventh, which language can also justify. Afrikaans, a language developed from 17th-century Dutch, was the third most spoken language among households in South Africa.

Unemployment a major worry and prevalent among youth    

A real worry for South Africans in 2022 was unemployment. As of April 2022, 64 percent of the respondents of a survey reported concern regarding the job market and the unemployment situation in the country. As of the first quarter of 2022, the unemployment rate among the age groups 15-24 years and 25-34 years was significantly higher than the rest, reaching 63.9 percent and 42.1 percent, respectively.