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The UWV building on Cascadeplein in Groningen. Oct. 3, 2004
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Thursday, 30 July 2015 - 11:46
Majority of Somalians in NL on welfare
Nearly 70 percent of adult Somalians living in the Netherlands are on welfare benefits. More than half of the people from Syria, Iraq and Eritrea are also on welfare benefits.
This is according to figures Statistics Netherlands released on Thursday based on research into welfare benefits on the basis of nationality.
At the end of last year a total of 481 thousand people received welfare benefits. The majority of this went to people of 18 years and older.
A total of 3 percent of the 12.8 million Dutch adults are receiving welfare benefits. Among the 721 thousand adults in the Netherlands that are not of Dutch nationality, 11 percent are on welfare.
According to Statistics Netherlands, the largest group of Somalians, Iraqis, Syrians, Afghans, Iranians and Eritreans that are on welfare, are former asylum seekers. They generally have a lot of trouble on the Dutch job market given that many of them have trouble with the Dutch language or little to no education. The reason for their flight to the Netherlands also plays a role.