Netherlands population numbers boosted by Ukrainian refugees

The number of residents of the Netherlands grew strongly in the past six months. This is mainly due to immigration, including the refugees from Ukraine.

In the first half of 2022, the number of Netherlands residents increased by almost 120,000, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reported. That is nearly the same as the combined population growth in the first half of 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021. The increase is equal to the total population of Maastricht, Ede, or Dordrecht.

At the beginning of January, the Netherlands had almost 17.6 million inhabitants. At the start of July, over 17.7 million people lived in the Netherlands.

From January to June, about 81,000 babies were born, and about 84,200 people died. And about 72,300 people emigrated from the Netherlands. Those numbers are all relatively stable.

The only change is in the number of immigrants. About 195,200 people moved to the Netherlands in the first half of the year, compared to about 93,600 in the first half of last year. Most immigrants came from Ukraine. This is followed by Syria, Turkey, India, and Poland.

In April, May, and June, more people died than were born. That means that the natural population increase was negative. According to Statistics Netherlands, this has only happened once before in the second quarter, in April, May, and June 2020, during the first wave of the coronavirus.