Number of "recent immigrants" in Amsterdam doubled in ten years; Most from Italy, UK, US
The number of Amsterdam residents who are recent immigrants - born abroad and moved to the Netherlands in the past ten years - doubled between 2013 and 2023. They now make up about 19 percent of the Amsterdam population. Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States were the main countries of origin in recent years, the municipality of Amsterdam reported.
In 2013, Amsterdam counted approximately 87,000 residents who had moved to the Netherlands in the past decade. Last year, that was 174,000 - about 19 percent of Amsterdam’s total population of 918,000 people.
The top ten countries of origin changed in the past decade. In 2013, recent immigrants mainly moved to the Netherlands from Suriname, Morocco, and Turkey. In 2023, Italy, the UK, and the US held the top three positions. Turkey, Germany, and France remained “important source countries” throughout the decade. Last year, many people also came from India, Ukraine, Spain, and Russia.
Work was the main reason for recent immigrants to move to the Netherlands, followed by family, and studies. The number of refugees grew significantly in the past decade, from 2,190 in 2013 to 9,780 in 2023. “That is still only a small share of the total group of migrants,” the city said.
Recent immigrants mainly live in private rental housing - a third in 2013 and half in 2023. The share of recent immigrants living in social housing decreased from 42 to 23 percent. “This is because the waiting times for social housing are now longer than ten years. By definition, recent migrants came to the Netherlands less than ten years ago. As a result, this group is usually not eligible for social housing,” the city explained.
A growing group of recent immigrants in Amsterdam are top earners. Last year, 27 percent of this group fell into the 20 percent highest registered incomes group, compared to 17 percent in 2013. Many top-earning recent immigrants work in IT, according to the city.
