Netherlands' population growth back to pre-Covid levels

The Netherlands' population growth was back to pre-Covid levels in the third quarter of this year, Statistics Netherlands reported. Immigration was the main driving force behind this growth, though the pandemic baby boom also contributed.

The population of the Netherlands grew by 58,700 people in the third quarter. Some 10,000 of that is natural accrual - more babies being born than people died. More babies were born each month from February than in previous years, especially in March and April. The number of births was also high in the third quarter at 47,900.

The rest was migration - more people moved to the Netherlands than left the country. More young people, in particular, joined the Dutch population through migration, the stats office said. The influx of 18 to 25-year-olds was higher than in previous years.

The population growth in the third quarter was higher than the same quarter last year when the population grew by 39.5 thousand inhabitants and was comparable to the third quarter of 2019. In the first two quarters, the population growth was still slower than pre-coronavirus 2019.