Population in the Netherlands to Surge in the Upcoming Years, Partially Due to Immigration
According to the source, population growth in the Netherlands will be linked to migration and characterised by increased longevity as a quarter of the population will consist of senior citizens aged 65 years and older by 2024, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.
As the population forecast for 2022-2070 published by CBS reveals, the population is certainly increasing in the upcoming years but the rise will be gradual and solid, mainly thanks to migration.
More specifically, the Dutch population has already increased by 111,000 in 2022, taking the total number of added people for the year to 227,000. Population growth will be slower for the next five years, with less than 100,000 inhabitants per year and this phenomenon is expected to occur from 2026.
However, that isn’t the case for 2022, as in this last year, slightly over 400,000 people immigrated to the Netherlands, with over a quarter of them coming from Ukraine. Foreign net migration will be the main factor for population growth in the Netherlands in the future, as the forecast shows.
“Foreign net migration picked up again in 2021 and 2022 after a decline in 2020, with rising numbers of immigrants and fewer emigrants. Immigration is expected to slow down over the years ahead, while emigration is expected to rise further as some of the immigrants will leave again after a few years,” a press release by CBS reads.
The increasing population rates are expected to happen not only because more people will be immigrating to the Netherlands but also because births will exceed mortality rates.
Foreign migration experienced a boost in 2021 and 2022 after decreasing in 2022, with more immigrants coming to the country. Immigration is expected to drop in the upcoming years while emigration might witness a surge as some of the migrants will leave again in a few years.
The lifespan will also increase in the next few years as more people will immigrate than emigrate, as well as birth rates will exceed deaths. While more deaths were recorded in recent years, mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, mortality rates are expected to drop as there isn’t a real threat from which more people could be dying in the Netherlands. However, an ageing population indicates that the number of deaths will gradually increase again from 2025 onwards.
As per the average age in the country, the number of 20- to 64-year-old inhabitants is expected to increase from 10.5 million in 2022 to 10.6 million in 2026, and then drop to 10.4 million in 2038. However, the main increase is expected to be 11 million in 2070 which concludes the decline from 59 per cent in 2021 to 53 per cent in 2070.
