Fewer Indians and Europeans are moving to the Netherlands
The population of the Netherlands increased by about 37,000 people only during the first half of this year, continuing the trend seen in the country in 2024, according to the national statistics agency CBS. Because the number of deaths exceeded the number of births, this population growth was entirely due to immigration. The total population of the country currently stands at 18,080,000.
Between January and June, 141,200 people moved to the Netherlands, while 95,600 left. Immigration from EU countries continued to decline, a trend that began three years ago.
In the first half of 2023, the number of EU citizens in the Netherlands increased by more than 23,000 people, while this year the increase was very limited, not exceeding 7,600 people. For example, the number of Polish residents in the Netherlands remained unchanged.
The arrival of Indians in the Netherlands has also slowed significantly. In the first half of the year, the number of Indians in the country increased by only a thousand people, compared to about 5,000 in 2022 when travel restrictions related to the Corona pandemic were lifted.
This decline in arrivals from countries traditionally known as sources of "expats" is also reflected in the data from international reception centers in the Netherlands, which assist new arrivals in completing official procedures and settling down. More than 24,400 people used these centers last year, down from about 33,000 the previous year. These centers are primarily used by holders of "highly skilled migrant" visas and their families, and do not represent all arrivals.
The largest groups of new arrivals in the first half of 2025 were from Syria (15,500 people), Ukraine (5,900 people), and Turkey (4,900 people).
The right-wing Dutch government, which collapsed in June, had made reducing immigration one of its main policy focuses. However, no concrete measures have been implemented so far to reduce the number of migrants.