A record 150,000 people are set to leave the Netherlands this year, according to Jan Latten, who heads the social demographics department at the national statistics office CBS.

While some are immigrants who are returning home, Dutch nationals who are working abroad or retiring to another country make up a large proportion of the total, Latten told the Telegraaf.

Belgium, Germany and Spain have always been popular with Dutch emigrés, Scandinavia is also growing in popularity, Latten said.

Over the past 20 years, 2.2 million Dutch nationals moved abroad, and around half of them eventually returned home.

‘This could be because they no longer have a job, they are homesick, have health issues or grandchildren,’ Latten said.

Given that some 200,000 immigrants and refugees are expected in the Netherlands this year, the population will grow by around 50,000 this year, the Telegraaf said. This means the population of the Netherlands could top 17 million next year.