Dutch population to top 17 million next year
The population of the Netherlands will break the 17 million barrier within the first six months of next year, the national statistics office CBS said on Friday.
In addition, the population is likely to increase by 113,000 people next year – the first time this century the annual growth has been more than 100,000.
The growth will be largely due to migration. Some 240,000 people will come to live in the country in 2016, of whom a large proportion will be Dutch people returning from abroad, the CBS said. At the same time, 151,000 people will leave the Netherlands.
Some 173,000 babies will be born and 148,000 people will die.
However, the growth will slow down and the population is not expected to top 18 million until 2035, the CBS researchers said.
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