The population of the Netherlands grew by 43,000 people in the first half of this year, the biggest first-half rise since the beginning of the century, the national statisics office CBS said.

There were 99,000 new immigrants written in to local authority registers, while 64,000 people left the country, giving a net balance of 35,000.

In particular, the number of native Dutch and people with a Turkish backround leaving the Netherlands outstripped new arrivals and returning emigrants, the CBS said.

Nearly 75,000 people died in the first half of the year and some 84,000 were born, adding a further 8,000 people to the total population.