The number of low income households in the Netherlands has gone up for the first time in four years, the national statistics office CBS said on Monday.

Some 8.2% of households – or 599,000 – have an income on, or just above the poverty line, the CBS said. Around a third of the rise is due to the influx of refugees from Syria, many of whom end up reliant on benefits, the CBS said.

The CBS says single people with an income of no more than €1,040 and families with children on an income of €1,960 risk poverty. Families with a single, low-skilled breadwinner are most at risk of falling below the poverty line.

The CBS has also looked at the percentage of refugees and immigrant groups on low incomes and found 53% of refugee households have a low income.

More than that, 80% of households made up of Syrian or Eritrean refugees are on, or below, the bread line, the CBS said. Households with an Iranian background, by contrast, are least likely to be poor, with 33% at risk of poverty.