More Brits, Poles and Indians help boost Dutch population

The population of the Netherlands grew by 46,000 in the first half of 2019, boosted in part by immigration and in part by a lower death rate, the national statistics agency CBS said on Wednesday.

The Netherlands now has some 17.3 million residents, a rise of 41,000 on the end of December 2018. More than half the increase – 21,000 – was due to more European nationals moving to the Netherlands. The Polish population grew the most, rising by over 5,000 to account for 25% of the total increase.

Indian nationals accounted for the second biggest increase – their number rose by 2,900 in the first six months of the year.

With Brexit still looming, the biggest percentage increase was in the number of British nationals taking up residency in the Netherlands. The size of the British population in the Netherlands rose by 1,400 in the first six months of this year, compared with 600 in the final six months of 2018.