The population of the Netherlands grew by 54,000 in the first nine months of this year, almost half the 102,000 growth recorded in the first three quarters of 2019, according to new figures from national statistics agency CBS.

The decline is due both to more people dying in the first half of the year and a downturn in the number of new immigrants and international students coming to the Netherlands, the CBS said.

Although the number of new arrivals did go up by 74,000 in the third quarter, the figure remains down on the 97,000 new arrivals recorded in the same period last year.

At the same time, 45,000 people left the Netherlands, compared with 50,000 leavers during the same period in 2019.

Immigration from other EU countries fell less sharply, and the net increase of both EU and non-EU nationals to the population of the Netherlands was 14,000. In 2019, the population grew by 19,000 EU nationals and 27,000 non-EU nationals, the CBS said.

The drop is particularly notable among people from central and eastern Europe, the CBS said.