National statistics organisation CBS is forecasting that the population of the Netherlands will reach 18 million by 2025.

The Netherlands’ currently has some 17.45 million residents and their number is set to increase by around 100,000 a year, mainly through immigration, the CBS said.

By 2040, when the population will reach 19 million, 25% will be over the age of 65 and the number of people over the age of 80 will have doubled.

Up to 2040, the number of babies born will outstrip the number of deaths, but this will then change and the growth in the size of the population will slow, the CBS said.