The number of refugees coming to the Netherlands reached 8,100 people in the third quarter of this year, down 23% on the same period in 2023 and well below government forecasts.

The biggest drop was in the number of people applying for refugee status from Syria. Their number fell from 4,300 in 2023 to 3,300 between July and September this year. The number of Iraqi requests dropped from 675 to 200.

A further 2,650 close family members came to the Netherlands, in line with the same period last year but down on the second quarter. Most of them – 1,915 – also came from Syria.

The figures cover the period before the right-wing government announced its plans to bring in the “strictest refugee regime ever”, which includes declaring parts of Syria safe and returning Syrian refugees from those areas.

The CBS also reported that most people applying for refugee status were under the age of 35 and almost 30% were younger than 18. Minors have a separate status within the refugee system.

Last year, the justice ministry estimated 70,000 refugees would come to the Netherlands this year but the total figure is likely to be around 42,000. Up to the end of September almost 25,000 refugees and 8,000 family members had arrived.