The number of people in the Netherlands aged over 65 has outstripped the number of teenagers and children for the first time, the CBS said on Tuesday.

At the beginning of 2025, there were 3.72 million teenagers and children living in the Netherlands, compared with 3.76 million people aged over 65.

The CBS expects the number of pensioners to continue to exceed the number of youngsters, with the gap reaching just under two million by 2070.

The number of people of working age will also decline in the coming years. Those aged 20 to 65 currently account for 59% of the population, but this is expected to fall to 55% by 2040.

The CBS expects the population to reach 20.6 million by 2070, an increase of 2.5 million on the current total and slightly down on earlier forecasts.

The impact of migration is expected to begin declining after 2033, and population growth will slow as more people die than babies are born, the CBS said.