The population of the Netherlands increased by 87,000 in 2025 to 18.13 million and the rise was due entirely to migration as death rates continue to outstrip live births, national statistics agency CBS said on Monday.

Almost 307,000 people moved to the Netherlands last year and 212,000 left the country.

2025 was the third year in a row that population growth slowed, after peaking in 2022 with the arrival of tens of thousands of Ukrainian nationals in the wake of the Russian invasion.

The European population in the Netherlands rose by just 27,000 as more people left the country than in previous years. In particular, more Polish nationals left than moved here and there were fewer Russian, Romanian, Bulgarian and British immigrants.

The number of new arrivals from Asia also fell, with fewer immigrants from China, India and Iran. There was, however, a 1,000-strong increase in the number of new arrivals from Africa.

The size of the American population in the Netherlands grew by 2,400 last year, double the 2024 figure.