Population and Demographics

The Netherlands is the twenty-third most densely populated country in the world. The population is concentrated on an area of 41,526 sq km, giving the country a population density of 395 per sq km. Only Bangladesh and South Korea are larger and more densely populated (hence have a larger population), and only Taiwan is smaller and has a larger population (hence a larger population density). There are 21 more countries (12 independent ones and 9 dependent territories) with a larger population density, but they all have a smaller population (hence a smaller area). If the water area is not counted then Taiwan is larger, and there are 16 more countries (9 independent ones and 7 dependent territories) with a larger population density.

Not counting dependent territories, 50 countries are smaller and less densely populated (hence have a smaller population), 73 countries are larger and have a smaller population (hence a smaller population density), and 55 countries with a smaller population density, but a larger population (hence a larger area).

As a result of these demographic characteristics, the Netherlands has had to plan its land use strictly. Since 1946 the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment has been occupied with the national coordination of land use. Because of its high population density the Netherlands has also reclaimed land from the sea by poldering. Between 1927 and 1968 an entire province, Flevoland was created. It currently houses 365,301 people. Because of these policies, the Dutch have been able to combine high levels of population density with extremely high levels of agricultural production.

Even though the Netherlands is so densely populated; there are no cities with a population over 1 million in the Netherlands. Instead 'four big cities' as they are called (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht) can in many ways be regarded as a single metropolitan area, the Randstad ('rim or edge city') with about 7 million inhabitants around an agricultural 'green heart' (het Groene Hart). The unity of this conurbation can be illustrated by the current idea effort to create a circular train system connecting the four cities.

Notable is the fact that the population of the Netherlands is physically the tallest in the world, with an average height of 1.83 m (6 ft ) for adult males and 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) for adult females.

Birth and Death

The Dutch population is slowly ageing. Because of birth control-measures the Dutch birth rate is declining. Furthermore, the life expectancy has increased because of developments in medicine, and in addition to this, the Netherlands has seen increasing immigration. These developments combined with the population boom after the Second World War has created extremely low population growth: in 2005 saw the lowest absolute population growth since 1900.

This has created a demographic problem with consequences for health care and social security policy. As the Dutch population ages, the number of people able to work, as a percentage of the entire population, decreases. Important policy advisors like the CBS and the CPB have predicted that this makes the current system of old age pensions problematic: fewer people will work to pay for old age pensions, while there will be more people receiving those pensions. Furthermore the costs of health care are also projected to increase. These developments have caused several cabinets, most notably the recent Second cabinet Balkenende to reform the system of health care and social security: increasing participation in the labour market and making people more conscious of the money they spend on health care.

In international comparison, this problem is only relative: the Netherlands has the youngest population in Europe after Ireland. It is expected that the effects of the aging population will be felt later and less severe than in neighbouring countries.

In 2003, the birth rate was highest in the province of Flevoland (15.9). TFR was highest in the province of Flevoland (2.0) and lowest in the province of Limburg (1.6). The municipality with the highest TFR was Urk (3.23) followed by Valkenburg (2.83), Graafstroom(2.79) and Staphorst (2.76). The lowest TFR were recorded in Vaals (1.11) and Thorn (1.21).

For the year 2006, there were 185,124 births, 135,809 deaths, 101,489 immigrants and 132,682 emigrants. The net population growth was 22,704. The population loss due to net emigration was 35,502 (an estimated 40-50% of emigrants were ethnic non-Dutch).

The death rates were lowest in the municipalities of Valkenburg (2.9 per 1000), Zeewolde (3.2), Renswoude (3.4), Westervoort and Zeevang (both 3.9). The highest death rates were recorded in Warmond (22.3), Laren (19.9) and Doom (18.8).

16.4% of the total births in 2003 were to parents of non-European origin, although they constitute only 12.4% of the population in the 25-34 age group. For example, 3.8% of the births were ethnic Moroccan, although they were only 2.26% of the 25-34 age group. Respective figures were 3.27% and 3.0% for Turks. The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) for Moroccans in 2003 was 3.3 while the general TFR was 1.73. TFR was 2.3 for Turks, 1.7 for Surinamese, 1.8 for Arubans, 3.0 for Africans and 1.8 for Latinos.

According to Statistics Netherlands, for the year 2005, TFR for those who were born in Netherlands was 1.68 (1.65 in 2000). TFR of Moroccan immigrants was 2.87 (3.22 in 2000) and that of Turkish immigrants was 1.88 (2.18 in 2000).

Migration

As the result of immigration the Netherlands is a multicultural society. There is also considerable emigration. In 2005, some 121,000 left the country, while 94,000 entered it. Out of a total of 101,150 people immigrated to Netherlands in 2006, 66,658 were from Europe, Oceania, Americas or Japan and 34,492 were from other (mostly developing) countries. Out of a total of 132,470 emigrants, 94,834 were going to Europe, Oceania, Americas or Japan and 37,636 to other countries.

A large group comes from countries in the western European Union, mostly from the bordering countries of Germany and Belgium. There were four waves of migration from non-Western countries:

1. In the 1940s, people from the newly independent Indonesian republic migrated to the Netherlands - mainly Indo (Eurasian) people of mixed European and Indonesian ancestry and people from the Maluku Islands, which had been incorporated into Indonesia.
2. In the 1960s and 1970s, migrants from Turkey and Morocco came to work in the Netherlands as guest workers. They were expected to return to their own country and many did, but others remained and in the 1980s and 1990s were joined by their families. In the 2000s their children usually marry people from their home country.
3. In the 1970s and 1980s, people migrated from the newly independent Surinam and from the Netherlands Antilles, which remained part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. These people migrated because these people still held a Dutch passport and saw a better future in the Netherlands.
4. In the 1990s the Netherlands saw increasing migration from asylum seekers.

In the 1990s and 2000s the problem of migration for working class neighbourhoods became apparent. There was an increasing segregation between allochtoon and autochtoon. Although the term technically refers to all migrants it was mainly used to describe migrants from non-Western countries. In the 2000s, the Second cabinet Balkenende has implemented measures to limit migration, especially from marriage migration, the Netherlands Antilles and asylum seekers. The government has opened the borders of the Netherlands to people from the ten new European Union member countries as a result the number of Polish immigrants has risen from 2,000 in 2004 to 7,000 in 2005, and is expected to grow further the coming years.

The Netherlands has also seen considerable emigration. In the 1950s, 560,000 Dutch people migrated to the United States, South Africa, Australia, Canada and New Zealand: leaving their war-torn and overpopulated home country behind. In 2005, some 121,000 people migrated from the Netherlands. There is considerable migration towards neighbouring states, Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom and to the Netherlands Antilles. Furthermore almost half of the current emigration consists out of people returning to their country of birth, including rejected asylum seekers, after the more stringent migration laws were implemented.

Religion

The Netherlands is one of the more secular countries in the world, with only 39% being religiously affiliated (31% for those aged under 35), although 59% are believers (but 40% of those not in the traditional sense). Fewer than 20% visit church regularly.

Partly due to the secular nature of Dutch politics, Dutch law takes very liberal stances on such controversial issues as abortion, drugs and euthanasia.

Facts and Figures

• Population: 16,491,461
• Age Structure:
  • 0-14 years: 17.8% (male 1,505,931/female 1,436,532)
  • 15-64 years: 67.8% (male 5,683,877/female 5,557,745)
  • 65 years and over: 14.4% (male 1,015,731/female 1,370,797)
• Median Age:
  • Total: 39.7 years
  • Male: 38.9 years
  • Female: 40.5 years
• Population Growth Rate: 0.464%
• Birth Rate: 10.7 births/1,000 population
• Death Rate: 8.69 deaths/1,000 population
• Net Migration Rate: 2.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population
• Sex Ratio:
  • At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  • Under 15 years: 1.048 male(s)/female
  • 15-64 years: 1.023 male(s)/female
  • 65 years and over: 0.741 male(s)/female
  • Total population: 0.981 male(s)/female
• Infant Mortality Rate:
  • Total: 4.88 deaths/1,000 live births
  • Male: 5.43 deaths/1,000 live births
  • Female: 4.31 deaths/1,000 live births
• Life Expectancy at Birth:
  • Total population: 79.11 years
  • Male: 76.52 years
  • Female: 81.82 years
• Total Fertility Rate: 1.66 children born/woman
• HIV/AIDS:
  • Adult prevalence rate: 0.2%
  • People living with HIV/AIDS: 19,000
• Ethnic Groups:
  • Dutch 83%
  • Other 17% (of which 9% are non-Western origin mainly Turks, Moroccans, Antilleans, Surinamese, and Indonesians)
• Religions:
  • Roman Catholic 31%
  • Dutch Reformed 13%
  • Calvinist 7%
  • Muslim 5.5%
  • Other 2.5%
  • None 41%
• Languages:
  • Dutch (official)
  • Frisian (official)
• Literacy:
  • Total population: 99%
  • Male: 99%
  • Female: 99%