ZUID-HOLLAND - Population
Population growth below the national average
Over the last three decades, the population of South Holland has grown at a 30% lower rate than that of the Netherlands as a whole. In 2002, South Holland had a population of 3 425 million inhabitants which represents 21% of the total Dutch population.
The growth in the province's population in the last 30 years was mainly due to the surplus of births over deaths, and the net result of foreign migration, caused in part by family immigration. In the same period, net migration with the rest of the Netherlands was negative. In the last 30 years, foreigners have settled in South Holland in large numbers, with the result that non-Dutch nationals now account for 5.6% of the population. The major concentrations of non-Dutch nationals are in the cities such as Wassenaar (13 %), Rotterdam and The Hague (both nearly 10%). However, the number of people with a non-Dutch origin is much higher (23%), as many of them acquired the Dutch nationality. Nearly a quarter of the people of non-Dutch origin is of Turkish or Moroccan origin.
The age structure of the population of South Holland is always changing. In the last 10 years, the number of persons in the 0-25 age group has fallen by 1.1%, while the number of over-65s has increased by 5.3%. The number of persons in the 25-64 age group has risen but not as fast as the national average. The birth rate is equal to the national figure.
|
|