The number of Amsterdam residents classified as recent immigrants—those born abroad and relocating to the Netherlands within the past decade—has surged twofold between 2013 and 2023,
reaching about 19 percent of the city's population, as per the municipality of Amsterdam's report.
In 2013, Amsterdam housed roughly 87,000 individuals who had migrated to the Netherlands within the previous ten years. By last year, this figure had soared to 174,000, constituting approximately 19 percent of the city's total population of 918,000 inhabitants.
Over the past decade, the composition of the top ten countries of origin for recent immigrants has shifted significantly. In 2013, migrants predominantly hailed from Suriname, Morocco, and Turkey. However, by 2023, Italy, the UK, and the US had ascended to the top three positions. Turkey, Germany, and France retained their status as "important source countries" throughout the decade, with newcomers also arriving from India, Ukraine, Spain, and Russia last year.
Employment emerged as the primary motive for recent immigrants relocating to the Netherlands, followed by family and educational pursuits. Notably, the number of refugees has experienced substantial growth, escalating from 2,190 individuals in 2013 to 9,780 in 2023, although they represent a relatively small fraction of the overall migrant population, the city noted.
Recent immigrants predominantly reside in privately rented accommodations, accounting for a third of the demographic in 2013 and half in 2023. Conversely, the proportion residing in social housing declined from 42 to 23 percent. The city attributed this trend to prolonged waiting periods for social housing, which often exceed ten years—rendering recent migrants ineligible.
An increasingly notable segment of recent immigrants in Amsterdam comprises high-income earners, with 27 percent falling within the top 20 percent income bracket last year, compared to 17 percent in 2013. Many of these affluent recent immigrants are employed in the IT sector, according to municipal observations. Photo by Gabinho, Wikimedia commons.