The influx of Ukrainians escaping the Russian invasion played a pivotal role in the Netherlands experiencing a nearly 60% increase in immigration numbers during 2022, according to data from

CBS (Statistics Netherlands).

The figures reveal that a total of 403,000 individuals arrived as refugees, knowledge migrants, or to reunite with their families, surpassing the previous year's count of 252,000.

Of these arrivals, more than 108,000 individuals were registered under the special regulations designed for those fleeing Ukraine since late February, including some who originated from third countries.

Even when excluding the arrivals from Ukraine, the overall immigration figure exceeded that of 2019, the year prior to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. CBS highlighted a significant surge in knowledge migrants from outside the European Union, along with a 35% increase in family reunifications.

Knowledge migrants experienced a notable 65% rise, with a substantial representation of young men from Asian nations. According to CBS, 71% of this group was male, 67% were under 40 years of age, and half of the migrants originating from non-European countries hailed from Asia.

Amstelveen emerged as the most favored location for new knowledge migrants in 2022, with 57,000 individuals registered there. Eindhoven and Amsterdam followed closely behind.

Asylum seekers accounted for 27,600 of the total immigrants, marking the highest figure since 2016 and a 30% increase compared to the previous year.

Dutch nationals returning from other countries constituted slightly under 11% of the immigrant population, marking a third consecutive year of decline in this figure. Photo by Dpsu.gov.ua, Wikimedia commons.