The population of the Netherlands rose by 81,000 in the first nine months of year, driven largely by immigration from other European countries. In addition, 11,000 more babies were born than people died by the end of September, the national statistics office CBS said on Tuesday.

Over 35,700 more people from other European countries moved to the Netherlands than left in the first nine months of the year.

Net immigration from the Americas was up sharply at 10,000 but the net immigration balance from Asia was down sharply at just under 17,000, compared with 26,000 in 2017. This is largely due to the decline in refugees from Syria, the CBS said.