The population of the Netherlands grew by 63,000 last year, half the increase recorded in 2019, according to new figures from national statistics agency CBS.

The increase, driven largely by EU migration, took the population to almost 17.5 million by the end of the year, the CBS said in its initial forecast.

The decline in growth is due both to more people dying in the first half of the year and a downturn in the number of new immigrants and international students coming to the Netherlands, the CBS said.

In total, 59,000 more people came to the Netherlands than left.

The slowdown was most notable in the 10 biggest local authority areas. In Amsterdam, the population hardly grew at all, and the situation was similar in Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht. Almere showed the biggest increase in population of the 10 larger cities.

In 65 of the 355 local authority areas, the population actually shrank.