Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion were the main reason the number of immigrants to the Netherlands increased by nearly 60% in 2022, according to CBS figures.

A total of 403,000 people arrived as refugees, knowledge migrants or to join their families, the figures show, compared to 252,000 the previous year.

That included more than 108,000 who were registered under the special regulations for people fleeing Ukraine since the end of February, some of whom originally came from third countries.

Even discounting arrivals from Ukraine, the total figure was higher than in 2019, the last year before the coronavirus pandemic. The CBS noted a particularly big rise in knowledge migrants from outside the EU, as well as a 35% increase in family reunions.

The number of knowledge migrants was up by 65%, with a high proportion of young men from Asian countries. The CBS said 71% of this group was male, 67% was under 40 and half of migrants from outside Europe came from Asia.

The most popular place to live for new knowledge migrants in 2022 was Amstelveen, where 57,000 people were registered, followed by Eindhoven and Amsterdam.

The number of asylum seekers was 27,600, the highest figure since 2016 and a 30% increase on the previous year.

Just under 11% of immigrants were Dutch nationals returning from other countries, a figure that declined for the third year in a row.