Netherlands

Since the Second World War relatively important oversea migration has been one of the noticeable features of social life in the Netherlands.1 As Fig. 1 shows, the total number of emigrants and the emigration surplus — Indonesia and the Dutch oversea territories excluded — in several years after the war were much higher than at any time since 1865.2 If we divide international migration to and from the Netherlands — Indonesia and the oversea territories excluded again — during the period since the war into migration to and from European countries and migration to and from other countries (Fig. 2), we see that the relatively high emigration surplus has little to do with intra-European migration.3 After some years of rather high migration from and to European countries, which can be considered as a demographic readjustment to postwar conditions, intra-European migration sank to a low level. As a whole, the years 1946–54, as regards intra-European migration, show an immigration surplus. Oversea migration, on the other hand, still at a low level in the first years after the war, shows a rapid increase till it comes to a peak in 1952. In the following years it shows some decline, but still remains on a relatively high level. Oversea migration permanently shows an important outward balance.