Dutch diaspora

Distribution of Dutch diaspora
  Netherlands
  ≥1,000,000
  ≥100,000
  ≥10,000
  ≥1,000

The Dutch diaspora consists of the Dutch and their descendants living outside the Netherlands.[1]

Emigration from the Netherlands has been occurring for since at least the 17th century, and may be traced back to the international presence of the Dutch Empire and its monopoly on mercantile shipping in many parts of the world.[2]

Dutch people settled permanently in a number of former Dutch colonies or trading enclaves abroad, namely the Dutch Caribbean, the Dutch Cape Colony, the Dutch East Indies, Surinam, and New Netherland.[2] Since the end of the Second World War, the largest proportion of Dutch emigrants have moved to Anglophone countries, namely Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States, mainly seeking better employment opportunities.[1] Postwar emigration from the Netherlands peaked between 1948 and 1963, with occasional spikes in the 1980s and the mid-2000s.[1] Cross-border migration to Belgium and Germany has become more common since 2001, driven by the rising cost of housing in major Dutch cities.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d Nicholaas, Han; Sprangers, Arno. "Dutch-born 2001, Figure 3 in DEMOS, 21, 4. Nederlanders over de grens" (PDF). Nidi.knaw.nl. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 June 2007. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  2. ^ a b Wiarda, Howard (2007). The Dutch Diaspora: The Netherlands and Its Settlements in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books. pp. 2–3. ISBN 978-0739121054.