Summary

The Report on Integration and Society (Rapportage Integratie en Samenleven) describes how groups of different origins relate to the average of the Dutch population. The central question is whether the differences have decreased in the past few years and whether the second generation, that was born in the Netherlands, is moving toward the average relative to migrants, who were born abroad. This report describes the development of integration up to and including 2021, which includes the influence of COVID-19 on the labour market and society. It does not include the recent immigration of war refugees from Ukraine.

This summary starts with the main points concerning integration. It is followed by a discussion of the main outcomes by chapter.

Main points

The position of persons with a foreign country of origin differs from the average of the Dutch population in various domains. On average, they had smaller housing, had a lower level of education, less often had a job, had a lower income, and were more likely to depend on social benefits. In addition, they less often rated their health as good or very good, more often received health care, and had a higher risk of being hospitalized for COVID-19.

After a period of economic growth, during which the socioeconomic position of most groups of foreign origin improved relative to the average, 2020 was characterized by setbacks for all as a result of the pandemic. In 2021, the recovery – an increase in labour market partici­pation, a decrease in joblessness and social benefit dependency – has not (yet) set in for all different groups of origin.

Among the groups of Turkish, Moroccan, Surinamese, and Dutch-Caribbean origin, the second generation differed less from the population average in the domains of housing, socioeconomic position, and education than migrants. The second generation lived in larger housing, more often owned a house, had higher labour market participation, higher income, and was more highly educated. There is a catch-up in education, in which especially the share of the groups of Moroccan or Turkish origin starting HAVO or VWO increased relatively fast. At the same time, the second generation still differed from the average in 2021.

Among the five largest groups of extra-European origin, the Indonesian group was an exception. Indonesian migrants as well as the second generation occupied an above-average position in the housing market, their income was higher than average, and they were relatively highly educated. In addition, they more often rated their health as good, and their call upon healthcare was relatively limited.

Migrants from refugee countries had the least favourable position in virtually all socioeconomic domains. They had the smallest housing, rarely owned a house, often depended on social benefits, and had the lowest incomes. However, the Dutch-Afghan and Dutch-Iranian second generation is catching up in education: they were more often highly educated than average.

The percentage of people registered as crime suspects decreased for all groups of origin. The extent of overrepresentation of suspects of foreign origin nevertheless remained virtually unchanged. Most strongly represented were (young) men of the Dutch-Moroccan or Dutch-Caribbean second generation. Furthermore, the share of people who indicated that they sometimes felt unsafe decreased during the last decade, but this stagnated in 2019. Relative to the average, people of foreign origin more often felt unsafe, especially in their own neighbourhood.

Contact with neighbours and friends decreased over the last decade, as did the share of people volunteering or participating in associations. This applied to all groups of origin. People of foreign origin had less contact with family than average. The second generation, however, had relatively frequent contact with friends and the Dutch-Turkish and Dutch-Moroccan second generation had relatively frequent contact with neighbours. People of foreign origin were less engaged than average in associations and volunteer services.

Chapter 1: Population

Of the 17.6 million people making up the Dutch population on 1 January 2022, 2.6 million were born abroad (migrants). Of the people born in the Netherlands, two million had at least one parent born abroad (the second generation). Together, these groups made up 26 percent of the Dutch population, with about two-thirds having a country of origin outside Europe. People of Turkish, Moroccan, Indonesian, Surinamese, or Dutch-Caribbean origin formed the largest groups of extra-European origin.

In the last five years, almost 90 percent of Dutch population growth was the result of international migration. After a strong decrease in net migration in 2020 linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, net migration in 2021 returned to the level of the peak year 2019. Migration from the new EU countries experienced the largest growth, with most migrants coming from Poland. The growth from refugee countries during the last five years is smaller in comparison, but there are large variations between countries of origin, with the group of Syrian origin being the largest. The net migration from the five largest groups of extra-European origin in the Netherlands steadily increased after a trough in 2015, especially among the group of Turkish origin.

For many groups of foreign origin, family migration is the most important motive to migrate to the Netherlands. Migration from refugee countries largely consists of asylum migration, followed by family migration. For migrants from other countries (within or outside Europe), labour and education are increasingly important motives.

In the Netherlands, there are demographic differences between the different groups of origin. The population of foreign origin was younger than average, especially the second generation. Furthermore, the group of foreign origin consisted of relatively many one-parent and one-person households. There were nevertheless large differences among the different groups of origin. People of Turkish or Moroccan origin relatively often married a partner of the same origin in comparison to other groups of foreign origin. This was the case for both migrants and the second generation. In addition, the average number of children is relatively high among women of Moroccan origin, but higher among migrants than among the second generation.

Chapter 2: Housing

Relative to the Dutch population average, people of foreign origin lived relatively often in rental housing and multi-family housing, with relatively small surface areas. The difference as compared to the population average was somewhat smaller for the second generation than for migrants.

Among the people of foreign origin, those of Indonesian origin had the most favourable position on the housing market. That holds especially for older people of Indonesian origin and for Indonesian migrants as well as the Dutch-Indonesian second generation. They relatively often owned a house and lived on a relatively large surface area. Among younger people, households of Turkish origin had a generally good position when it comes to housing. This holds especially for those of the Dutch-Turkish second generation. They owned a house more often than average, lived on above-average surface areas, and lived in a family house more often than average. In this regard, their position was almost the same as that of their peers of Dutch origin.

In relative terms, migrants from refugee countries held the least favourable position when it comes to housing. They relatively often lived in rental housing and multi-family housing, on a relatively small surface area, especially in the case of migrants from Somalia and Eritrea. Among the five largest groups of extra-European origin, people of Moroccan origin had a relatively unfavourable position on the housing market. In particular, the share owning a house was relatively low among Moroccan migrants as well as the Dutch-Moroccan second generation.

People of foreign origin were overrepresented in the large cities, where in some cases their share was more than 50 percent. Of the residents of the large cities, about one-third were of the second generation and about one-fourth were migrants. Almost half of the people of Surinamese or Moroccan origin lived in one of the four large cities, as did one-third of the people of Turkish or Dutch-Caribbean origin. People coming from new EU or refugee countries were more evenly spread over the Netherlands.

Chapter 3: Education

Pupils of extra-European origin less often attended a high education track than average. This difference has nevertheless decreased as the share of pupils of extra-European origin has increased. This is reflected in the share of pupils with HAVO or VWO recommendations, but also in the share attending a HAVO or VWO track in year three of secondary school. The share of pupils attending HAVO or VWO education has increased particularly among pupils of Turkish or Moroccan origin. The graduation rate among pupils of Turkish origin has also increased. Among pupils of Dutch-Caribbean origin, the share in higher education tracks has remained relatively low. This is also reflected in the VMBO track, which was relatively often attended by pupils of Dutch Caribbean origin. The graduation rate of this group also decreased up to 2020.

Whereas MBO students in general most often attended a programme in the Care and Wellbeing sector, MBO students of the second generation most often chose a programme in the Economics sector. Among students of foreign origin, technical programmes were less popular than average. MBO students of Moroccan origin most often chose a programme in the Care and Wellbeing sector. In higher education, students of the second generation relatively often chose a programme in the area of law, administration, trade, and professional service. This also holds for students of Turkish, Moroccan, or Surinamese origin.

Adolescents of extra-European origin more often dropped out of education than average. In general, the share of drop-outs has decreased among all groups of origin. Among MBO students of Turkish, Moroccan, or Dutch-Caribbean origin, the share leaving education without a basic qualification has decreased.

The share of highly educated people among 25- to 45‑year-olds born in the Netherlands was lower than average among most of the groups of extra-European origin. Only among people of Indonesian or other, unclassified extra-European origin was the share of highly educated people higher than average. Two-thirds of Dutch-Iranian second generation women aged 25–35 were highly educated.

Chapter 4: Socioeconomic position

For all groups of origin, including the Dutch, the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a deteriorated position in the labour market in 2020: net labour participation decreased and more people had to depend on social benefits. In 2021, there were signs of recovery. On average, the initial downward trend in unemployment continued, and net labour market participation even exceeded pre-pandemic levels. This applied to a lesser extent to the second generation, however, and for migrants there was as yet no evidence of recovery.

On average, the second generation had a higher income, more often participated in the labour market, and less often received social benefits than migrants. The second generation nevertheless had lower income, higher unemployment and youth unemployment, and more often received social benefits than the Dutch population average.

Among the five largest groups of extra-European origin, the Moroccan and the Turkish groups occupy a relatively unfavourable position. Especially among the second generation, unemployment was relatively high, and both groups of origin received welfare or disablement benefits relatively often. The average income of the groups of Turkish and Moroccan origin was lower than that of the other large extra-European groups of origin. The labour market position of the groups of Turkish and Moroccan origin has improved over the last ten years, but their position at the bottom of the ranking was virtually constant.

Migrants from the new EU countries occupied a special position with their above-average net labour market participation and below-average share of social benefit users. With a longer stay in the Netherlands, they tended to grow more similar to the average with regard to welfare benefit use. In addition, their income was lower than average and comparable to that of migrants from extra-European countries.

Of all the groups of origin examined, migrants from refugee countries had the lowest income. After receiving their residence permit, they relatively often depended on welfare benefits, and even after a longer stay this welfare benefit dependency was still relatively high.

Chapter 5: Crime

Since 2005, the percentage of registered crime suspects has decreased among all groups of origin, from 1.9 to 0.8 percent of the Dutch population. The share of suspects was higher than average among people of foreign origin during the whole period, especially among the second generation. These differences relative to the average were more or less constant over time.

Of the different groups of origin, people of Dutch-Caribbean and Moroccan origin were relatively strongly overrepresented, especially men. Also within these groups, the share of suspects was higher among the second generation than among migrants (also when corrected for age). The groups of Indonesian origin were underrepresented, with a lower share of suspects than the group of Dutch origin.

Since 2012, there has also been a decrease among all groups of origin in the share of people indicating they had been a victim of crime during the last 12 months, from 30.3 to 17.1 percent. Victimization was higher than average among people of foreign origin, the second generation in particular. People of Indonesian origin were an exception and were less often victims of crime. There were no further differences between groups of origin.

Following a downward trend up to 2019, the percentage of people with general feelings of unsafety as well as the percentage of people with feelings of unsafety in their neighbourhood stagnated. In 2021, migrants less often experienced general feelings of unsafety than average, whereas the second generation more often felt unsafe. People of Surinamese origin felt unsafe most often and people of Moroccan origin least often. The percentage of people experiencing occasional feelings of unsafety in their own neighbourhood was a lot lower than with respect to general feelings of unsafety. Migrants and the second generation felt unsafe in their own neighbourhood more often than average, in particular people of Surinamese and Turkish origin.

Chapter 6: Health

Migrants and the second generation experienced their health as good less often than average. This holds for all age groups. Particularly people of Turkish or Moroccan origin experience good health less often than average. In the group of 40- to 80‑year-olds, the healthcare costs of migrants and the second generation were also higher than average. There was nevertheless an improvement in experienced health for nearly all groups of origin and age between 2012 and 2020.

The share of smokers among 18- to 60‑year-olds has decreased among virtually all groups of origin. On average, people of Turkish origin were smokers most often, whereas people of Moroccan origin were smokers least often. At the same time, the share of people with obesity has increased among virtually all groups of origin. Obesity was most common among people of Dutch-Caribbean origin. The strongest increase in obesity was in the 18- to 40‑year-old Dutch-Moroccan second generation, from 6,5 percent in 2012 to 18,5 percent in 2020.

People of Surinamese or Dutch-Caribbean origin had relatively high costs for specialized mental health care. People of Turkish or Surinamese origin had higher costs than average for medication. People of Turkish or Moroccan origin most frequently received anti-psychotics and anti-depressants. Especially women of Turkish origin frequently received anti-depressants, whereas men of Moroccan origin frequently received anti-psychotics. People aged 55 or older of Moroccan origin received diabetes medication three times more often than average.

Chapter 7: Social participation

The frequency of contact with family or neighbours was slightly lower than average among migrants and the second generation. The second generation nevertheless had contact with friends most frequently. The differences in frequency of contact with friends and neighbours could partly be explained by differences in composition by age, sex, and education. For example, younger people of all groups of origin had contact with friends more frequently. After correction, people of Dutch origin still have more frequent contact with family. The Dutch-Turkish and Dutch-Moroccan second generation had relatively frequent contact with neighbours.

Among migrants, the share of people providing informal help is lower than average. However, people of Moroccan origin, migrants as well as the second generation, provided informal help relatively often. Migrants and the second generation participated less often than average in volunteer services. People of Surinamese origin participated least often in volunteer services. Migrants and the second generation also participated less in associations. These difference are robust after correction for age, sex, and education.

In comparison to the 2012–2016 period, contact with neighbours, the share of people participating in volunteer services, and the share engaged in associations decreased in the 2017–2021 period.

Chapter 8: Differences between groups of origin in hospitalization for COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic had unequal impact on the health of different population groups. Hospitalization for COVID-19 was more common among elderly, men, persons with low levels of financial welfare, and persons of extra-European origin. In 2020, particularly persons of Moroccan, Turkish, or Surinamese origin had a higher risk of hospitalization for COVID-19 than people of the same age and sex of Dutch origin. This applied to both migrants and the second generation of these groups of origin.

The extent to which the differences in the risk of hospitalization for COVID-19 could be ascribed to differences in financial welfare, household size, and place of residence between these groups of origin and the population of Dutch origin was studied. People of extra-European origin more often live in large cities and often live in larger households and in below-average financial welfare. These factors turned out to play a role in the increased risk of hospitalization, but for all groups, they explained less than 35 percent of the difference with the population of Dutch origin. That indicates that there are also other factors at play. Since the study was limited to hospitalizations in 2020, differences in vaccination rates or differences in the effectiveness of vaccines between groups do not play a role in these figures.

Chapter 9: School careers of the second generation

In an educational system in which pupils are tracked according to their different educational levels at a relatively young age, upgrading in education (changing from a lower track to a higher track) can help adolescents reach their full educational potential. This chapter focuses on young adults of the second generation and studies their school careers starting from age 15. The chapter considers persons born in the Netherlands between 1988 and 1991 of Moroccan, Turkish, Surinamese, Dutch-Caribbean, Indonesian, European, and ‘other’ origin.

At age 15, the Dutch-Turkish, Dutch-Moroccan, Dutch-Surinamese, and Dutch-Caribbean second generation had a less favourable educational position than average, whereas the Dutch-European, Dutch-Indonesian, and other second generation had a more favourable position. After age 15, the school careers of the second generation of all groups of origin followed a more dynamic path than average. On all educational levels (except VWO), the second generation followed the regular path less often. They end their school career more often after graduating from secondary school, with or without basic qualifications, and more often upgrade to a higher track, via secondary school as well as via MBO. In contrast, they downgrade less often than average.

After age 15, pupils of the second generation clearly caught up in education. Nevertheless, at age 28, there was still a difference in the attained level of education between people with parents born abroad and parents born in the Netherlands. These differences were smaller at age 28 than they were at age 15. Many partly outgrew their initial low position by upgrading, mainly via middle and higher tertiary education. This applied even more to women. Women more often obtained a basic qualification, downgraded less often and upgraded more often. This holds for virtually all groups of origin, but especially women of the Dutch-Turkish and Dutch-Moroccan second generation caught up strongly. Many of these differences persist when accounting for background characteristics. The differences relative to the group of Dutch origin are larger for children of two parents born abroad than for children of whom one parent was born in the Netherlands.

Chapter 10: Income mobility between family generations by group of origin

This chapter makes a comparison between the incomes of two family generations. The starting point is a group of children who were minors in 1995 and still lived with their parents (or parent). The income of the parents in 1995 was compared to the income of the then adult children in 2020, given that they had formed their own household by then.

The correlation of the standardized disposable income is relatively weak, at 0.22 on a scale of 0 to 1. The association is weakest among people of Turkish or Moroccan origin. That does not mean that these groups more often surpassed their parents in income, but it often reflected a relatively strong setback among children with parents at the top of the distribution. This applied particularly to migrants and the second generation with two parents born abroad. People of Dutch origin more often rose and less often fell relative to their parents.

The personal gross income from labour of fathers and sons was also only relatively weakly associated among people of Turkish or Moroccan origin. For sons of Dutch-Caribbean origin, the association was relatively strong. That also applied to daughters of Dutch-Caribbean origin, and the income of daughters of Indonesian origin was also relatively strongly associated with that of their fathers.