Birth; key figures, 1950-2022

Dataset is not available.


Key figures on fertility, live and stillborn children and multiple births among inhabitants of The Netherlands.

Available selections:
- Live born children by sex;
- Live born children by age of the mother (31 December), in groups;
- Live born children by birth order from the mother;
- Live born children by marital status of the mother;
- Live born children by migration background of the mother;
- Stillborn children by duration of pregnancy;
- Births: single and multiple;
- Average number of children per female;
- Average number of children per male;
- Average age of the mother at childbirth by birth order from the mother;
- Average age of the father at childbirth by birth order from the mother.

CBS is in transition towards a new classification of the population by origin. Greater emphasis is now placed on where a person was born, aside from where that person’s parents were born. The term ‘migration background’ is no longer used in this regard. The main categories western/non-western are being replaced by categories based on continents and a few countries that share a specific migration history with the Netherlands. The new classification is being implemented gradually in tables and publications on population by origin.

Data available from: 1950
Most of the data is available as of 1950 with the exception of the live born children by migration background of the mother (from 1996), stillborn children by duration of pregnancy (24+) (from 1991), average number of children per male (from 1996) and the average age of the father at childbirth (from 1996).

Status of the figures:
All data recorded in this publication are final data.

Changes per 6 November 2023:
None, this table was discontinued.

When will new figures be published?
No longer applicable. This table is succeeded by the table 'Births; key figures'. See section 3.

Description topics

Live born children
Live born child:
A baby showing some sign of life after birth, regardless of the duration of pregnancy.

Lesbian parenthood:
The law on lesbian parenthood came into effect on 1 April 2014. From April 2014 onwards the female partner of the biological mother may become the legal parent of the child without a legal adoption procedure. The same data for both mothers are available in the municipal population register.
Statistics Netherlands does not have information about which of the mothers is the biological mother. To obtain data about, for example, the age, number of children and ethnic background of the mother, Statistics Netherlands selects one of the mothers at random.
Lesbian parenthood occurs in less than 0.2% of all births.
By migration background of the mother
Live born children by origin of the mother.
Available from 1996.

Migration background:
The country with which a person has the closest ties, based on his/her parents' country of birth or his/her own country of birth.
The migration background of a person with a first-generation migration background is defined as his or her country of birth.
The migration background of a person with a second-generation migration background is defined as his or her mother's country of birth, unless the mother's country of birth is the Netherlands. In that case, the migration background is defined as the father's country of birth.
Total live born children
Mother with a Dutch background
Person with a Dutch background:
Person whose parents were both born in the Netherlands.
Mother with a migration background
Person with a migration background:
Person of whom at least one parent was born abroad.
Mother with a western background
Person with a western migration background:
Person originating from a country in Europe (excluding Turkey), North America, Oceania, Indonesia or Japan.
Due to their socioeconomic and cultural position, people from Indonesia and Japan residing in the Netherlands are considered as having a 'western' migration background. These are mainly people born in the former Dutch East Indies and expatriates employed by Japanese companies with their families.
Mother with a non-western background
Person with a non-western migration background:
Person originating from a country in Africa, South America or Asia (excluding Indonesia and Japan) or Turkey.
Due to their socioeconomic and cultural position, people from Indonesia and Japan residing in the Netherlands are considered as having a 'western' migration background. These are mainly people born in the former Dutch East Indies and expatriates employed by Japanese companies with their families.
Net reproduction rate
The average number of daughters a group of women would give birth to, if certain age-specific fertility and mortality figures were to apply.
The net reproduction rate (NRR) shows whether the present levels of fertility and mortality will lead to an increasing (NRR > 1), a constant (NRR = 1) or a decreasing (NRR < 1) population size.

Age mother (on 31 December)
The number of whole years that have passed between the mother's date of birth and 31 December of the year of birth of her child.