Netherlands: African and Caribbean population
As of 2022, an estimated 750,000 people of African heritage (4.3% of the population) and 360,000 of Caribbean heritage (2%) live in the Netherlands, based on official national statistics.
How this is counted
CBS population by migration background, 1 January 2022 (total population: 17,590,672). African figure = 749,780 with Africa migration background (sub-Saharan and North Africa, excluding Morocco which is reported separately at 419,272). Caribbean figure = 359,814 with Surinamese migration background (1st and 2nd generation). Note: Suriname has a majority Afro-Surinamese population but also includes Indo-Surinamese and other groups; CBS does not publish an ethnicity sub-breakdown. Dutch Caribbean (Aruba, Curacao, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, Saba) migration background is approximately 179,000 (1.0%) based on CBS 2021 classification data (99,000 born abroad plus 80,000 born in Netherlands with Dutch Caribbean parents) but is not separately tabulated in the 37325eng migration-background table. The Caribbean figure here reports Surinamese only as the cleanest available CBS series.
Source: Netherlands official statistics.
Common questions
How many people of African descent live in the Netherlands?
As of 2022, an estimated 750,000 people of African heritage live in the Netherlands (4.3% of the population), based on official national statistics.
How many Caribbean people live in the Netherlands?
As of 2022, an estimated 360,000 people of Caribbean heritage live in the Netherlands (2%).