Summary The New Diversity

There was a time when large groups of immigrants came to the Netherlands from a small number of countries, to wit Indonesia, Morocco, Turkey, Surinam or the former Netherlands Antilles. Since then, the situation has changed considerably. In today’s Dutch society, not only has the number of people with a migration background increased, but the migrants hail from much more diverse backgrounds. People belonging to the ‘classical’ communities of immigrants are now in a minority, with the majority of migrants having come from a wide range of other countries, including Poland, Bulgaria, Syria, Germany, India and China. In 2017, the migrants living in the Netherlands hailed from 223 different countries of origin.

Focus on two questions

This exploratory study documents this new reality, as well as the consequences it may have for social cohesion and the economy. It mainly focuses on two questions:

1. How ethnically diverse is the Netherlands today, and how do diversity rates differ from municipality to municipality, and within municipalities?

2. What is the relation between ethnic diversity and the social cohesion of a neighbourhood or municipality, and what is the relation between ethnic diversity and a region’s economic development?