Record number of immigrants joined the Dutch in 2010

THE HAGUE - A record number of immigrants settled in the Netherlands last year. A report by the Dutch statistics agency CBS has the number of newcomers at 150,000 people, up 3,000 from 2009. The number of immigrants has risen consistently since 2006. Most of the newcomers came from other European Union countries. The Netherlands also said farewell to an increasing number of people. Last year, 118,000 people left the country for other places, up 6,000 from 2009. This was the first rise in three years of the number of departures, mostly native Dutch people along with others originating in the EU. The Dutch population increased by about 80,000 in 2010, now numbering 16.7 million (as of January 1, 2011). The area around the capital of Amsterdam continues to attract the greatest influx of new residents, causing the region a shortage of about 30,000 houses, mostly in the Amsterdam area.