The Dutch population increased by some 35,000 to a total of 17,116,281 in the first half of 2017, mainly due to foreign migration, data published by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) showed on Monday.

About 100,000 individuals settled in the Netherlands and 69,000 left the country in the past six months, amounting to a net incoming migration of 31,000 people, said CBS.

In the same period, 82,000 babies were born and 78,000 people died, resulting in a natural growth of 4,000 people, in sharp contrast with the years before 2012 when the Dutch natural population growth in the first half of the year amounted to about 20,000 people.

Compared to the same period in 2016, more people with a North, South or Central American background and a European background settled in the Netherlands while fewer people from Asia and Africa migrated into the country.

Among new migrants with a European background, those from newer EU Member States such as Romania, Bulgaria, Latvia and Lithuania increased.

The number of asylum seeking immigrants decreased, while Syrians still are the largest group of immigrants coming to the Netherlands.

During the period, almost 11,000 people from Syria settled in the country, 4,000 less than in the same period one year earlier.