THE HAGUE, 24/10/03 - The belief that there are too many immigrants in the Netherlands is widespread not only among the indigenous Dutch. Many immigrants themselves consider that more foreigners should not come to the country, the Social and Cultural Planning Bureau (SCP) Minorities Report 2003 reveals.

Nearly half (48 percent) of immigrants in the Netherlands consider that there are too many immigrants. Among the indigenous population, 65 percent share this view. Both groups believe a neighborhood goes downhill if too many immigrants are living there. But a majority of both immigrants and the indigenous also consider it positive that different cultures exist in a country, according to the report presented to Integration Minister Rita Verdonk yesterday.

Remarkably, the majority of the immigrants believe their own group faces discrimination sometimes or often, though they personally have no or almost no experience of this. Thus, for example, 22 percent of the Moroccans have the impression that the Moroccan population in the Netherlands is often discriminated against, while only 6 percent frequently experience discrimination themselves. Among all immigrants, nearly two-thirds say they have never or almost never personally faced discrimination.

The position of immigrants has improved in recent years, but they still lag behind in many areas. Unemployment, for example, is 41 percent among Moroccans, still a big improvement from 1994 (64 percent). The SCP is concerned about rising unemployment among young immigrants, particularly Surinamese and Antilleans.

Immigrant children lag behind Dutch children in their knowledge of the Dutch language by two years on average on leaving primary school. It is therefore small wonder that the vast majority move on to lower vocational education (MBO).