VOORBURG, 31/07/03 - For the first time since 1984, more people left the Netherlands than entered the country. In the second quarter of this year, the Central Bureau for Statistics (CBS) counted a thousand fewer immigrants than emigrants, it reported yesterday.

Some 23,000 immigrants entered the Netherlands in the second quarter, 4,000 down on the same period last year. There was a particular decrease from countries where many asylum seekers formerly originated, such as Angola and Sierra Leone. The influx from the Netherlands Antilles also declined, while immigration from Turkey continued to increase primarily due to the arrival of marriage partners. CBS expects 110,000 immigrants for the whole of 2003, compared to 121,000 last year.

The number of people leaving the Netherlands in the second quarter was 24,000, a thousand more than in the same period in 2002. The increase consisted mainly of people born in the Netherlands. They often moved to Germany because of the cheaper housing and to Belgium for its tax climate. "But in fact, Dutch people resettle all over the world. Retired people frequently move to Spain or Portugal," a CBS researcher pointed out.

The number of Angolans and Iraqis leaving the country also rose. In addition, the number of Somalis departing from the Netherlands remained substantial. Many of them apply for asylum again in the United Kingdom, CBS said.