THE HAGUE, 29/09/06 - Less than 20 percent of non-Western immigrants born in the Netherlands marry a white Dutch partner. Turks and Moroccans in particular almost exclusively marry compatriots, research by the justice ministry and the Central Bureau for Statistics (CBS) revealed yesterday.

Among the non-Westerners living in the Netherlands that married in 2002, only 14.6 percent of the men and 22.9 percent of the women married a white Dutch partner. Among Turkish and Moroccan girls and women born in the Netherlands, only 4.7 and 6.5 percent respectively married a white Dutch partner. Among Turkish and Moroccan boys and men of Dutch birth, the comparable figures are 4.9 and 13.5 percent respectively.

Among all non-Western immigrants, 45.2 percent of the men and 34.4 percent of the women marry a partner living in their parents' country. Among those born in the Netherlands, the figure was about the same for Turkish men (54.7 percent) and women (56.5 percent) as for Netherlands-born Moroccan men (52.1) and women (45.6).

The research published yesterday (Integration Map 2006) was carried out by the CBS and the justice ministry's Scientific Research and Documentation Centre (WODC). Integration Minister Rita Verdonk sent the research to the Lower House. It also includes figures on work, education and crime.

The survey shows that 72 percent of the 'indigenous' Dutch had paid work in 2004, compared with 49 percent of non-Western immigrants. Among the four major immigrant groups (Netherlands Antilleans, Moroccans, Turks and Surinamese), only the labour market participation of the Surinamese was in the neighbourhood of that of the indigenous population. Non-Western immigrants are on average on welfare twice as often as the indigenous.

In 2004, the police registered 1.7 percent of the population as suspects of a crime. Among the indigenous, 1.3 percent were registered as suspects, while among non-Western immigrants, the figure was 4.4 percent. However, non-Westerners from the Far East were less criminal than the white Dutch, particularly Hong Kong Chinese and Philippinos (both at 0.9 percent).

Among the four major immigrant groups, Antilleans were most often registered as suspects (7.4 percent), followed by Moroccans (5.9 percent), Surinamese (5.0 percent) and Turks (3.6 percent). Among the smaller non-Western groups, Angolan suspects came top (6.8 percent), followed by Somalis (5.5 percent) and Ethiopians (4.0 percent). Split up by age, origin and generation, the highest figure was for Dutch-born Moroccan youths aged 18 to 25 (11.8 percent).

The chances of social contacts occurring between non-Western immigrants and the indigenous population declined between 1999 and 2004, added the researchers. This applies most to Moroccans, who live in heavily concentrated compatriot groups and also often work in companies only with other Moroccans. Additionally, the chances of schoolchildren of non-Western origin being in a class in which the majority are non-Western is greater than the chances of the majority being white fellow-pupils.