The number of immigrants in the Netherlands will grow by more than 50 percent to 4.8 million in the next four decades, according to the latest forecasts of by Statistics Netherlands.



Currently immigrants -- defined as people with one or both parents born outside the Netherlands -- account for 19.3 percent of the total Dutch population of 16.3 million. In 2050, the number is projected to rise to 28.6 percent of the population, which will stand at 16.8 million.



The indigenous population -- defined as persons with both parents born in the Netherlands -- is expected to fall from 13.2 million to 12 million, Dutch news agency NIS quoted the Dutch statistical bureau as saying on Thursday.



The number of non-Western immigrants will rise faster than Western immigrants. Non-Westerners are expected to increase from 1.7 million to 2.7 million in 2050, while Westerners to rise from 1.4 million to 2.1 million.



Within the non-Western group, the Turkish and Moroccan immigrants are expected to overtake Indonesian immigrants to become the biggest groups in 2050. Turkish immigrants are expected to grow from 364,000 to 463,000 while the Moroccan population to go up from 323,000 to 452,000.



Asians, excluding people from Japan and Indonesia, form a rapidly increasing group, which will more than double to 671,000 in 2050, the statistical bureau said.



The number of Western immigrants should expand mainly due to the arrival of Europeans from the other 26 member states of the European Union (EU). This group will rise from 826,000 to 1,474,000 in 2050, representing 70 percent of the total Western immigrants at that time.

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