History
| Number of Turkish-Dutch according to Statistics Netherlands | |||||||
| Year | Population | Year | Population | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 271,514 | 2005 | 358,846 | ||||
| 1997 | 279,708 | 2006 | 364,333 | ||||
| 1998 | 289,777 | 2007 | 368,600 | ||||
| 1999 | 299,662 | 2008 | 372,714 | ||||
| 2000 | 308,890 | 2009 | 378,330 | ||||
| 2001 | 319,600 | 2010 | 383,957 | ||||
| 2002 | 330,709 | 2011 | 388,967 | ||||
| 2003 | 341,400 | 2012 | 392,923 | ||||
| 2004 | 351,648 | 2013 | N/A | ||||
Until 1961, more people left the Netherlands than moved into the country. It began to face a labour shortage by the mid 1950s, which became more serious during the early 1960s, as the country experienced economic growth rates comparable to the rest of Europe. At the same time, Turkey had a problem of unemployment, low GNP levels and high population rates. So the import of labour solved problems on both ends. The first Turkish immigrants arrived in the Netherlands in the beginning of the 1960s at a time were the Dutch economy was wrestling with a shortage of workers. On 19 August 1964, the Dutch government entered into a 'recruitment agreement' with Turkey. Thereafter, the number of Turkish workers in the Netherlands increased rapidly.
There were two distinct periods of recruitment. During the first period, which lasted until 1966, a large number of Turks came to the Netherlands through unofficial channels. An economic recession began in 1966. Some of the labour migrants were forced to return to Turkey. In 1968, the economy picked up again and a new recruitment period, which was to last until 1974, commenced. The peak of Turkish labour migration occurred during these years. The Turks surpassed other nationalities in numbers and came to represent the Dutch image of guest workers.
Most Turks came to the Netherlands in order to work and save enough money to build a house, expand the family business or start their own business in Turkey. Thus, the decision to emigrate was made primarily for economic reasons. Most of the labour migrants did not come from the lowest strata of the Turkish population, nor did emigration begin in the least developed parts of Turkey, but in the big cities such as Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. Only later did less urbanised areas become involved with the immigration process. Ultimately, the largest numbers of Turks did come from these areas. Most Turks in the Netherlands come from villages and provincial cities in the middle of the country and on the coast of the Black Sea.
Read more about this topic: Turks In The Netherlands
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—Gilbert Adair, British author, critic. Sunday Times: Books (London, April 21, 1991)