Utrecht - Demographics

Demographics

Inhabitants of Utrecht are called ‘Utrechter’ or more rarely, usually by mistake, ‘Utrechtenaar’ as the latter is also a known Dutch euphemism for homosexual.

Utrecht city had a population of 296,305 in 2007. Utrecht is a growing municipality and projections are that the city's population will surpass 392,000 by 2025.

In Utrecht 52% of the population is female, 48% is male. Utrecht has a young population, with many inhabitants in the age category from 20 and 30 years, due to the presence of a large university.

The majority of households (52.5%) in Utrecht are single person households. About 29% of people living in Utrecht are either married, or have another legal partnership. About 3% of the population of Utrecht is divorced.

About 69% of the population is of Dutch ancestry. Approximately 10% of the population consists of immigrants from Western countries, while 21% of the population is of non-Western origin (9% Moroccan, 5% Turkish, 3% Surinamese and Dutch Caribbean and 5% of other countries). With 9% of its population being of Moroccan heritage, Utrecht contains the largest proportion of people of Moroccan descent of any Dutch municipality. Many of the city's boroughs have a relatively high percentage of originally non-Dutch inhabitants – i.e. Kanaleneiland 83% and Overvecht 57%.

Like Rotterdam, Amsterdam, The Hague and other large Dutch cities, Utrecht faces socio-economic problems. About 38% percent of its population either earns a minimum income or is dependant on social welfare (17% of all households). Boroughs such as Kanaleneiland, Overvecht and Hoograven consist primarily of high-rise housing developments, and are known for relatively high poverty and crime rate.