The Netherlands is one of the most popular countries in the west for highly-skilled migrants to move to, according to a survey of 11 industrialised countries by the SEO Economic Research bureau for the economic affairs ministry.



Only the US and Switzerland are more popular with so-called knowledge migrants, the research showed.

The Netherlands is popular for its labour market, salary levels, the reputation of its higher education and its knowledge infrastructure. It scores less well in terms of the living environment, with only France, Belgium and Denmark performing worse.

According to the economic affairs ministry some 26,000 foreign nationals are working in the Netherlands under the highly-skilled migrants scheme. Half come from Asia and 11% from the US. They are young and largely male.

Some 40% of the migrants questioned for the survey want to stay in the Netherlands, 15% for the long term.



For the report, click here English summary on pages 11-18