The Dutch population grew by 43 thousand people in the first half of this year, most of which can be attributed to immigration. This is the biggest population growth during the first half of the year since the start of this century, Statistic Netherlands announced on Monday. A massive 35 thousand of the new members of Dutch society can be attributed to immigration. During the first six months of this year, 99 immigrants registered in a Dutch municipality, an increase of 17 thousand compared to the same period last year and the biggest number ever measured by the statistic office during the first half of a year. A total of 64 thousand people emigrated, bringing the migration total to plus 35 thousand. Natural population increase played a much smaller roll during the first half of this year. Natural growth - number of births minus the number of deaths - amounted to 7.5 thousand new members of Dutch society, an increase of 5 thousand compared to the same period last year. Some more babies were born and the number of deaths decreased.