The demography of Amsterdam provides a clear picture about the ethnic groups residing in the city and the cultural richness of the city.
Amsterdam is one of the most diverse and culturally rich cities of the Netherlands region. It is also one of the most important commercial hubs of Netherlands as well as of the whole Europe. The demography of Amsterdam shows a unique mix of several cultures and ethnic minorities. The current population of the city is about 1,498,205 inhabitants.
Immigrants of Amsterdam
Most of the non-Dutch immigrants of Amsterdam during the 16th and 17th centuries included Flemings, Westphalians, Huguenots and Sephardic Jews. The first mass immigration in the 20th century included people from Indonesia mainly, who came to Amsterdam for employment opportunities. During the 1960's, workers from Morocco, Italy, Turkey and Spain also came and settled on the Amsterdam mainland. After Suriname got independence, many Surinamese people came and settled here. Apart from these, some convicts from Asia, Africa and America also came and settled in Amsterdam. As a result, Amsterdam
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currently has 150 different nationalities and following the latest demographic trends, the demography of Amsterdam would soon comprise of foreigners only.
Ethnic Minorities of Amsterdam
The major ethnic minorities of Amsterdam include Hindustanis and Creoles of Suriname, Turks, Moroccans and immigrants from Aruba and Antilles in Netherlands. The city also has about 26,000 Chinese and a strong Jewish community as well. About 76,000 migrants have also come from Pakistan and Ghana and have settled their bases in the city.
Most of the people of Amsterdam are Catholics as the city was originally a Roman Catholic city. The catholic bishop's seat in the city is the town of Haarlem. Protestantism and Lutheranism have been introduced by the Surinamese people. Other popular religions in the city include Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Jewish, Confucianism and Hare Krishna cult. The Moroccan and African population in the city have their own culture and customs.
The people of Amsterdam are culturally very rich and the city practices religious tolerance towards the different ethnic minority groups residing in the city.
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