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Add as a favourite source on Google Add DutchNews as a favourite source on GoogleChildren born outside Europe are far more likely to drown in the Netherlands than children of Dutch origin, figures published on Friday by the national statistics office CBS show.

Between 2016 and 2025, 930 residents drowned, including 57 children under 10 and 53 aged between 10 and 20. More than half of those children had a non-Dutch background.

The gap is widest among teenagers. Per 100,000 people, the drowning rate for 10 to 20-year-olds born outside Europe was almost 14 times that of young people of Dutch origin. For children under 10, it was around 8 times higher.

Children of foreigners who were born in the Netherlands are much less at risk. Among 10 to 20-year-olds in that group, the rate was lower than for young people of Dutch origin.

CBS gives no explanation. Separate research by the Mulier Institute found that 40% of children born abroad have no swimming certificate, against 24% of children whose parents migrated and 9% of children with no migration background.

Most drownings happen in open water. Of residents who drowned over the past decade, 78% died in ditches, rivers, canals, lakes, ponds or the sea.

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