2023 refugee total well below government forecast: CBS

Over 38,000 people made a first application for asylum in the Netherlands last year, and some 10,000 close relatives joined people who had been granted official refugee status, national statistics agency CBS said on Thursday. The number of new arrivals is up 8% on 2022, but still well below government estimates, while the number of family members fell 7%. Early last year ministers suggested that more than 76,000 people could apply for asylum in the Netherlands in 2023. That forecast...