Samenvatting

Between 1800 and 2000 Dutch population increased from two million souls to sixteen million inhabitants. By the end of the 20^th century, however, this spectacular growth slowed down to such a degree that some observers predicted a decline of population in the near future. This paper focuses mainly on the period before the great turn. We will present differences in population growth in time and between regions from 1800 on, but we also deal with the consequences of two centuries of population growth: urbanization and changes in age distribution, in sex ratio, in the composition of occupational population, and in the changing numerical relationships between denominations. In our conclusion we use the historical perspective to assess whether or not the Dutch population will decrease and if so, what consequences can be expected.