City · Beekdaelen, Limburg

Merkelbeek: Migration background and origin

On 1 January 2026, Merkelbeek had 1,615 residents. 17.3% of them (280 people) have a migration background: they were born abroad or have at least one parent who was. That is about the same as the municipality of Beekdaelen (17.7%) and lower than the national average (29.1%). The largest origin groups are Germany (5.6%), other Asia (3.1%) and other Europe (2.5%). 46.4% of residents with a migration background were born abroad themselves. Since 2022 the share has risen by 1.2 percentage points.

Residents: 1,615 on 1 January 2026
Migration background: 17.3% 280 people
Born abroad: 46.4% of those with a migration background
Change since 2022: +1.2 pp in share with a migration background

Migration background, share of residents

Share of residents with a migration background per postcode.

Where residents come from

Origin of residents on 1 January 2026, as a share of all residents.

Dutch origin and migration background

83% 17%

Dutch origin 83.0% 1,340
Migration background 17.3% 280

Largest origin groups

Bars show each group’s share of all residents of Merkelbeek. For comparison, the line marks Beekdaelen and the circle the Netherlands.

Germany

5.6% 90 people

Beekdaelen 5.6% Netherlands 1.9%
Other Asia Asia excluding Indonesia and Turkey

3.1% 50 people

Beekdaelen 2.4% Netherlands 5.3%
Other Europe Europe excluding the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Poland

2.5% 40 people

Beekdaelen 3.1% Netherlands 5.6%
Indonesia

1.2% 20 people

Beekdaelen 1.4% Netherlands 1.9%
Belgium

1.2% 20 people

Beekdaelen 1.4% Netherlands 0.76%
Turkey

0.93% 15 people

Beekdaelen 0.36% Netherlands 2.6%
Poland

0.93% 15 people

Beekdaelen 0.75% Netherlands 1.4%
Other Americas & Oceania Americas and Oceania excluding Suriname and the Dutch Caribbean

0.93% 15 people

Beekdaelen 0.82% Netherlands 1.7%
Other Africa Africa excluding Morocco

0.62% 10 people

Beekdaelen 0.84% Netherlands 2.3%
Dutch Caribbean Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba

0.31% 5 people

Beekdaelen 0.36% Netherlands 1.1%
Morocco

0.0% 0 people

Beekdaelen 0.47% Netherlands 2.4%
Suriname

0.0% 0 people

Beekdaelen 0.18% Netherlands 2.0%

First and second generation

Residents with a migration background, by whether they were born abroad themselves.

46% 52%

Born abroad (first generation) 46.4% 130
Born in the Netherlands (second generation) 51.8% 145

Men and women

Men: 815
Women: 805

Compared with all cities

Netherlands 29.1% Merkelbeek 17.3%

Higher than 73% of all cities in the Netherlands

Trend since 1998

Share of residents with a migration background, compared with larger areas.

Show

Measure % Residents

New CBS classification

17.3%

Merkelbeek
Beekdaelen
Netherlands

Show as table

Year	Merkelbeek	Beekdaelen	Netherlands
1998	15.4%	16.6%	16.7%
1999	15.5%	16.9%	17.1%
2000	15.4%	17.0%	17.5%
2001	16.0%	17.2%	18.0%
2002	16.3%	17.0%	18.4%
2003	15.9%	16.8%	18.8%
2004	15.7%	16.2%	19.0%
2005	15.5%	16.2%	19.2%
2006	15.0%	16.0%	19.3%
2007	14.9%	16.0%	19.4%
2008	14.1%	15.9%	19.6%
2009	14.6%	15.8%	19.9%
2010	14.9%	16.0%	20.3%
2011	14.5%	15.9%	20.6%
2012	14.3%	15.7%	20.9%
2013	14.2%	15.2%	21.1%
2014	14.1%	15.2%	21.4%
2015	14.3%	15.6%	21.7%
2016	14.7%	15.5%	22.1%
2017	14.5%	15.7%	22.6%
2018	14.5%	15.6%	23.1%
2019	14.6%	15.3%	23.6%
2020	15.0%	15.7%	24.2%
2021	14.9%	15.9%	24.6%
2022	16.1%	16.4%	26.0%
2023	15.7%	16.6%	27.1%
2024	16.6%	17.0%	27.9%
2025	17.5%	17.3%	28.5%
2026	17.3%	17.7%	29.1%

In 2022 CBS switched to a new origin classification. Up to 2021 the line shows the old “migration background” figures; the overlap years show a small break (about +0.8 points nationally).

Postcodes in Merkelbeek

				Largest group
6447 Onderbanken	17.3%	1,615	+1.2 pp	Germany

All figures

Number of residents per origin group on 1 January. Figures up to 2021 use the old CBS classification.

Year	Total residents	Dutch origin	Migration background	Europe	Outside Europe	Turkey	Morocco	Suriname	Indonesia	Dutch Caribbean	Germany	Poland	Belgium	Other Europe	Other Africa	Other Asia	Other Americas & Oceania	Western migration background	Non-Western migration background
1998	1,780	1,505	275	240	30	0	0	0	20	0	180	10	15	35	0	5	5	265	10
1999	1,775	1,500	275	245	30	0	0	0	20	0	180	10	15	40	0	5	5	270	5
2000	1,755	1,490	270	240	40	0	0	5	15	0	185	10	20	25	0	10	10	265	5
2001	1,755	1,475	280	250	35	0	0	0	15	0	185	10	20	35	0	10	10	275	10
2002	1,750	1,470	285	255	25	0	0	0	15	0	190	10	15	40	0	5	5	275	10
2003	1,725	1,450	275	245	30	0	0	0	10	0	180	15	15	35	0	15	5	270	10
2004	1,720	1,450	270	225	40	5	0	0	20	0	170	10	15	30	0	5	10	255	10
2005	1,740	1,475	270	225	45	5	0	0	20	0	165	10	15	35	5	5	10	255	15
2006	1,735	1,475	260	215	45	10	5	0	15	0	165	5	20	25	0	10	5	245	20
2007	1,715	1,460	255	205	45	5	5	0	20	0	150	10	20	25	5	5	5	230	25
2008	1,700	1,465	240	195	50	10	5	0	20	0	145	5	15	30	0	5	10	220	25
2009	1,710	1,465	250	195	50	10	10	0	20	0	140	10	15	30	0	10	5	225	25
2010	1,715	1,460	255	190	60	10	10	0	25	0	140	10	15	25	0	10	5	225	30
2011	1,690	1,445	245	185	60	10	5	0	20	0	135	5	20	25	5	15	5	220	30
2012	1,645	1,410	235	180	55	5	5	0	25	0	125	10	20	25	5	5	10	210	25
2013	1,615	1,385	230	180	55	5	10	0	15	0	120	10	20	30	0	15	10	200	25
2014	1,600	1,375	225	165	55	5	10	0	15	0	115	5	20	25	0	5	20	190	35
2015	1,610	1,380	230	175	50	5	10	0	15	0	115	10	20	30	0	10	15	195	30
2016	1,595	1,360	235	170	65	10	5	0	15	5	110	10	20	30	5	15	10	195	40
2017	1,585	1,355	230	160	65	10	10	0	20	0	100	10	25	25	0	15	15	185	45
2018	1,585	1,355	230	160	70	10	10	0	15	0	105	5	25	25	0	25	10	185	45
2019	1,580	1,350	230	150	80	15	5	0	15	5	95	10	25	20	5	25	10	175	55
2020	1,605	1,365	240	170	70	10	5	5	15	0	100	10	25	35	5	25	5	190	50
2021	1,610	1,370	240	160	80	15	5	0	20	5	95	10	20	35	5	25	5	185	55
2022	1,615	1,360	260	160	95	20	5	5	15	0	95	15	25	35	5	30	10	180	65
2023	1,590	1,340	250	155	95	15	5	0	20	0	90	15	20	30	5	35	10	175	60
2024	1,595	1,330	265	165	100	15	5	0	20	0	90	15	25	35	5	40	10	–	–
2025	1,625	1,335	285	165	120	20	5	0	20	5	90	15	20	35	10	45	15	–	–
2026	1,615	1,340	280	160	115	15	0	0	20	5	90	15	20	40	10	50	15	–	–

Definitions and method · CBS 85640NED (2022–2026), 83503NED (1998–2023)