50,000 gay couples in the Netherlands

14 November 2005

AMSTERDAM — The number of gay couples in the Netherlands has risen sharply in recent years.

There were 53,000 gay and lesbian couples living together in the Netherlands at the beginning of 2005, according to Statistics Netherlands (CBS). Ten years ago there were less than 39,000 gay or lesbian cohabiting couples.

Almost a quarter of the gay or lesbian couples are married or in a registered partnership. Of these, 12 percent are married and 10 percent are in a registered partnership.

The CBS said there are 29,000 all-male couples and 24,000 lesbian couples. Despite the significant increase in the number of gay and lesbian couples, the group is equal to just over 1 percent of the total number of cohabiting couples in the Netherlands.

About 9 percent of the gay or lesbian households in the Netherlands include one or more children. Lesbian couples are more likely to have a child; 18 percent of cohabiting lesbians have a child, compared with just 1 percent of gay couples.

Gay and lesbian couples seem to have a preference for big cities. About a quarter of these couples live in one of the four big cities in the Netherlands (Amsterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Rotterdam). And 13 percent of all gay and lesbian couples lives in Amsterdam.

[Copyright Expatica News + ANP 2005]

Subject: Dutch news