Box 1.

Socio-historical information on the ethnic minority groups included in this study

South Asian Surinamese South-Asian Surinamese arrived in the Netherlands in the 1960–1970s, after the independence of Suriname from the Netherlands [4, 5]. The most important reason of migration was the unstable political and economic situation in Suriname. The ancestors of South-Asian Surinamese were originally from the Northern parts of India (e.g., Bihar), and worked as contract-workers in Suriname. Although Indian labourers were intended to stay temporarily, many decided to settle permanently in Suriname [4]. South-Asian ethnic populations are living across Europe, especially in the United Kingdom (UK) and the Scandinavian countries. African Surinamese African-Surinamese migrated from Suriname to the Netherlands, along with the South-Asian Surinamese [4, 5, 8]. They had similar reasons of migration as South-Asian Surinamese. They are descendants of West Africans who were brought to Suriname during the slave trade in the 18th and 19th century. African-Caribbean populations with similar socio-historical background can also be found in other European countries (e.g., UK and France) and the United States. In 2015, Surinamese peoplea comprise 2 % of the general population and 17 % of total non-Western migrant populationb in the Netherlands [3]. In Amsterdam, these figures are 8 and 23 %, respectively [6]. Of the Surinamese living in the Netherlands, it is estimated that 45 % has South-Asian origin and 39 % African origin [15]. There is considerable religious diversity among Surinamese: 35 % Christian, 25 % Hindu, and 10 % Muslim (and 30 % non-religious) [15]. Ghanaians Ghanaians migrated to the Netherlands in two phases [1, 2]. In the first phase in the 1970s and 1980s many migrated because of socioeconomic reasons. During the second phase in the early 1990s was due to the unstable political situation in Ghana, drought, and the expulsion of many Ghanaians from Nigeria. There are also large Ghanaian communities in the UK and Germany. In the Netherlands, Ghanaian people comprise 0.1 % of the general population and 1 % of the total non-Western migrant population [3]. The figures were 1.5 and 4 %, respectively, in Amsterdam [6]. Most Ghanaians are Christian, but some are Muslim. Turks and Moroccans Migrants from Turkey and Morocco were recruited by the Dutch government in the 1960–1970s as temporary guest workers, to fill the labor shortages in unskilled occupations [2, 7]. However, the majority of the migrants decided to settle and brought their spouses and children to the Netherlands. Currently, Turks and Moroccans are the largest ethnic minority groups in many European countries (e.g., Spain, France, Germany). Turkish and Moroccan people separately account for around 2 % of the general population and 19 % of the total non-Western migrant population [3]. In Amsterdam, the respective figures for Turkish people were 5 and 15 %, respectively, and for Moroccan people 9 and 26 %, respectively [6]. Turks and Moroccans are mostly Muslim (95 %) [13].

^aOfficial statistics do not distinguish between Surinamese subgroups

^bIn the Netherlands, migrants populations are distinguished between Western (i.e., culturally proximate to the Dutch culture; migrants from, say, North-America, other European countries) and non-Western migrant populations