ABSTRACT
The revolt of Belgium in 1830, however, led to its formal secession from the Netherlands in 1839, although the following territories remained under Dutch administration: the northern half of the province of Limburg, and part of Flanders protecting the south bank of the Schelde estuary. The province of Luxembourg was also transformed into the Grand Duchy. The population growth rate in the Netherlands between the late eighteenth century and 1947 was clearly higher than in Belgium. The only provinces with relatively high population densities in 1815 were Noord- and Zuidholland and Utrecht, which would seem to indicate that this was primarily determined by the overall extent of early urbanisation. An interesting difference emerges, however, between the three main regions of Belgium as early as 1846. The percentage of young people increased for both sexes between 1849 and 1899, only to be followed by a later decline.
