The Dutch countryside is depopulating rapidly. Despite the fact that Holland's general population continues to grow each year and that 16.8 million people currently within its 12 provinces, the country seems to be heading toward an undesirable split. One side will be the heir to an empty, cheap countryside with few schools, shops and sports facilities, while the other will have to make do with a crowded, expensive, urbanised area where the world is at your fingertips. The expectation is that there will be almost 18 million people living in the Netherlands by 2060, but most of this growth will be due to immigration. Perhaps Polish and Romanian farmers will exchange their small holdings at home for a dairy farm in Holland.