17 homeless in every 10 thousand Dutch

Early 2009, more than 17.5 thousand people aged between 18 and 65 were homeless in the Netherlands, i.e. 17 in every 10 thousand residents in this age group. These people have no fixed addresses, sleep rough on the streets or in public buildings, in homeless shelters or with relatives or friends.

Homeless often unmarried men between 30 and 50

The largest category of homeless people are unmarried men aged between 30 and 50. People with a non-western background are overrepresented; 36 percent of homeless people have a non-western background versus 11 percent in the entire population.

One in three homeless are found in the four major cities

Homelessness is predominantly a problem of the four major cities in the Netherlands. One in three homeless people are found in Amsterdam, Utrecht, The Hague or Rotterdam. Relative to the rest of the country, these homeless are older and more often have a non-western background.

Homeless 18 to 65-year-olds in the Netherlands, 2009

Homeless women are younger and less often have a non-western background

Although the large majority of homeless are men, two in every ten homeless are women. More than 30 percent of homeless women are in the age category 18–30 versus 20 percent of men.

Fewer homeless women than men have a non-western background, but with one quarter, the proportion with a non-western background was indeed considerably higher than in the population as a whole.

Homeless people in the Netherlands aged 18–65 by gender, 2009

Moniek Coumans