Health and health care; personal characteristics

Health and health care; personal characteristics

Characteristics Margins Periods Self-perceived health: good/very good (%) Oral Health Oral health, 12 years or older (%) Oral Health Denture, 18 years or older (%) Oral Health Real teeth and molars, 18 plus (number) Oral Health No real teeth/molars, 18 plus (%) Sleeping problems, 12 years or older Sleeping problems (%) Sleeping problems, 12 years or older Limited by sleeping problems (%) SF-12 health measure, 12 plus Norm score physical (number) SF-12 health measure, 12 plus Norm score Psychological (number) SF-12 health measure, 12 plus Separate items General health Excellent (%) SF-12 health measure, 12 plus Separate items General health Very good (%) SF-12 health measure, 12 plus Separate items General health Good (%) SF-12 health measure, 12 plus Separate items General health Moderate (%) SF-12 health measure, 12 plus Separate items General health Bad (%) SF-12 health measure, 12 plus Separate items Physical health: less accomplished Yes (%) SF-12 health measure, 12 plus Separate items Physical health: less accomplished No (%) SF-12 health measure, 12 plus Separate items Physical health: limited work Yes (%) SF-12 health measure, 12 plus Separate items Physical health: limited work No (%)
Total persons Value 2023 77.5 72.3 19.7 25.5 7.5 . . 49.3 50.5 14.1 28.8 42.7 11.8 2.5 21.4 78.6 20.9 79.1
Total persons Lower bound 95% confidence interval 2023 76.6 71.3 18.8 25.3 6.9 . . 49.0 50.3 13.4 27.8 41.6 11.1 2.2 20.5 77.6 20.0 78.2
Total persons Upper bound 95% confidence interval 2023 78.4 73.3 20.6 25.7 8.1 . . 49.5 50.7 14.9 29.8 43.8 12.6 2.9 22.4 79.5 21.8 80.0
Sex: Male Value 2023 79.9 70.3 19.3 25.8 7.2 . . 50.4 51.6 16.2 30.5 41.3 10.1 1.9 18.1 81.9 17.0 83.0
Sex: Male Lower bound 95% confidence interval 2023 78.7 68.8 18.1 25.5 6.4 . . 50.2 51.3 15.1 29.0 39.7 9.1 1.5 16.9 80.6 15.8 81.7
Sex: Male Upper bound 95% confidence interval 2023 81.1 71.8 20.7 26.1 8.0 . . 50.7 51.9 17.5 32.0 42.9 11.1 2.4 19.4 83.1 18.3 84.2
Sex: Female Value 2023 75.1 74.2 20.1 25.2 7.8 . . 48.1 49.4 12.1 27.1 44.1 13.5 3.1 24.7 75.3 24.7 75.3
Sex: Female Lower bound 95% confidence interval 2023 73.9 72.8 18.9 24.9 7.0 . . 47.8 49.1 11.1 25.8 42.6 12.5 2.6 23.4 73.9 23.4 73.9
Sex: Female Upper bound 95% confidence interval 2023 76.4 75.6 21.4 25.5 8.6 . . 48.4 49.7 13.1 28.5 45.7 14.6 3.7 26.1 76.6 26.1 76.6
Age: 0 to 3 years Value 2023 96.8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Age: 0 to 3 years Lower bound 95% confidence interval 2023 94.3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Age: 0 to 3 years Upper bound 95% confidence interval 2023 98.2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Age: 4 to 11 years Value 2023 97.3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Age: 4 to 11 years Lower bound 95% confidence interval 2023 95.8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Age: 4 to 11 years Upper bound 95% confidence interval 2023 98.3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Age: 12 to 15 years Value 2023 93.2 87.9 . . . . . 54.0 52.7 37.3 37.7 22.4 2.4 0.2 8.0 92.0 6.5 93.5
Age: 12 to 15 years Lower bound 95% confidence interval 2023 90.4 84.6 . . . . . 53.6 51.9 32.9 33.4 18.8 1.3 0.0 5.8 89.0 4.5 90.7
Age: 12 to 15 years Upper bound 95% confidence interval 2023 95.2 90.6 . . . . . 54.5 53.5 41.9 42.3 26.4 4.4 1.7 11.0 94.2 9.3 95.5
Age: 16 to 19 years Value 2023 86.7 81.4 5.1 30.7 0.5 . . 53.6 49.8 24.1 38.1 31.7 5.2 0.8 9.8 90.2 8.8 91.2
Age: 16 to 19 years Lower bound 95% confidence interval 2023 83.0 77.4 2.7 30.2 0.1 . . 53.0 48.7 20.3 33.5 27.4 3.4 0.2 7.3 86.9 6.4 88.1
Age: 16 to 19 years Upper bound 95% confidence interval 2023 89.7 84.9 9.6 31.1 3.5 . . 54.1 50.8 28.5 42.9 36.4 8.0 2.3 13.1 92.7 11.9 93.6
Age: 20 to 29 years Value 2023 82.2 75.7 4.1 30.2 0.5 . . 52.8 47.4 17.7 38.7 36.6 6.4 0.6 14.5 85.5 12.4 87.6
Age: 20 to 29 years Lower bound 95% confidence interval 2023 79.6 72.9 3.0 30.0 0.2 . . 52.4 46.6 15.4 35.6 33.6 5.0 0.3 12.4 83.1 10.4 85.3
Age: 20 to 29 years Upper bound 95% confidence interval 2023 84.5 78.3 5.6 30.5 1.2 . . 53.3 48.1 20.2 41.8 39.7 8.2 1.5 16.9 87.6 14.7 89.6
Age: 30 to 39 years Value 2023 81.9 75.5 5.6 29.2 1.0 . . 51.5 49.5 15.5 34.9 40.7 8.0 0.9 17.0 83.0 15.7 84.3
Age: 30 to 39 years Lower bound 95% confidence interval 2023 79.4 72.7 4.3 28.9 0.5 . . 51.1 48.9 13.5 32.0 37.7 6.5 0.4 14.9 80.5 13.6 81.9
Age: 30 to 39 years Upper bound 95% confidence interval 2023 84.2 78.0 7.3 29.5 1.8 . . 52.0 50.1 17.8 37.8 43.7 10.0 1.7 19.5 85.1 18.1 86.4
Age: 40 to 49 years Value 2023 76.9 71.8 9.7 28.2 1.7 . . 49.5 49.5 11.5 28.2 45.8 11.6 2.9 24.0 76.0 21.1 78.9
Age: 40 to 49 years Lower bound 95% confidence interval 2023 74.0 68.9 7.8 27.8 1.0 . . 48.9 48.8 9.7 25.5 42.7 9.6 2.0 21.3 73.1 18.5 76.2
Age: 40 to 49 years Upper bound 95% confidence interval 2023 79.5 74.6 11.9 28.5 2.8 . . 50.1 50.1 13.6 31.1 48.9 13.9 4.4 26.9 78.7 23.8 81.5
Age: 50 to 54 years Value 2023 70.5 70.0 9.4 27.6 1.8 . . 47.8 50.2 12.6 22.4 47.2 14.1 3.6 27.6 72.4 28.4 71.6
Age: 50 to 54 years Lower bound 95% confidence interval 2023 66.7 66.2 7.3 27.2 1.0 . . 46.9 49.5 10.2 19.3 43.3 11.4 2.4 24.1 68.7 24.9 67.8
Age: 50 to 54 years Upper bound 95% confidence interval 2023 74.1 73.6 12.1 28.1 3.3 . . 48.6 51.0 15.5 25.9 51.2 17.2 5.5 31.3 75.9 32.2 75.1
Age: 55 to 64 years Value 2023 67.6 68.2 20.9 24.7 7.1 . . 47.3 51.7 9.9 23.3 47.1 15.5 4.1 25.9 74.1 26.5 73.5
Age: 55 to 64 years Lower bound 95% confidence interval 2023 64.9 65.5 18.7 24.3 5.8 . . 46.7 51.1 8.4 21.1 44.4 13.6 3.1 23.5 71.5 24.1 71.0
Age: 55 to 64 years Upper bound 95% confidence interval 2023 70.1 70.7 23.2 25.2 8.7 . . 47.9 52.2 11.6 25.7 49.8 17.7 5.5 28.5 76.5 29.0 75.9
Age: 65 to 74 years Value 2023 67.5 66.2 41.0 19.7 16.3 . . 46.4 53.0 10.4 22.2 48.0 15.2 4.2 24.6 75.4 26.3 73.7
Age: 65 to 74 years Lower bound 95% confidence interval 2023 64.7 63.5 38.2 19.1 14.3 . . 45.8 52.5 8.8 20.0 45.2 13.3 3.1 22.2 72.8 23.9 71.0
Age: 65 to 74 years Upper bound 95% confidence interval 2023 70.1 68.8 43.8 20.3 18.5 . . 47.0 53.4 12.2 24.6 50.8 17.4 5.6 27.2 77.8 29.0 76.1
Age: 75 years or older Value 2023 58.9 66.3 60.9 14.4 31.2 . . 43.4 52.8 6.0 18.7 49.6 22.0 3.7 31.6 68.4 33.1 66.9
Age: 75 years or older Lower bound 95% confidence interval 2023 55.7 63.3 57.8 13.7 28.3 . . 42.7 52.2 4.7 16.3 46.5 19.5 2.6 28.7 65.4 30.2 63.8
Age: 75 years or older Upper bound 95% confidence interval 2023 62.0 69.3 64.0 15.2 34.3 . . 44.2 53.3 7.6 21.2 52.8 24.8 5.2 34.6 71.3 36.2 69.8
Age: 0 to 11 years Value 2023 97.2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Age: 0 to 11 years Lower bound 95% confidence interval 2023 95.9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Age: 0 to 11 years Upper bound 95% confidence interval 2023 98.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Age: 12 to 17 years Value 2023 92.0 85.4 . . . . . 54.0 51.8 32.9 38.3 25.8 2.8 0.3 8.5 91.5 6.9 93.1
Age: 12 to 17 years Lower bound 95% confidence interval 2023 89.7 82.5 . . . . . 53.6 51.1 29.4 34.7 22.6 1.7 0.1 6.6 89.1 5.2 90.8
Age: 12 to 17 years Upper bound 95% confidence interval 2023 93.9 87.9 . . . . . 54.4 52.5 36.5 42.0 29.2 4.5 1.2 10.9 93.4 9.2 94.8
Age: 18 years or older Value 2023 73.3 71.2 19.7 25.5 7.5 . . 48.9 50.4 12.5 28.0 44.2 12.6 2.7 22.6 77.4 22.1 77.9
Age: 18 years or older Lower bound 95% confidence interval 2023 72.3 70.1 18.8 25.3 6.9 . . 48.6 50.2 11.8 27.0 43.0 11.8 2.3 21.6 76.4 21.2 76.9
Age: 18 years or older Upper bound 95% confidence interval 2023 74.3 72.2 20.6 25.7 8.1 . . 49.1 50.6 13.3 29.0 45.4 13.4 3.1 23.6 78.4 23.1 78.8
The Netherlands Value 2023 78.9 73.8 20.4 25.0 8.5 . . 49.4 51.0 14.1 29.5 43.0 11.3 2.1 20.6 79.4 20.6 79.4
The Netherlands Lower bound 95% confidence interval 2023 77.9 72.7 19.5 24.8 7.8 . . 49.1 50.7 13.3 28.4 41.7 10.6 1.8 19.6 78.4 19.7 78.3
The Netherlands Upper bound 95% confidence interval 2023 79.8 74.9 21.5 25.3 9.2 . . 49.6 51.2 15.0 30.6 44.2 12.1 2.5 21.6 80.4 21.7 80.3
Europe (excluding the Netherlands) Value 2023 75.2 64.0 21.7 25.0 8.0 . . 49.1 49.9 15.6 27.3 41.9 12.4 2.9 24.3 75.7 20.3 79.7
Europe (excluding the Netherlands) Lower bound 95% confidence interval 2023 71.8 59.9 18.3 24.2 6.0 . . 48.2 49.0 12.8 23.7 37.9 9.9 1.7 20.9 72.0 17.1 76.2
Europe (excluding the Netherlands) Upper bound 95% confidence interval 2023 78.4 67.9 25.4 25.8 10.6 . . 49.9 50.7 18.8 31.1 46.0 15.4 4.7 28.0 79.1 23.8 82.9
Outside Europe Value 2023 73.3 69.9 15.7 27.5 3.1 . . 49.0 49.0 13.6 26.8 42.2 13.5 3.9 23.7 76.3 22.3 77.7
Outside Europe Lower bound 95% confidence interval 2023 70.8 67.0 13.5 27.1 2.2 . . 48.4 48.4 11.7 24.2 39.2 11.5 2.9 21.2 73.5 19.9 75.0
Outside Europe Upper bound 95% confidence interval 2023 75.7 72.6 18.3 27.9 4.3 . . 49.6 49.6 15.8 29.5 45.2 15.8 5.3 26.5 78.8 25.0 80.1
Origin: born in the Netherlands Value 2023 79.2 73.9 19.5 25.3 7.9 . . 49.5 50.9 14.6 29.5 42.7 11.2 2.1 20.5 79.5 20.2 79.8
Origin: born in the Netherlands Lower bound 95% confidence interval 2023 78.3 72.8 18.6 25.1 7.3 . . 49.3 50.6 13.8 28.4 41.5 10.5 1.7 19.6 78.5 19.3 78.9
Origin: born in the Netherlands Upper bound 95% confidence interval 2023 80.1 74.9 20.4 25.5 8.5 . . 49.7 51.1 15.5 30.5 43.8 12.0 2.4 21.5 80.4 21.1 80.7
Origin: born in NL, parents in NL Value 2023 78.9 73.8 20.4 25.0 8.5 . . 49.4 51.0 14.1 29.5 43.0 11.3 2.1 20.6 79.4 20.6 79.4
Origin: born in NL, parents in NL Lower bound 95% confidence interval 2023 77.9 72.7 19.5 24.8 7.8 . . 49.1 50.7 13.3 28.4 41.7 10.6 1.8 19.6 78.4 19.7 78.3
Origin: born in NL, parents in NL Upper bound 95% confidence interval 2023 79.8 74.9 21.5 25.3 9.2 . . 49.6 51.2 15.0 30.6 44.2 12.1 2.5 21.6 80.4 21.7 80.3
Origin: born in NL, parent(s) abroad Value 2023 81.4 74.1 12.7 27.4 3.9 . . 50.5 50.2 17.9 29.3 40.8 10.4 1.6 20.1 79.9 17.2 82.8
Origin: born in NL, parent(s) abroad Lower bound 95% confidence interval 2023 78.8 70.9 10.4 26.8 2.7 . . 49.9 49.5 15.3 26.2 37.4 8.4 0.9 17.4 76.9 14.7 79.9
Origin: born in NL, parent(s) abroad Upper bound 95% confidence interval 2023 83.7 77.1 15.3 27.9 5.6 . . 51.1 51.0 20.8 32.6 44.4 12.8 2.8 23.1 82.6 20.1 85.3
Origin: born in NL, parent(s) in Europe Value 2023 77.4 66.8 25.1 24.1 10.7 . . 49.3 51.3 17.7 26.2 40.0 14.1 2.0 22.3 77.7 18.1 81.9
Origin: born in NL, parent(s) in Europe Lower bound 95% confidence interval 2023 72.7 61.0 20.1 22.8 7.4 . . 48.1 50.1 13.5 21.2 34.3 10.5 0.8 17.7 72.2 14.0 76.7
Origin: born in NL, parent(s) in Europe Upper bound 95% confidence interval 2023 81.6 72.2 30.9 25.4 15.2 . . 50.5 52.5 22.8 31.9 46.0 18.8 4.7 27.8 82.3 23.3 86.0
Origin: born NL, parent(s) out. Europe Value 2023 83.2 77.5 6.5 29.0 0.6 . . 51.0 49.7 18.0 30.8 41.2 8.6 1.4 19.1 80.9 16.8 83.2
Origin: born NL, parent(s) out. Europe Lower bound 95% confidence interval 2023 80.0 73.6 4.5 28.6 0.2 . . 50.3 48.8 14.9 26.9 37.0 6.4 0.6 15.8 77.2 13.7 79.5
Origin: born NL, parent(s) out. Europe Upper bound 95% confidence interval 2023 85.9 81.0 9.2 29.4 1.8 . . 51.8 50.7 21.7 34.9 45.6 11.5 2.9 22.8 84.2 20.5 86.3
Origin: born abroad Value 2023 67.0 63.5 21.1 26.3 5.1 . . 47.9 48.5 11.4 25.1 43.1 15.3 5.2 26.9 73.1 25.1 74.9
Origin: born abroad Lower bound 95% confidence interval 2023 63.9 60.2 18.4 25.7 3.8 . . 47.2 47.8 9.5 22.3 39.8 13.0 3.8 24.0 70.0 22.3 71.8
Origin: born abroad Upper bound 95% confidence interval 2023 70.0 66.6 24.2 26.8 6.8 . . 48.6 49.2 13.6 28.1 46.4 17.9 6.9 30.0 76.0 28.2 77.7
Origin: born in Europe (excl. NL) Value 2023 73.1 61.7 19.0 25.6 6.0 . . 48.9 48.7 13.9 28.1 43.5 11.0 3.6 25.9 74.1 22.0 78.0
Origin: born in Europe (excl. NL) Lower bound 95% confidence interval 2023 68.0 56.1 14.8 24.6 3.8 . . 47.8 47.5 10.4 23.3 38.0 7.8 2.0 21.2 68.8 17.6 72.9
Origin: born in Europe (excl. NL) Upper bound 95% confidence interval 2023 77.7 67.1 24.1 26.7 9.5 . . 50.0 49.8 18.2 33.5 49.2 15.1 6.5 31.2 78.8 27.1 82.4
Origin: born outside Europe Value 2023 64.4 64.2 22.1 26.5 4.7 . . 47.4 48.4 10.3 23.7 42.9 17.2 5.9 27.3 72.7 26.5 73.5
Origin: born outside Europe Lower bound 95% confidence interval 2023 60.5 60.2 18.7 25.9 3.3 . . 46.5 47.6 8.1 20.4 38.9 14.3 4.2 23.8 68.8 23.0 69.6
Origin: born outside Europe Upper bound 95% confidence interval 2023 68.1 68.0 25.9 27.2 6.7 . . 48.3 49.2 13.0 27.4 47.0 20.7 8.2 31.2 76.2 30.4 77.0
Position: single; < 40 year Value 2023 78.8 74.5 5.7 29.7 0.7 . . 52.8 45.4 14.1 35.8 40.9 8.0 1.1 15.3 84.7 14.6 85.4
Position: single; < 40 year Lower bound 95% confidence interval 2023 74.8 70.3 3.9 29.4 0.2 . . 52.1 44.3 11.2 31.5 36.5 5.8 0.5 12.2 81.1 11.6 81.8
Position: single; < 40 year Upper bound 95% confidence interval 2023 82.4 78.3 8.4 30.1 2.2 . . 53.4 46.5 17.6 40.3 45.5 11.0 2.7 18.9 87.8 18.2 88.4
Position: single; 40 to 64 years Value 2023 57.7 62.5 20.9 25.2 6.3 . . 46.1 48.0 6.9 19.1 45.2 23.0 5.8 33.7 66.3 31.3 68.7
Position: single; 40 to 64 years Lower bound 95% confidence interval 2023 53.0 57.9 17.4 24.4 4.4 . . 45.0 47.0 4.9 15.8 40.6 19.2 3.8 29.4 61.6 27.1 64.1
Position: single; 40 to 64 years Upper bound 95% confidence interval 2023 62.2 66.9 25.0 26.0 9.0 . . 47.1 49.1 9.6 22.9 49.9 27.3 8.7 38.4 70.6 35.9 72.9
Position: single; >= 65 years Value 2023 55.0 64.7 54.1 15.8 28.4 . . 42.6 51.6 6.5 16.6 46.6 23.1 7.2 32.5 67.5 35.2 64.8
Position: single; >= 65 years Lower bound 95% confidence interval 2023 51.1 60.8 50.2 14.8 25.0 . . 41.7 50.9 4.8 13.9 42.7 20.0 5.3 29.0 63.6 31.5 61.0
Position: single; >= 65 years Upper bound 95% confidence interval 2023 58.8 68.3 58.0 16.7 32.0 . . 43.6 52.4 8.7 19.7 50.5 26.6 9.6 36.4 71.0 39.0 68.5
Position: child<18 yrs one-parent Value 2023 90.8 87.0 . . . . . 53.6 50.7 26.8 41.1 28.3 3.1 0.8 13.7 86.3 10.0 90.0
Position: child<18 yrs one-parent Lower bound 95% confidence interval 2023 86.2 79.1 . . . . . 52.5 48.9 19.2 32.0 20.3 1.0 0.1 8.3 78.1 5.5 82.3
Position: child<18 yrs one-parent Upper bound 95% confidence interval 2023 93.9 92.2 . . . . . 54.8 52.6 36.0 50.9 37.9 9.1 5.7 21.9 91.7 17.7 94.5
Positon: child of age, one-parent househ Value 2023 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Positon: child of age, one-parent househ Lower bound 95% confidence interval 2023 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Positon: child of age, one-parent househ Upper bound 95% confidence interval 2023 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Position: child < 18 yrs, two-parents Value 2023 96.5 85.7 . . . . . 54.3 52.2 34.2 38.1 25.3 2.2 0.2 7.1 92.9 5.7 94.3
Source: CBS.
Explanation of symbols

Table explanation


This table contains data on the perceived state of health and on contacts with providers of medical care of the Dutch population from 0 years on in private households. These data can be grouped by several personal characteristics. For several topics a different age demarcation applies. The age boundaries are listed at the relevant topics.

Data available from: 2014

Status of the data: final.

Changes by March 12, 2024:
The year 2023 have been added.

When will new data be published?
Data on reporting year 2024 will be published in the second quarter of 2025.

Description topics

Self-perceived health: good/very good
Percentage of persons who answered ꞌgoodꞌ or ꞌvery goodꞌ to the question: ꞌHow do you assess your general state of health?ꞌ / ꞌHow does your child assess his, her general state of health?ꞌ. Parents or caretakers answer this question on behalf of children under the age of 12 years.
Oral Health
Oral health, 12 years or older
Percentage of persons of 12 years or older who answered ‘good’ or ‘very good’ to the question: ‘How do you assess your general state of teeth and gum?’
For the years 2019 to 2021, the figures refer to people aged 15 or older. As a result, the figures from before 2022 cannot be compared one-to-one with the figures from 2022 onwards.


Denture, 18 years or older
Percentage of people aged 18 or older with full or partial dentures in the upper and/or lower jaw.
Real teeth and molars, 18 plus
Average number of real teeth in the upper and lower jaw of people aged 18 years or older.
No real teeth/molars, 18 plus
Percentage of people aged 18 or older without real teeth in the upper and lower jaw.
Sleeping problems, 12 years or older
The health survey asks to what extent people have suffered from problems sleeping in the past 2 weeks? This may include difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, or waking up too early. The answer options were:
1. Not at all
2. A little
3. Kinda
4. A lot
5. A lot
People who indicated that they had suffered from problems with sleeping were asked to what extent the sleep problems had hindered their daily functioning over the past 2 weeks. This includes: fatigue during the day, functioning at work, carrying out daily tasks, concentration, memory, mood. The answer options were:
1. Not at all
2. A little
3. Kinda
4. A lot
5. A lot

From 2023, the questions about sleep will be asked every 2 years (in even years).
Sleeping problems
Percentage of persons aged 12 years or older that answered ‘somewhat’, ‘much’, ‘very much’ to the question: ‘How much were you bothered by sleeping problems in the last 2 weeks? Think about trouble falling asleep, trouble sleeping through the night, waking up too early.’.
Limited by sleeping problems
Percentage of persons aged 12 years or older who experienced limitations in daily activity due to sleeping problems in last 2 weeks. Persons that answered ‘quite a lot’, ‘a lot’ or ‘very much’ to the question: ‘To what extent have you suffered from sleeping problems in the last 2 weeks?’. Think about trouble falling asleep, trouble sleeping through the night, waking up too early.’. And persons who answered ‘somewhat’, ‘much’, ‘very much’ to the question: ‘How much were you bothered by sleeping problems in the last 2 weeks?
SF-12 health measure, 12 plus
The 'Short Format 12' or SF-12 questionnaire is a selection of 12 questions from the SF-36 (Ware et al., 1995 *). The SF-12 is a widely used international standard of a generic health measure. The SF-12 measures eight health aspects, namely physical functioning, role limitations due to physical health problems, physical pain, general health, vitality (energy / fatigue), social functioning, role limitations due to emotional problems and mental health. Based on the 12 questions, two partial scales can be calculated; a summary measure for physical health (norm score physical) and a summary measure for psychological health (norm score psychological).
These norm scores are calculated for people aged 12 or older.
*Ware J.E., Kosinski M., Keller S.D. SF-12: How to score the SF-12 Physical and Mental Health Summary Scales. Boston, MA: The Health Institute, New England Medical Center, Second Edition, 1995.
Norm score physical
Standard score physical is determined for persons 12 years of age or older. The standard score physical is a summary physical health measure, which is calculated by means of the answers to the SF-12 questionnaire. The American population was used as the reference group in the development of the norm scores. In 1995, the physical health score for the American population was exactly 50. Mean values below 50 indicate less good physical health than in that standard population (American population 1995) and values above 50 indicate better health. For the Dutch population, the average of the physical norm score is slightly higher than 50.
Norm score Psychological
Psychological norm score is determined for people aged 12 or older. The psychological norm score is a summary psychological health measure, which is calculated by means of the answers to the SF-12 questionnaire. The American population was used as the reference group in the development of the norm scores. In 1995, the psychological health score of the American population was exactly 50. Mean values below 50 indicate less good psychological health than in that standard population (American population 1995) and values above 50 indicate better health. For the Dutch population, the average of the psychological norm score is slightly higher than 50.
Separate items
General health
The following question was asked to respondents aged 12 or older: Overall, what do you think about your health?
1. Excellent
2. Very good
3. Good
4. Moderate
5. Bad
This question is asked in the health survey because it is an item of the SF-12. The question is used to calculate the norm score physically and psychologically. Elsewhere in this Statline table are figures on ‘perceived health; good or very good’. For those figures, use was made of another question with different answer options, namely: How is your health / the health of your child in general?
1. Very good
2. Good
3. OK
4. Bad
5. Very bad
Excellent
Percentage of people aged 12 or older who answered ’excellent’ to the question ’Overall, how do you feel about your health?’

Very good
Percentage of people aged 12 or older who answered ‘very good’ to the question ‘Overall, how do you feel about your health?’
Good
Percentage of people aged 12 or older who answered ‘good’ to the question ’Overall, how do you feel about your health?’
Moderate
Percentage of people aged 12 or older who answered ‘moderate’ to the question ‘Overall, how do you feel about your health?’
Bad
Percentage of people aged 12 or older who answered ’bad’ to the question ’Overall, how do you feel about your health?’
Physical health: less accomplished
The following question was asked to respondents aged 12 or older: When you think about your work or other daily activities, has your physical health helped you achieve less than you would like?
1.Yes
2. No.
Yes
The percentage of people aged 12 or older who answered ‘yes’ to the question ‘When you think about your work or other daily activities, have you accomplished less than you would like because of your physical health?’
No
The percentage of people aged 12 or older who answered ‘no’ to the question ‘When you think about your work or other daily activities, have you accomplished less than you would like because of your physical health?’
Physical health: limited work
The following question was asked to respondents aged 12 or older:
When thinking about your work or other daily activities, were you limited by your physical health in the type of work or activities?
1.Yes
2. No.
Yes
The percentage of people aged 12 or older who answered ‘yes’ to the question ‘When thinking about your work or other daily activities, were you limited by your physical health in the type of work or activities?’
No
The percentage of people aged 12 or older who answered ‘no’ to the question ‘When thinking about your work or other daily activities, were you limited by your physical health in the type of work or activities?’