The Netherlands ranks second in EU on well-being

© ANP / Hans van Rhoon
The Netherlands has the second highest well-being in the ‘here and now’ in the European Union. Sweden scores the highest of all 27 EU member states on overall well-being, while Croatia ranks the lowest in the EU. This is reported by Statistics Netherlands (CBS), which is focusing on comparisons between EU countries in the run-up to the forthcoming elections for the European Parliament.

This comparison involves well-being ‘here and now’ - i.e. without considering the consequences for future generations or people in other countries. In order to calculate well-being here and now, each member state was compared on 23 indicators across nine different themes. The Netherlands scores well on 14 of those indicators, especially on trust in other people. There were less good scores on two indicators, however: housing costs and the healthy life expectancy of women. Housing costs as a proportion of disposable income are relatively high in the Netherlands, and women's healthy life expectancy is comparatively low.

Croatia scores the lowest on well-being

Croatia ranks the lowest in the EU on well-being, scoring the lowest in 17 areas. Well-being is also relatively low in Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, Greece and Slovakia, compared with the rest of the EU. All of these countries had communist regimes until 1989, except for Greece.

Almost all the countries of the old Eastern Bloc, which joined the EU from 2004 onwards, have a relatively low score on well-being today. One exception is Estonia, where well-being is actually higher than that in wealthier countries such as France and Belgium. In southern member states, too, such as Portugal, Spain and Italy, well-being is also lower than average, even though these countries never had communist regimes and have been members of the EU and its predecessors for decades.

Netherlands scores the highest on work and leisure time

The Netherlands scores the highest of all EU countries on work and leisure, topping the rankings on all five indicators in these areas. Net labour participation is the highest and long-term unemployment is among the lowest. Sweden, Ireland and Denmark also stand out in this area. Croatia scores the lowest, followed by Greece and Italy. Italy has the second-lowest proportion of college or university graduates in the EU, at 16.8 percent. In the Netherlands the share is 36.6 percent. Long-term unemployment is the highest in Greece, at 7.7 percent; in the Netherlands it is 0.7 percent.

People in Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands have the most trust in others

The Netherlands also scores high on the theme of social cohesion. Like Sweden, the Netherlands tops the EU rankings on all four indicators in this area. Finland ranks the highest when it comes to openness and accountability, trust in other people and trust in institutions. Trust in other people is the lowest in Poland, at 17.6 percent.

People in the Netherlands have the most contact with family, friends and neighbours; 74.6 percent of Dutch people aged 15 and older have contact with them at least once a week. In Hungary, which scores the lowest on this indicator, only 19.8 percent of people do. Poland scores low across the board.


Material prosperity does not necessarily translate into higher well-being scores. Having said this, many aspects of well-being are fairly closely correlated with a country’s material prosperity. Exceptions include healthy life expectancy and housing costs. For example, while the Netherlands’ median disposable income is the third highest in the EU, women's healthy life expectancy ranks only 20th. Additionally, housing costs in the Netherlands as a proportion of disposable income are among the highest in the EU, which has an adverse effect on people’s well-being.

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