1 in 5 people in the Netherlands had an allergy in 2023

© Hollandse Hoogte / Vincent van den Hoogen
The number of people that reported having an allergy rose from 18 percent in 2014 to 21 percent in 2023. Allergies were most likely to occur in people aged between 25 and 34 years old. Adult women were more likely to have allergies than adult men, but among youngsters, this was the other way around. People living in urban areas were more likely to report allergies than those living in rural areas. These results are based on the latest National Health Survey by Statistics Netherlands (CBS).

Respondents of this survey have been asked whether they have any allergies since 2014. However, they were not asked about the type of allergy.

Percentage of people having an allergy
PeriodeAllergy (%)
201417.9
201518
201618.2
201719.1
201818.8
201920
202019.9
202120.2
202220
202321.1

People aged 25-34 are the most likely to report having allergies

Allergies were most likely to occur in people aged between 25 and 34 (29 percent). Eight percent of children in their first years of life (0 to 3-year-olds) had allergies in 2022/2023. This percentage increases gradually with age, until around the age of 30, and then decreases again: for example, 10 percent of people aged over 75 said they had allergies.

Women are more likely to have allergies than men, except among youngsters

In the age groups under 15, boys were more likely to say they have allergies than girls, while among young people aged 15 to 19 this was approximately equal: 28 percent. Among people aged 20 and over, women were more likely to say they have an allergy. In the age group 45 to 49, 20 percent of men reported an allergy, compared to 29 percent among women.

Allergy by age and sex, 2022/2023¹⁾
LeeftijdsgroepMenWomen
0-4 yrs8.66.9
5-9 yrs14.912.7
10-14 yrs2517.5
15-19 yrs28.328.4
20-24 yrs23.426.3
25-29 yrs2730.7
30-34 yrs2830.3
35-39 yrs2429.3
40-44 yrs23.130.9
45-49 yrs19.829.4
50-54 yrs19.725.5
55-59 yrs1721.4
60-64 yrs12.717.1
65-69 yrs13.817.9
70-74 yrs9.115.9
75 yrs
or older		7.312.2
¹⁾ The figures for 2022 and 2023 have been merged for reasons of statistical reliability.

Urban populations more likely to have allergies than rural populations

The proportion of people with allergies increases with the degree of urbanisation of the residential area. For example, 24 percent of residents of very highly urbanised municipalities reported having allergies, compared to 17 percent of residents living in rural areas (non-urban municipalities).

Allergy by degree of urbanisation of residential area, 2022/2023¹⁾
StedelijkheidsgraadPercentage of people reported having an allergy (%)
Very highly urbanised23.6
Highly urbanised22.2
Moderately urbanised19.4
Lightly urbanised16.6
Not urbanised16.7
¹⁾ The figures for 2022 and 2023 have been merged for reasons of statistical reliability.

Sources