Distribution of well-being: society

The theme society comprises indicators on participation and trust, two fundaments of social cohesion. Trust is important for people individually, but also for social fabric as a whole. At the individual level, trust contributes to higher well-being, as being surrounded by people and institutions we trust makes life easier. For society as a whole, trust means that people are more inclined to cooperate with each other and to help other people when required (OECD, 2017a). The latter aspect is reflected in higher rates of voluntary work, also an important gauge of participation and well-being of the population. For more information about participation and trust in the Netherlands, see Schmeets (2018), and Schmeets and Exel (2020).
  • People in age groups between 35 and 54 years, and 65 to 74 years, people with higher education levels, and people who were born in the Netherlands with parents who were also born there are more likely than average to do voluntary work. Those aged 25 to 34 years, the over-75s, people with low education levels, the group not born in the Netherlands themselves or with at least one parent born outside Europe are less likely than average to do so.
  • Young adults (ages 15 to 24 years), the lower educated, and people born outside Europe trust other people less than average.
  • Older people (over 55 years) trust institutions less than younger people; people with medium and low levels of education, as well as people born in the Netherlands with at least one parent born outside Europe also lave lower than average levels of trust in institutions.

Voluntary work

Situation in 2023

In 2023, 48.7 percent of the Dutch population aged 15 years and older reported they had done some form of voluntary work at least once for an organisation, club or society during the previous year. Just as in previous years, they did most of this voluntary work at sports clubs and schools (Schmeets and Arends, 2020), but in 2023 the share of volunteers active in hobby and social clubs and for community projects was also relatively large.

  • People aged 35 to 44 years, 45 to 54 years and 65 to 74 years do more voluntary work than average, (56.1 percent, 53.1 percent and 54.6 percent respectively). People aged 25 to 34 years and 75 years and older do less than average (41.0 percent and 43.0 percent respectively).
  • Higher educated people do more voluntary work than average (56.8 percent), whereas those with lower education levels do less than average (39.8 percent).
  • People born in the Netherlands with parents born in the Netherlands are relatively more likely to do voluntary work (51.9 percent). Voluntary work rates are below average for people born in the Netherlands with at least one parent born outside Europe, and even more for the group born outside the Netherlands.

Sex, age, education level and origin/country of birth correlate with each other. The percentage of people with higher education, for example, is not the same in all age groups. For the measurements conducted in this analysis, these relations are taken into account by applying a standardisation procedure, which corrects for the variation in the occurrence of the above characteristics. On the basis of standardised figures on voluntary work, the above findings largely remain intact, however:

  • If a correction is applied to the group aged 55 to 64 years for differences in composition by sex, education level and origin/country of birth compared with other age groups, this group turns out to do less voluntary work than average.
  • If we apply a similar correction to the group aged over 75 years, this group turns out to have an average rate of voluntary work. In the uncorrected figures this rate was below average, as a result of the relatively high share of people with low education levels in this age group.

Changes between 2019 and 2023

The total share of people saying they did voluntary work in 2023 was 2 percentage points higher than in 2019. Compared with this average increase for the overall population, the increase among men was larger than the increase for women between 2019 and 2023. As a result, the total share of voluntary workers was around the same for men and women in 2023. The share of over-65s doing voluntary work also rose relatively strongly, just as the share among people with low levels of education.

Trust in other people

Situation in 2023

Around two-thirds of the Dutch population aged 15 years and older in 2023 trusted other people, while the remainder believed they could never be too careful in relations with others.

  • In terms of age, 60.7 percent of people aged 75 years and older and 61.3 percent of 15- to 24-year-olds trust other people; this is below average. People aged between 35 and 64 years, on the other hand, have higher than average levels of trust in other people.
  • Higher educated people are more likely than average to trust others: 82.8 percent. By contrast, people with medium (64.9 percent) and especially those with low levels of education (50.0 percent) are below average in terms of trusting other people.
  • People born in the Netherlands with parents born in the Netherlands are relatively more likely to trust other people (70.7 percent). People born outside Europe have lower than average levels of trust: just over one in three of them trust other people. People born in the Netherlands with at least one parent born outside Europe and people who were themselves born elsewhere in Europe also have lower than average levels of trust in other people – but to a lesser extent than those born outside Europe.

On the basis of standardised figures on trust in other people, the results described above change for some age groups:

  • Correction for the different composition by sex, education level and origin/country of birth in each age group shows that people aged 15 to 24 years and the over-75s have an average level of trust in other people. The uncorrected figures show a below average level of trust because this age group includes a relatively large number of people with a low education level, who have a relatively low level of trust in others.
  • The age group 25 to 34 years shows below average trust after correction, instead of average trust before correction.
  • On the basis of the corrected figures, people aged 35 to 54 years no longer have higher than average levels of trust in other people.

Changes between 2019 and 2023

The total share of people saying they trust other people is 4.9 percentage points higher in 2023 than in 2019. Compared with this change for the population as a whole, the following groups showed different developments.

  • The proportion of women who trust other people increased by relatively more than average: 7 percentage points. For men, the proportion increased by less than average: just under 3 percentage points.
  • Although the share of people trusting others did increase in the age groups 15 to 24 years and 35 to 44 years, the increases were below average. For 55- to 64-year-olds, on the other hand, the 11.5 percentage point increase was relatively more favourable than average.
  • People with a high level of education: in this group, trust in fellow humans developed relatively less favourably than average, despite a 2.8 percentage point increase.
  • People born in the Netherlands to parents who were also born there: in this group, the proportion of people who trusted others developed relatively favourably, with an increase of 6 percentage points.
  • The proportion of people born outside Europe who trusted their fellow humans developed relatively unfavourably, falling by 0.8 of a percentage point.

Trust in institutions

Situation in 2023

Trust in institutions is measured by asking people how much they trust the police, judges and the House of Representatives. On average, 61.2 percent of people aged 15 years and older trusted these three institutions in 2023. Trust in the police and judges was highest at 77.4 and 77.5 percent respectively. Trust in the House of Representatives was markedly lower at 29.0 percent. Further information on trust in institutions can be found on StatLine (CBS, 2023).

  • Older people place less trust in institutions than younger people: trust in institutions was below average in age groups over 55 years. On the other hand, 15- to 54-year-olds trusted institutions more than average.
  • Higher educated people are more likely than average to trust institutions (70.1 percent). Groups with medium and lower education levels are less likely to trust them (58.4 and 53.6 percent respectively).
  • People born in the Netherlands with at least one parent born outside Europe have a below average level of trust in institutions, at 56.5 percent. People who themselves were born outside Europe are relatively more likely to trust institutions: 64.8 percent.

On the basis of standardised figures on trust in institutions, the above-mentioned results change as follows for some age groups:

  • If we correct the age groups for unequal composition by sex, education level and origin/country of birth, trust in institutions becomes average for most age groups. Only 15- to 24-year-olds keep their above average trust in institutions, while 65- to 74-year-olds remain below average.

Changes between 2019 and 2023

Following two years with relatively high levels of trust in institutions – during the coronavirus pandemic – the total share of people who trust institutions dropped again in 2022, and remained at a similar level in 2023. It was 1.9 percentage points lower in 2023 than in 2019. Compared with this decrease for the population as a whole, the following groups show different trends:

  • The group aged 15 to 34 years showed a less favourable change. The level of trust expressed by this group fell relatively sharply.
  • Age groups 45 to 54 years and the over-65s: trust in institutions rose in these groups, pushing them towards the average.
  • Lower education levels: this group showed a relatively favourable development; trust remained stable, while on average it decreased.
  • Trust in institutions fell relatively sharply for the group with higher levels of education compared with the overall trend, by 4 percentage points.
  • People born in the Netherlands of whom at least one parent was born outside Europe: trust fell by more than average in this group – 6.2 percentage points.
  • People born outside Europe: in this group trust in institutions rose by 3 percentage points, which is more than average.