Distribution of well-being: the environment

People who face environmental pollution in their immediate vicinity may develop health problems as a result of deteriorating air, water and soil quality. Environmental pollution may also have a negative effect on their quality of life, as they can no longer fully benefit from everything their living environment has to offer (OECD, 2020; WHO, 2018). Here, the analysis is based on the nuisance people experience from pollution in their living environment. In 2017, over half of adults in the Netherlands said they consider air, soil, and water to be heavily polluted. Additionally, 85 percent expressed concern about the environment; over half of them stated concerns specifically about the environment in their own vicinity (CBS, 2018).
  • In 2023, 14.5 percent of the Dutch population lived in households that reported experiencing pollution or other environmental issues, such as smoke, dust, odour or contaminated water.
  • Women, people in age groups between 35 and 74 years, and people born in the Netherlands with parents born in a country outside Europe were the main groups experiencing environmental problems more often than average.
  • The overall proportion of people living in households that report pollution in their living environment is approximately the same in 2023 as it was in 2019.

Nuisance from environmental problems in the living environment

Situation in 2023

In 2023, 14.5 percent of the Dutch population lived in a household that reported experiencing nuisance from pollution in their residential environment. This specifically concerns pollution or other environmental problems, such as smoke, dust, odour or contaminated water.

  • Women experience problems resulting from environmental pollution more than average, men experience them less than average.
  • Fewer than average under-15s and 25- to 34-year-olds lived in a household that reported nuisance from pollution. The same was true for people aged 75 years and older. By contrast, people in other age groups were more likely than average to suffer nuisance from pollution.
  • People born in the Netherlands whose parents were also born in the Netherlands were less likely than average to report experiencing environmental problems in their neighbourhood. The same is true for people born outside the Netherlands. People born in the Netherlands with at least one parent born outside Europe are relatively more likely to experience pollution problems.

The characteristics sex, age, education level and origin/country of birth correlate with each other. The percentage of higher educated people, for example, is not the same in all age groups. This is taken into account by standardising the figures, correcting for the variation in the occurrence of the above characteristics. On the basis of standardised figures on nuisance caused by environmental problems in the living environment, the above findings remain unchanged.

Changes between 2019 and 2023

The total share of people living in households that say they experience nuisance from pollution in their living environment was 14.5 percent, around the same as in 2019. Some of the underlying groups showed different developments in this period.

  • Compared with the average, men show a favourable development; the share experiencing environmental pollution fell by 1.2 percentage points. For women, however, it increased slightly: by 0.2 of a percentage point.
  • Age groups 25 to 34 years and 55 to 64 years show a relatively more favourable trend than average. The proportion experiencing environmental pollution decreased by 3.5 and 2.4 percentage points respectively compared with 2019. However, the age group 35 to 44 years shows a relatively unfavourable trend, with an increase of 1.2 percentage points.
  • The group born in the Netherlands but with parents born in a country outside Europe shows a relatively unfavourable trend, with the share experiencing environmental pollution 3.8 percentage points higher. The opposite trend is observed among those born outside the Netherlands: among people born within Europe (excluding the Netherlands), a decrease of 5.5 percentage points; for people born outside Europe, a decrease of 3.2 percentage points.

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