Resilience ‘elsewhere’

Dependency on other countries represents a risk to well-being in the Netherlands. Many crucial scarce raw materials are not naturally present in the country, and it is by no means always certain that they can be supplied, for instance due to geopolitical tensions.
  • Dependency on imported energy sources is high and rising solidly.

Resilience of well-being 'elsewhere'

Cross-border dependencies

79.4%
of energy is imported in 2022
The long-term trend is increasing (decrease well-being)
24th
out of 27
in EU
in 2022
Dependency on energy imports
35.1%
of GDP is generated by exports in 2022
16th
out of 27
in EU
in 2020
Economic dependence on exports
15.7
tonnes CO2 equivalents per capita in 2022
Greenhouse gas footprint A)
Resilience of well-being 'elsewhere'
Theme Indicator Value Trend Position in EU Position in EU ranking
Cross-border dependencies Dependency on energy imports 79.4% of energy is imported in 2022 increasing (decrease well-being) 24th out of 27 in 2022 Low ranking
Cross-border dependencies Economic dependence on exports 35.1% of GDP is generated by exports in 2022 16th out of 27 in 2020 Middle ranking
Cross-border dependencies Greenhouse gas footprint A) 15.7 tonnes CO2 equivalents per capita in 2022

Colour codes and notes to the dashboards in the Monitor of Well-being

Well-being in the Netherlands will come under threat if the country does not have the necessary raw materials, and supply security is not guaranteed – because of geopolitical tensions, for example. The Netherlands already relies heavily on other countries for its energy supply. Additionally, essential products like computers, and phones, but also solar panels, and electric cars contain rare and valuable metals. Demand for these scarce metals is high. The more these products are imported, the larger the footprint of the Netherlands elsewhere in the world becomes.

Dutch dependency on imports of energy sources is high and continues to trend upwards. This has a negative effect on well-being. In 2022, 79.4 percent of energy was sourced from abroad, the highest level for fifty years. This is well above dependency rate of 44.9 percent in 2016, at the start of the trend period. The increase was mainly caused by the closing down of gas extraction in Groningen. Dependency on energy imports is also high from an EU perspective: the Netherlands relies more on energy imports than most other EU countries (24th of the EU27).