SDG 11.2 Living environment
- As the population of the Netherlands continues to grow, the amount of total space per capita is shrinking. The Netherlands is the second most densely populated country in the EU.
- In relative terms, the Netherlands spends more on environmental protection than other EU countries (1.4 percent of GDP in 2022).
- Air quality in the Dutch living environment is improving as a result of the downward trend in emissions of acidifiers (sulphur oxide, nitrogen oxide and ammonia) and in the background concentration of particulate matter (PM2.5) in urban areas. Urban bird populations (83 monitored species) are trending downward.
- Neighbourhood safety is no longer improving but is now stable. Victim rates for non-cybercrime are no longer trending downwards. Social cohesion in residential neighbourhoods is no longer trending upwards.
- In 2023, 85.4 percent of the population were satisfied with their living environment. However, a large – and growing – share of households say they experience noise nuisance from traffic and neighbours.
Dashboard and indicators
Resources and opportunities
in EU
in 2021
in EU
in 2022
Use
in EU
in 2022
Outcomes
in EU
in 2021
in EU
in 2019
in EU
in 2020
Subjective assessment
in EU
in 2020
| Theme | Indicator | Value | Trend | Position in EU | Position in EU ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resources and opportunities | Area per person | 2,332 m2 per capita in 2023 | decreasing (decrease well-being) | 26th out of 27 in 2021 | Low ranking |
| Resources and opportunities | Green spaces in built-up areas | 13.7% of the built-up area in 2022 | |||
| Resources and opportunities | Government expenditure on environment protection | 1.4% of gross domestic product in 2022 | 1st out of 27 in 2022 | High ranking | |
| Use | Practising art and culture F) | 79% undertook a cultural activity at least once in 2022 | |||
| Use | Cultural participation C), F) | 88% attended at least one performance, event or exhibition in 2022 | |||
| Use | Municipal waste | 516 kg per capita in 2022 | 8th out of 18 in 2022 | Middle ranking | |
| Outcomes | Emissions of acidifying substances A) | 0.90 tonnes of acid equivalents per capita in 2023 | decreasing (increase well-being) | 13th out of 27 in 2021 | Middle ranking |
| Outcomes | Urban exposure to particulate matter (PM2.5) | 9.4 microgram PM2.5 per m3 in 2022 | decreasing (increase well-being) | 8th out of 26 in 2019 | Middle ranking |
| Outcomes | Victims of crime | 19.9% of the population over 15 are crime victims in 2023 | 15th out of 19 in 2020 | Low ranking | |
| Outcomes | Social cohesion in the neighbourhood | 6.5 score on scale 0-10 in 2023 | |||
| Outcomes | Trend urban bird population | 85.7 index (trend 2007=100) in 2023 | decreasing (decrease well-being) | ||
| Subjective assessment | Noise nuisance caused by traffic and neighbours | 27.8% of households experience noise nuisance in 2023 | increasing (decrease well-being) | 25th out of 26 in 2020 | Low ranking |
| Subjective assessment | Satisfaction with cultural offerings in surrounding region | 53% is (very) satisfied in 2022 | |||
| Subjective assessment | Often feeling unsafe in the neighbourhood | 2.2% of the population over 15 often feels unsafe in 2023 | |||
| Subjective assessment | Satisfaction with residential environment | 85.4% of the population over 18 are satisfied in 2023 |
Colour codes and notes to the dashboards in the Monitor of Well-being.
In addition to housing (dashboard 11.1), SDG 11 also addresses the neighbourhoods and communities in which people have their homes and lead their lives. Given the high pressure on scarce available space in the Netherlands, keeping local living environments habitable is a major challenge.
This second dashboard for SDG 11 focuses on environmental factors: the amount of space per person, waste processing and government spending on the environment. Other indicators in the dashboard relate to concentrations of particulate matter in urban air, crime victims, and participation in cultural events and satisfaction with local cultural provisions.
Within the EU, the Netherlands is mostly in the middle group, sometimes trailing lower down. The exception here is government spending on environmental protection.
Resources and opportunities relate to available space and spending on protecting the quality of the living environment. As the population of the Netherlands continues to grow, the amount of total space per capita is shrinking.
Use refers to how people use their local environment. Municipal authorities removed 516 kilograms of waste per capita in 2022. This is quite a lot less than in 2021, when the average was 561 kilograms per person.
Outcomes relate to the quality and safety of the living environment. On a per capita basis, emission levels of acidifiers (sulphur oxide, nitrogen oxide and ammonia) are steadily decreasing, the trend is downward. Another factor improving air quality is the downward trend in background concentration of particulate matter in urban areas. The indicator included here refers to the finer fraction of particulate matter, PM2.5 (particles with a diameter smaller than 2.5 micrometres).
Subjective assessment describes how people experience their local living environment. Compared with other EU countries, relatively many households were bothered by noise caused by neighbours and traffic: only in Malta, with an even higher population density than the Netherlands, did more people complain about this (in 2020). In the Netherlands just over a quarter of households experienced these problems. The trend is upward. In spite of this, 85.4 percent of the population expressed satisfaction with their living environment in 2023. This trend is stable, but there was a relatively large fall from 2022: by 1.7 percentage points.