SDG 16.1 Security and peace
- Dutch spending on national defence is rising in relative terms (1.3 percent of GDP in 2022). Expenditure on public order and safety is stable (1.9 percent). As the number of police officers is growing by less than the population as a whole, the number of officers per 100 thousand inhabitants fell to 288 full-time equivalents in 2022.
- Rule of law in the Netherlands is declining, but is high compared with most other EU countries.
- The Dutch prison population is relatively small: 65 per 100 thousand inhabitants were being held in prisons, penitentiary and disciplinary institutions in 2021, putting the Netherlands 3rd of 26 EU countries.
- The number of registered crimes per thousand inhabitants is still decreasing.
- In 2023, 19.9 percent of the Dutch population aged 15 or older indicated that they had been victims of crime such as violence, burglary, theft and vandalism. This is more than in 2021 (17.1 percent). The medium-term trend (2016-2023) has turned from downward to neutral. The Netherlands is at the bottom of the EU rankings.
- The percentage of young men and women who have ever been forced to perform sexual acts against their will has almost doubled between 2017 and 2023: from 2 to 4 percent among boys and from 12 to 20 percent among girls.
- Trust in the Dutch police is high compared with that in other EU countries and the trend is upward. Trust in the armed forces rose by 3.6 percentage points from 2022 to 2023, to 67.3 percent.
Dashboard and indicators
Resources and opportunities
in EU
in 2022
in EU
in 2022
in EU
in 2022
Use
in EU
in 2021
in EU
in 2021
Outcomes
in EU
in 2021
in EU
in 2020
in EU
in 2022
Subjective assessment
in EU
in 2020
| Theme | Indicator | Value | Trend | Position in EU | Position in EU ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resources and opportunities | Government expenditure on public order and safety | 1.9% of gross domestic product in 2022 | 10th out of 27 in 2022 | Middle ranking | |
| Resources and opportunities | Government expenditure on defence | 1.3% of gross domestic product in 2022 | increasing (increase well-being) | 13th out of 27 in 2022 | Middle ranking |
| Resources and opportunities | Police officers | 288 police officers per 100,000 population in 2022 | decreasing (decrease well-being) | 17th out of 25 in 2022 | Middle ranking |
| Use | Detainees | 65 detainees per 100,000 population in 2021 | 3rd out of 26 in 2021 | High ranking | |
| Use | Underage suspects | 11.2% of all suspects in 2023 | 18th out of 25 in 2021 | Middle ranking | |
| Outcomes | Deaths due to homicide | 0.7 deaths per 100,000 population in 2022 | 8th out of 27 in 2021 | Middle ranking | |
| Outcomes | Registered crime | 45.3 offences per 1,000 population in 2023 | decreasing (increase well-being) | ||
| 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 | Victims of cybercrime B) | 15.6% of the population over 15 are cybercrime victims in 2023 | |||
| Outcomes | Victims of human trafficking C) | 4.6 reported victims per 100,000 population in 2022 | |||
| Outcomes | Young women experiencing sexual violence B) | 20.0% of women aged 13-24 experience sexual violence in 2023 | |||
| Outcomes | Suspected child abuse | 366 reports to Safe at Home (Veilig Thuis) per 100,000 of the population 2023 | |||
| Outcomes | Young men experiencing sexual violence B) | 4.0% of men aged 13-24 experience sexual violence in 2023 | |||
| Outcomes | Rule of law | 1.66 score on a scale of -2.5 (weak) to 2.5 (strong) in 2022 | decreasing (decrease well-being) | 6th out of 27 in 2022 | High ranking |
| Subjective assessment | Trust in the police | 77.4% of the population over 15 answered “very high“ or “fairly high“ in 2023 | increasing (increase well-being) | 2nd out of 19 in 2020 | High ranking |
| Subjective assessment | Trust in the army | 67.3% of the population over 15 answered “very high“ or “fairly high“ in 2023 | |||
| Subjective assessment | Often feeling unsafe in the neighbourhood | 2.2% of the population over 15 often feels unsafe in 2023 |
Colour codes and notes to the dashboards in the Monitor of Well-being
The main focus of SDG 16 is a peaceful and safe society. This first dashboard of SDG 16 addresses security and peace. Institutions are examined in the second dashboard for this SDG (16.2)
To achieve safety and peace, all forms of violence and related deaths must be reduced. SDG 16 pays specific attention to violence against children and to organised crime. In a safe society, everyone has access to a fair legal system, and systems are in place to tackle corruption. People who do not feel safe – and therefore feel vulnerable and insecure – may experience this is having a major impact on their personal lives. How safe people are, and how safe they feel, therefore both have an effect on well-being ‘here and now’. It is the job of the armed forces, police and judiciary to strengthen and enforce security, by means of preventive measures and through the legal system. Public trust in these institutions can increase people’s sense of security.
International comparisons are not possible for all indicators in this dashboard; where they are, the Netherlands is often in the top or the middle group of the EU ranking. An exception is victim rates of non-cybercrime.
In terms of trends, the picture for this dashboard is fairly positive, with most indicators pointing to stable or rising well-being. The trend is moving away from the goal only for the operational strength of the police (per 100 thousand of the population) and rule of law.
Resources and opportunities in this context relate to resources used to guarantee due process of law and national security.
Use for this SDG is the number of people who come into contact with the judiciary or who make use of the judicial system. The number of people in Dutch prisons, penitentiaries and disciplinary institutions is relatively low by international standards: 65 per 100 thousand inhabitants in 2021. The Netherlands ranks third out of 26 EU countries.
Outcomes concern the number of crimes committed and the victims of these crimes. A lot of crime goes unrecorded, partly because it is not reported. Added to this, types of crimes that are recorded may differ from country to country.
Subjective assessment concerns trust in the judicial system, trust in the police and how safe people feel. Trust in the police is high and the trend is rising: 77.4 percent of the Dutch population had sufficient trust in the police in 2023. This is high compared with other EU countries. A substantial share of the population also trusted the armed forces: in 2023 67.3 percent responded with a score of 6 or higher on a scale of 0 to 10, 3.6 percentage points more than in the previous year. The trend is neutral.