SDG 9.1 Infrastructure and mobility
- Dutch investment in civil engineering is trending downward. In 2023, it amounted to 2.2 percent of GDP.
- Mobility options in the Netherlands are increasing and are becoming more sustainable. More and more people have access to a car (i.e. they have a driving licence and live in a household with at least one car). The Dutch car fleet is becoming more sustainable: the share of electric cars shows an upward trend. Electric and hydrogen-powered cars account for a small but growing percentage of all vehicle kilometres.
- Emissions of particulate matter (PM10) from transport and mobile equipment running on combustion engines are trending downwards.
- CO2 emissions by personal transport vehicles (cars, buses, motorcycles and mopeds) are decreasing. CO2 emissions by Dutch commercial vehicles are still trending upwards, however. Dutch airlines have one of the highest emission rates in the EU; the trend is no longer downward, but neutral.
- More and more people are bothered by parking issues (including wrongly parked cars and too few parking spaces), speeding and/or aggressive road behaviour.
Dashboard and indicators
Resources and opportunities
in EU
in 2022
Use
Outcomes
in EU
in 2021
in EU
in 2022
Subjective assessment
| Theme | Indicator | Value | Trend | Position in EU | Position in EU ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resources and opportunities | Gross fixed capital formation in infrastructure | 2.2% of gross domestic product in 2023 | decreasing (decrease well-being) | ||
| Resources and opportunities | Household spending on transport | 11.9% of total household consumption expenditure (current prices) in 2022 | 15th out of 27 in 2022 | Middle ranking | |
| Resources and opportunities | Car availability | 62.1% is licenced to drive, and a passenger car available in the household in 2022 | increasing (increase well-being) | ||
| Resources and opportunities | Electric cars | 13.8% of the total number of cars at the end of 2023 | increasing (increase well-being) | ||
| Use | Recreational trips | 38.0% of trips in 2022 | increasing (increase well-being) | ||
| Use | Emission-free traffic passenger cars | 5.4% of total kilometers travelled by Dutch passenger cars in 2022 | increasing (increase well-being) | ||
| Use | Travelling by passenger car | 7,516 passenger kilometres per person on average in 2022 | |||
| Use | Travelling by public transport | 1,244 passenger kilometres per person by train, tram, bus or metro on average in 2022 | |||
| Use | Travelling by bicycle | 1,108 kilometres per person on average in 2022 | |||
| Outcomes | Time lost due to traffic congestion and delays | 3.28 vehicle hours lost per capita in 2022 | |||
| Outcomes | Traffic deaths | 4.2 per 100,000 of the population in 2022 | 5th out of 27 in 2021 | High ranking | |
| Outcomes | CO2-emissions by passenger transport vehicles in The Netherlands | 902.7 kg per capita in 2022 | decreasing (increase well-being) | ||
| Outcomes | CO2-emissions by commercial vehicles in The Netherlands | 618.7 kg per capita in 2022 | increasing (decrease well-being) | ||
| Outcomes | Particulate matter emissions mobile sources (PM10) | 0.48 kilos per person in 2022 | decreasing (increase well-being) | ||
| Outcomes | CO2 emissions by national air carriers A) | 581.4 kg per capita in 2023 | 25th out of 27 in 2022 | Low ranking | |
| Subjective assessment | Perceived traffic nuisance | 31.6% of the population experience a lot of nuisance in 2023 | increasing (decrease well-being) |
Colour codes and notes to the dashboards in the Monitor of Well-being
The topics covered by SDG 9 are quite comprehensive and can be broken down into three main components: infrastructure and mobility, sustainable business, and knowledge and innovation. This first SDG 9 dashboard addresses the provisions in place to transport people (infrastructure) and how people use these (mobility). Mobility enables people to work, keep in touch with each other and undertake activities in their free time. On the downside, people lose time through traffic congestion, road safety is declining, and pressure on the environment is increasing.
In addition to indicators on physical infrastructure – which is already quite advanced in the Netherlands – dashboard 9.1 includes data on personal mobility, goods transport and environmental effects. Mobility and infrastructure enable people to move around – for example to and from work – to transport goods, keep in touch with each other and undertake recreational activities. However, they also have detrimental effects on society and the environment: people lose a lot of time in traffic congestion, road safety is declining and the environment is coming under increasing pressure.
Overall, it is difficult to interpret trends for this SDG: the time series are relatively short, and the coronavirus period had serious consequences for mobility. As comparable international data sources are scarce, it is also difficult te determine how the Netherlands fares in an EU perspective.
In spite of this, mobility indicators in the dashboard show a fairly positive picture. Three are trending towards reduced well-being (investment in civil engineering projects, CO2 emissions by commercial vehicles and experienced traffic nuisance). Others are trending favourably (car availability, recreational trips, share of electric cars, zero-emission car traffic, CO2 emissions by cars and other passenger vehicles, and emissions of particulate matter from mobile sources). One indicator shows a trend switch: the medium-term trend (2016-2023) for CO2 emissions by national air carriers has turned from downward (in 2015-2022) to neutral.
Resources and opportunities concern resources available for infrastructure construction and maintenance, and how they affect mobility of people and goods.
Use describes travel movements by various forms of transport. As a result of measures to limit the effects of coronavirus, 2020, 2021 and 2022 were exceptional years in terms of mobility. Fewer people travelled by air, by rail and on the roads. A large share of the population followed government advice to work from home and limit visits to other households.
Outcomes relate to the effects of traffic and transport, such as traffic congestion and delays, accidents, pollution and noise. Mobility causes harmful air emissions. Particulate matter can penetrate deep into lung tissue.
Subjective assessment refers to the extent of nuisance people experience as a result of traffic. In 2022, 31.6 percent of the Dutch population were bothered by parking issues (including wrongly parked cars and too few parking spaces), speeding and/or aggressive road behaviour. The medium-term trend is rising.