Well-being here and now: summary

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

Well-being ‘here and now’ refers to the present situation in the Netherlands: personal characteristics of the population and the quality of the environment people live in; more in general their subjective and material well-being and prosperity, and how they perceive these.

Subjective well-being

Compared with people in other EU countries, the Dutch are very satisfied with their lives. In 2023, 84.2 percent of the population gave their life a mark of 7 out of 10 or higher. Dutch people also experience relatively high levels of control over their own lives. Just over half of the population say they are generally in control of their life, while the rest feel they have at least an average level of control.

A large share of the Dutch population are satisfied with their housing, living environment, work, leisure time, and social life. Compared with other countries, Dutch workers express high job satisfaction, and people in the Netherlands are also relatively happy with the amount of leisure time they have, although international data are not very recent (SDG8.2). Satisfaction among the adult population with their homes is high (86.2 percent in 2023) (SDG11.1). In 2023, 85.4 percent of the population were satisfied with their living environment (SDG11.2).

Material well-being

Dutch disposable household income and individual consumption are among the highest in the EU27. Median disposable income of households is trending upwards.

Economically vulnerable groups, such as the unemployed and households with low income and little wealth, are becoming smaller in relative terms. The risk of poverty or exclusion in the Netherlands is low compared with other EU countries (SDG 1). In 2022, 16.5 percent of the population faced multiple financial constraints, were at risk of poverty, or lived in a household with little or no income from labour. Relatively fewer children live in low-income households. The percentage of low-income low-wealth households reached a record low in 2022 and is trending downwards (SDG 10.1).

Not everyone benefits from the increase in material well-being. Relative poverty shows a rising trend: in 2022, 14.5 percent of the Dutch population lived below the European poverty threshold (SDG 1). Material well-being has come under pressure in recent years. The share of households with problem debts and the number of homeless people increased in 2022-2023. Purchasing power fell for the first time in almost ten years in 2022 as a result of the sharp rise in the cost of living. The percentage of people who are very concerned about their financial future was nearly the same in 2023 as in 2022 (28.7 versus 28.6 percent), and considerably higher than in 2021 (22.5 percent) (SDG10.2).

Health

Most health indicators are stable. The trend for overweight adults is no longer increasing. Roughly half of Dutch adults are overweight. This figure has been around 50 percent for years now, and is relatively low in an international perspective: in 2019, the Netherlands ranked 5th out of 26 EU countries. Relatively few Dutch people experience serious limitations in normal day-to-day activities: 4.9 percent of the population aged 16 years and older in 2023. The percentage is decreasing.

Healthy behaviour is increasing (SDG 3). Alcohol consumption and smoking rates in the Netherlands are lower than in most other EU countries. Fewer and fewer people aged 15 years and older smoke tobacco products: in 2023, the share was down to 18.7 percent.

The percentage of people without mental health problems is trending downwards (SDG 3). In 2023, 77.5 percent of Dutch people rated their own health as good or very good. However, in 2022 and 2023, perceived health was clearly lower than in previous years (SDG 3).

Healthcare options may be limited as a result of staff shortages (SDG 3). Per capita hours worked in Dutch healthcare are among the highest in the EU and the trend is increasing. However, there are significant staff shortages: the vacancy rate in healthcare is higher than in almost all other EU countries and is increasing. Waiting times for specialist care are also increasing. In 2023, 47.5 percent of waiting times exceeded the government set Treek norm of four weeks.

Labour and leisure time

Resources and opportunities for labour market participation are substantial and growing (SDG 8.2). Compared with other EU countries, there are relatively many job vacancies for Dutch job seekers, and unemployment – including long-term unemployment – is relatively low. The vacancy rate is increasing, while unused labour potential and long-term unemployment are decreasing. In 2023, 3.6 percent of the labour force were unemployed, of whom 0.5 percent had been so for more than a year (the long-term unemployed). The percentage of employees concerned about job security is trending downwards. The Netherlands has the highest percentage within the EU of employees (33.6 percent) with a flexible employment contract, although this trend is decreasing (SDG 8.2).

More and more people are in work. Dutch net labour participation shows an increasing trend, reached its highest level ever in 2023, at 73.1 percent, and is the highest in the EU27. Net participation rates are trending higher for both men and women, and again are the highest in the EU27 (SDG 5). Dutch workers are working fewer hours per week, however (SDG 8.2): on average 26.8 hours per employed person per week in 2023, placing the Netherlands 20th among 22 EU countries.

Both job satisfaction and satisfaction with leisure time are high. The percentage of people who work and report an unsatisfactory work-life balance is also trending downwards. Work-related mental fatigue, on the other hand is increasing (SDG 8.2).

Participation in education is relatively high and growing. Fewer and fewer young people leave school prematurely, and an increasing share of adults attend some form of education or training (‘lifelong learning’) (SDG 4).

The average hourly wage in the Netherlands is high compared with other EU countries (SDG 8.2). A rising percentage of both men and women are economically independent (i.e. earn more than 70 percent of the minimum wage). Men are more likely to be economically independent, but the difference between men and women dropped from 19.7 percentage points in 2016 to 13.9 percentage points in 2022. The gender pay gap (SDG 5) is narrowing: it fell from 15.5 percentage points in 2016 to 12.1 in 2023.

Housing

It is becoming increasingly costly to rent or buy a home in the Netherlands. Rental prices, costs for buying an own home, and the ratio between asking and selling prices of properties are all trending upwards. The housing shortage is estimated at 390 thousand homes in 2023, which is five percent of the housing stock (SDG 11.1). One-fifth of young adults still live with their parents. Although this share is increasing – partly due to the tight housing market – it is much lower than in most other EU countries.

Households are spending relatively less and less of their income on housing, although this housing expense ratio is high in the Netherlands compared with other EU countries. Seven percent of households say they feel the burden of housing costs is very heavy (SDG 11.1). This percentage is decreasing and was the lowest in the EU in 2020 (before the energy crisis).

The quality of housing is generally high in the Netherlands: 85.1 percent of the Dutch population lived in a dwelling without serious defects in 2023 (SDG 11.1). In 2022, 2.9 percent of the population lived in a home with too few rooms. This percentage is very low compared with other EU countries. Overall, the Dutch are satisfied with their accommodation: 86.2 percent of adults said they were satisfied or very satisfied in 2023.

Society

Dutch society is robust. Within the EU27, the Netherlands ranks in the top three in terms of contact with friends, family, and neighbours, voice and accountability, trust in institutions, and trust in other people. Trust in other people has been showing an increasing trend for years now.

Relatively many Dutch people engage in social interactions, are members of clubs or associations, or do voluntary work. More Dutch people contact family, friends, and colleagues socially at least once a week than any other EU country, although the trend is decreasing. Four in ten people were active members of clubs and associations, the second-highest percentage in the EU27. The share of the population doing voluntary work has increased again after a dip during the COVID-19 pandemic and the trend is no longer downward. Satisfaction with social life is high: 80 percent of the population are satisfied or very satisfied, although the trend is declining.

Dutch citizens generally trust the government and institutions (SDG 16.2). More and more people trust judges and the EU. Levels of trust in judges and the House of Representatives are higher than in almost all other EU countries. However, in 2023 trust in the House of Representatives dropped to its lowest level (29.0 percent) since measurement started in 2012.

Safety

In 2023, 19.9 percent of the population aged 15 years or older reported having the being victim of non-cybercrime: violence, burglary, theft, and vandalism. This is higher than in 2021, higher than in many other EU countries, and the long-term downward trend has stopped. In spite of this, the trend in the number of registered crimes per 100 thousand inhabitants continues to decrease. The percentage of young men and women forced to perform sexual acts against their will almost doubled between 2017 and 2023: from 2 to 4 percent for boys and from 12 to 20 percent for girls (SDG 16.1).

Spending on public order and safety remains stable at 1.9 percent of GDP (SDG 16.1). The operational strength of the police (per 100 thousand inhabitants) is decreasing. The quality of the justice system is declining but is better than in most other EU countries. Trust in judges and the police is high, the latter is also high compared with other EU countries and is trending upwards. Trust in the military increased by 3.6 percentage points from 2022 to 2023, to 67.3 percent.

Environment

Air quality in the living environment is improving as a result of lower urban background concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and lower emission levels of acidifying substances (sulphur oxide, nitrogen oxide, and ammonia). More households than in other EU countries experience noise nuisance from neighbours and traffic, and this trend is increasing. A slightly larger share of the population reported refuse, pollution or other environmental problems in their immediate vicinity (14.5 percent). The trend in urban bird populations (83 monitored species) is decreasing (SDG 11.2).

The area of land managed under the Netherlands Nature Network (NNN) scheme is no longer increasing in terms of percentage of total land area. In 2022, 48,511 of the 80,000-hectare target had been realised. Surface water quality is poor (SDG 6). In 2023, only 5.7 percent of freshwater bodies protected under the Water Framework Directive scored ‘good’ in terms of biological quality, and 0.2 percent ‘sufficient’ for chemical quality.