Distribution of well-being: society

Society concerns social relationships and civic participation. Social networks provide support and contribute to quality of life. It is also important that everyone can participate in society, and trust other people, the government and other institutions.

The differences between population groups are measured in terms of participation in voluntary work, trust in others and trust in institutions, important aspects of social cohesion. Trust is important for people individually, but also for society as a whole. For the individual, trust contributes to an increased sense of well-being, because it is more agreeable to be surrounded by trusted people and institutions. Within society, trust tends to make people more inclined to cooperate and help others. The latter can be inferred, among other things, from higher participation in voluntary work, both an important indicator of participation and people’s welfare.

For more information on participation and trust in the Netherlands, see Schmeets (2018) and Schmeets and Exel (2020). 

  • People aged between 65 and 74, those with higher vocational or university education and people born in the Netherlands whose parents were also born in the Netherlands do more voluntary work than average. By contrast, people aged 25 to 34, people with primary education or a prevocational secondary (VMBO) qualification or people not born in the Netherlands or with at least one parent born outside Europe do less voluntary work than average.
  • Women, 15 to 24-year-olds and those aged 75 and over, people with primary education or a VMBO qualification and people born in the Netherlands with parents born outside Europe or who were themselves born outside Europe have less than average trust in other people.
  • Older people (aged 55 and over) trust institutions less than younger age groups (up to age 44). People with primary education or a prevocational secondary (VMBO), senior general secondary (HAVO), pre-university (VWO) or secondary vocational (MBO) qualification are also less likely to trust institutions than average. There are no differences in trust in institutions by origin.

Voluntary work

Situation in 2024

In 2024, 49.5 percent of the Dutch population aged 15 and over said they had done voluntary work for an organisation or association at least once during the previous year.

  • People aged between 65 and 74 do more voluntary work than average (52.9 percent). People aged between 25 and 34, by contrast, do less than average (43.2 percent).
  • At 56.4 percent, people with higher vocational or university education are more likely than average to do voluntary work. By contrast, people with a VMBO qualification or equivalent are less likely than average to do so (41.8 percent).
  • People born in the Netherlands whose parents were also born in the Netherlands are more likely than average to do voluntary work (53.4 percent). People not born in the Netherlands or whose parents were not born in the Netherlands do so less than average.

The characteristics of sex, age, educational attainment and origin are correlated. For example, the percentage of people with higher vocational or university or equivalent education is not the same in all age groups. This is accounted for by standardising the figures, correcting for the differences between groups with regard to the above characteristics. Based on standardised figures for voluntary work, the above findings remain largely valid. However, if a correction is applied for the unequal composition by sex, educational attainment and origin compared to the other age groups, 15 to 24-year-olds do slightly more voluntary work than average.

Differences between 2019 and 2024

The total proportion of people saying they did voluntary work in 2024 was nearly 3 percentage points higher than in 2019. Compared to the increase in the average proportion of people who had done voluntary work between 2019 and 2024, the proportion of people aged between 35 and 54 performing voluntary work fell in relative terms, with a fall of 2.6 percentage points among 35 to 44-year-olds and a fall of 1.8 percentage points among 45 to 54-year-olds. The proportion of those aged 75 and over who performed voluntary work rose relatively sharply (14.7 percentage points), as did the proportion of people with a VMBO or equivalent qualification (7.1 percentage points). The proportion among those with other levels of educational attainment fell, in relative terms.

Social trust

Situation in 2024

Of the Dutch population aged 15 and over in 2024, around two-thirds trusted others, with the remainder believing that you can never be too careful in your dealings with other people.

  • Women’s trust in others is slightly below average (64.7 percent), while men’s is slightly above average (67.6 percent).
  • Of the different age groups, 58.1 percent of those aged 75 and over and 60.8 percent of those aged 15 to 24 trust other people, which is less than the average. By contrast, people aged 25 to 54 are more likely than average to trust others.
  • At 82.2 percent, people with higher vocational or university education or equivalent are more likely than average to trust other people, whereas people with a VMBO or equivalent qualification are less likely than average to do so (47.2 percent).
  • People who were born in the Netherlands and whose parents were also born in the Netherlands are relatively likely to trust other people (70.2 percent). People born outside Europe, or whose parents were born outside Europe, have lower than average trust in other people.

The characteristics of sex, age, educational attainment and origin are correlated. For example, the percentage of people with higher vocational or university education is not the same in all age groups. This is accounted for by standardising the figures, correcting for the differences between groups with regard to the above characteristics. Based on standardised figures for trust in other people, the picture described above changes for a number of age groups.

After correction, we find that the age groups between 15 and 54 display average levels of trust in other people. The fact that the 15- to 24-year-olds displayed below average trust in the uncorrected figures reflects the difference in composition of this group in terms of educational attainment compared to other age groups. This group includes more people who did not complete their education and (therefore) fewer people with higher vocational or university education.

Changes between 2019 and 2024

The total proportion of people saying they trust other people was 4.3 percentage points higher in 2024 than in 2019. Compared to that change in the figure for the population as a whole, the picture was different among the following groups:

  • Those with higher vocational or university education: in this group, trust in other people has increased less than average since 2019, despite an increase of 2.2 percentage points.
  • Since 2019 there has been a relative increase of trust for people born in the Netherlands whose parents were also born in the Netherlands in terms of the proportion who trust other people, with an increase of 5.5 percentage points.
  • Among people born outside Europe, by contrast, the proportion who trust other people has fallen by 1.9 percentage points since 2019.

Trust in institutions

Situation in 2024

Trust in institutions refers to the proportion of people who trust the police, the legal system and the Dutch House of Representatives. On average, 62.9 percent of people aged 15 and over had faith in these three institutions in 2024. This is not the percentage of people who trust all three institutions, but rather the average across the three institutions. Trust in the police and the courts was highest, at 78.8 percent and 78.3 percent, respectively. Trust in the House of Representatives was markedly lower, at 31.3 percent.

  • Women trust institutions slightly less than men (62.0 percent and 63.9 percent, respectively).
  • Older people have less faith in institutions than younger people: in the age groups from 55 upwards, trust in institutions was below average. 15 to 44-year-olds, by contrast, were more likely than average to trust institutions.
  • At 69.3 percent, those with higher vocational or university education had higher-than-average trust in institutions. People with a different level of educational attainment are less likely to trust institutions.

The characteristics of sex, age, educational attainment and origin/country of birth are correlated. For example, the percentage of people with higher vocational or university or equivalent education is not the same in all age groups. This is accounted for by standardising the figures, correcting for the differences between groups with regard to the above characteristics. Based on standardised figures for trust in institutions, the correlations described above change for several age groups as follows:

  • If we correct for the unequal composition by educational attainment and origin, the differences between men and women disappear.
  • If we correct for the unequal composition by sex, educational attainment and origin in each of the age groups, we find that trust in institutions no longer deviates from the average for most age groups. Only 15- to 24-year-olds are relatively more likely to trust institutions.
  • After correction, people with a HAVO, VWO or MBO qualification are found to have average trust in institutions.

Changes between 2019 and 2024

Compared to 2019, trust in institutions remained more or less the same in 2024. Compared to the population as a whole, the picture was different among the following groups:

  • 15 to 34-year-olds developed less favourably. In this group, trust in institutions fell relatively sharply.
  • Those aged 65 and over: among this group, trust in institutions actually increased, bringing them closer to the average.
  • Trust among people with a VMBO or equivalent qualification rose in relative terms, with trust increasing by 2 percentage points. Those with higher vocational or university education saw a decrease of nearly 5 percentage points.