Resilience later

A major shock could affect the well-being of future generations. A deterioration in the natural environment, the disappearance of social cohesion or a weakening economic infrastructure could render our society unable to withstand such shocks. This would make it difficult for the next generation to achieve the same level of well-being we currently enjoy.

• The share of renewable energy is increasing.
• Although Dutch society is characterised by high levels of trust compared to other EU countries, there are small tears in the social fabric.
• The median solvency of non-financial companies is trending upwards.

Resilience of well-being 'later'

Robustness of the biosphere

71.4%

of terrestrial nature areas suffer from critical load exceedance in 2023

Nitrogen deposition and terrestrial nature areas

17.4%

of total final energy consumption in 2023

20th

out of 27
in EU
in 2023

Renewable energy

Robustness of society

66.1%

of the population over 15 thinking most people can be trusted in 2024

2nd

out of 19
in EU
in 2023

Trust in other people

12.0%

of the population over 15 say they are discriminated against in 2023

18th

out of 19
in EU
in 2023

Feelings of discrimination

62.9%

of the population over 15 answered “very high“ or “fairly high“ in   2024

3rd

out of 19
in EU
in 2023

Trust in institutions

6.5

score on scale 0-10 in 2023

Social cohesion in the neighbourhood

Robustness of the economy

€ 170

per hour worked (2021 prices) in 2023

8th

out of 13
in EU
in 2023

Physical capital stock

€ 11.95

per hour worked (2021 prices) in 2023

5th

out of 14
in EU
in 2023

Knowledge capital stock

76.0%

of the population 15-74 in 2024

1st

out of 27
in EU
in 2023

Gross labour participation

37.0%

of 15-74 year-olds have succesfully completed tertiary education in 2024

7th

out of 27
in EU
in 2023

Level of education achieved: HBO, WO

58%

of total assets consists of equity in 2023

Median solvency non-financial businesses

Future generations’ well-being depends on the resources that are passed on to them by current generations. The question is whether the major systems that make our current level of well-being possible – the biosphere, society and the economy – are robust enough to absorb major internal or external shocks.

The health of our natural environment seems to be improving. Although the proportion of land nature being exposed to excess nitrogen is decreasing, it still accounts for 71.4 percent of the total. Meanwhile, the share of renewable energy in gross national energy consumption is trending upwards. This means that we are becoming less reliant on fossil fuels to meet our energy needs.

Dutch society is characterised by high levels of trust on the one hand, and small tears in the social fabric on the other. Trust in other people is increasing and was the second-highest of 19 EU countries in 2023. Trust in institutions is also relatively high, increasing by 1.7 percentage points to 62.9 percent from 2023 to 2024. In contrast, the most recent figures – for the period between 2021 and 2023 – show a decrease in social cohesion in residential neighbourhoods. Compared to other EU countries, the group of people over 15 who felt discriminated against in 2023 was relatively large, at 12 percent.

Gross labour participation, the share of people with a higher education degree and the median solvency of non-financial companies are all increasing. Moreover, gross labour participation is higher than in any other EU country. Stocks of physical and intellectual capital are stable, but although these stocks are steadily increasing in absolute terms (adjusted for inflation), the number of hours worked is rising faster. Longer-term trends for stockss of physical and intellectual capital show that the Netherlands is gradually losing its lead over other EU countries in this area.