Well-being ‘here and now’: society
Society concerns social relations and civic participation. Social networks provide support and contribute to quality of life. A society in which everyone can participate and in which people can trust one another and trust the government and other institutions is also important.
- Trust in institutions is back to its pre-pandemic level.
- Approximately two-thirds of the population say they trust other people. This percentage is rising and high compared with other EU countries.
- Compared with other EU countries, a relatively high proportion of people feel discriminated against.
- One in five people feel that ethical standards and moral values are moving in the right direction, or at least remaining the same.
Society
in EU
in 2023
in EU
in 2023
in EU
in 2023
in EU
in 2023
| Theme | Indicator | Value | Trend | Position in EU | Position in EU ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Society | Contact with family, friends or neighbours | 72.0% have contact for social reasons at least once a week in 2024 | 2nd out of 19 in 2023 | High ranking | |
| Society | Voice and accountability | 1.56 score on a scale of -2.5 (weak) to 2.5 (strong) in 2023 | increasing (increase well-being) | 5th out of 27 in 2023 | High ranking |
| Society | Trust in institutions | 62.9% of the population over 15 answered “very high“ or “fairly high“ in 2024 | 3rd out of 19 in 2023 | High ranking | |
| Society | Trust in other people | 66.1% of the population over 15 thinking most people can be trusted in 2024 | increasing (increase well-being) | 2nd out of 19 in 2023 | High ranking |
| Society | Changes in values and norms | 20.2% of the population over 18 say norms and values are the same or better in 2024 | |||
| Society | Voluntary work | 49.5% of the population over 15 do organised voluntary work in 2024 |
Colour codes and notes to the dashboards in the Monitor of Well-being
The proportion of the population that meets family, friends or neighbours at least once a week is no longer falling – the figure for 2024 was 72 percent of the population. Only in Portugal did a larger share of people have contact (with family, friends or colleagues) for social reasons. SDG 10.1 Sociale samenhang en ongelijkheid also shows that satisfaction with social life is high: nearly 80 percent of the population are satisfied or very satisfied. This percentage is lower than when life satisfaction was first measured (83.5 percent in 2013), but the trend is no longer declining.
Approximately half of the population performed organised voluntary work in 2024, and a growing percentage of the population (aged 15 and above) provided unpaid informal assistance to others outside their own households in their free time. There is a trade-off between time devoted to work and the free time people have to engage in other activities. In 2024, 7.2 percent of people in work said they did not have a good work-life balance. There is not a single EU country where this group is as small as it is in the Netherlands and the trend is downwards. In spite of the high net labour participation rate, the actual number of hours worked per week here is one of the lowest in the EU.
A result of higher rates of social participation is that people trust each other and important institutions, including the government, more. Approximately two-thirds of the population aged 15 and over say they trust other people. This percentage is rising and high compared with other EU countries. In 2023, the Netherlands was in second place, after Finland. One-third of the Dutch population have a lower level of trust in other people. In addition, a relatively high proportion of people feel discriminated against. In 2023, 12 percent of the population aged 15 years and over regarded themselves as belonging to a group that is subject to discrimination. That is approximately the same as in 2020 and the second highest percentage of the 19 EU countries for which comparison is possible. Shared ethical standards and moral values promote social cohesion and act as glue within society. In 2024, approximately 20 percent of adults said they felt ethical standards and moral values were either stable or moving in the right direction. Of the remainder, 35 percent felt they were clearly moving in the wrong direction and 44 percent that they were moving somewhat in the wrong direction.
Trust in institutions (for the purposes of this summarising indicator: police, courts and the Dutch House of Representatives) increased to 62.9 percent from 2023 to 2024. During the years of the pandemic, there were significant fluctuations in trust in institutions. In the first years of the pandemic, trust was exceptionally high. In 2023, the level stabilised, but it was lower than before the emergence of the coronavirus. The increase in 2024 brings trust in institutions back to its pre-pandemic level. SDG 16.2 Vrede, justitie en sterke publieke diensten: instituties examines aspects of the various institutions in detail. The extent to which citizens of a country are able to exert influence on the composition of its government and the extent to which freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and association and freedom of the press exist is increasing again. Compared with other EU countries, the extent of participation and accountability is high.