Well-being ‘here and now’: summary

Well-being ‘here and now’ concerns the quality of life and the living environment of the people who currently live in the Netherlands. Well-being ‘here and now’ is described in terms of eight themes; subjective well-being, material well-being, health, labour and leisure time, housing, society, safety and environment. 

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

The level of well-being ‘here and now’ is high compared with other EU countries and is generally stable or rising. Most Dutch people are satisfied with their lives and with aspects of their lives such as work, leisure time and housing. The financial resources of households are increasing. Poverty is falling and is low compared with other EU countries. However, the share of households with problem debts is rising. Due to labour market shortages, there are plenty of opportunities to work but this is not reflected in higher financial remuneration. An ever-increasing proportion of those in work are suffering from work-related mental fatigue. The number of available homes has been rising for decades. Nevertheless, there are tensions in the housing market: the housing stock is still not keeping pace with demand and there are growing concerns about the affordability of the limited number of available homes. The quality of the living environment is improving in some respects, but the number of people affected by environmental problems has never been so high and the pressure on nature remains.

Subjective well-being

Slightly less than half of the Dutch population (48.2 percent in 2024) feel they are largely in control of their own lives. Nevertheless, life satisfaction is generally high in the Netherlands. In 2024, 85.3 percent of the population rated their life with a score of 7 or over. The Netherlands occupies a high position within the EU rankings for both indicators of subjective well-being. Most Dutch people are also satisfied with their life and with aspects of them such as work, leisure time and housing.

Material well-being

The median disposable income of households and individual consumption are among the highest in the EU27, and the trend is upwards.

The proportion of economically vulnerable groups within the population, such as the unemployed and members of the workforce without a basic educational qualification, is on a downward trend. However, unemployment in 2024 was higher than in 2023. Relative poverty, based on the European poverty threshold, is stable, and low compared with other EU countries. Based on the Dutch definition of poverty, both the proportion of poor children and the proportion of long-term poor people are falling.

In 2024, 26.1 percent of the population were very concerned about their financial future. On 1 January 2024, 8.9 percent of households were registered with relevant agencies due to problem debts.

In 2023, the average purchasing power of the Dutch population increased. Lower-income households in particular benefited from the measures put in place that increased purchasing power in 2023.

Health

Dutch people lead relatively healthy lives. Compared with other EU countries, few Dutch people are overweight, they consume little alcohol and a low proportion smoke tobacco products.

In spite of their relatively healthy lifestyle, the healthy life expectancy of men is average and that of women is low compared with the rest of the EU. The healthy life expectancy of women is also low compared with that of men in the Netherlands. Women live longer than men on average, but they spend a greater share of their lives in poorer health.

The share of the Dutch population describing their health as ‘good’ or ‘very good’ was 76.6 percent in 2024. This implies that more than four million Dutch people regard their health as less than good. In 2024, 4.5 percent of the population faced serious limitations in their normal daily activities due to long-term health problems. This percentage is falling. However, the share of the population experiencing feelings of anxiety and depression is increasing.

Labour and leisure time

Due to labour market shortages, there are plenty of opportunities to work. Nowhere else in the EU is labour participation as high as it is in the Netherlands. Unemployment remained low, although it was slightly higher than in 2023. The share of the labour force affected by long-term unemployment (more than one year out of work) is also low, at 0.5 percent. Here, too, the Netherlands is doing relatively well compared with other EU countries.

The strong demand for workers is not reflected in the financial remuneration for work. Employees’ real hourly wages are among the highest in the EU, but they reached their peak in 2009, aside from the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021. The share of total earned income accounted for by remuneration from labour of employees and the self-employed is falling and the share of company profits is rising.

Three-quarters of the population were satisfied or very satisfied with the amount of free time they had in 2024. Job satisfaction is also high in the Netherlands: 78.7 percent of employees were satisfied or very satisfied in 2024. This is high compared with other EU countries. Despite this high degree of satisfaction, an increasing share of the working population are experiencing mental fatigue as a result of work. However, the proportion of people saying they are unhappy with their work-life balance is falling.

Labour market shortages are reflected in employees’ concerns about job security, which are on a downward trend. That said, the proportion of those with concerns about their jobs was slightly higher in 2024 than in 2023. The proportion of those in work who are able to take independent decisions about how they do their jobs is on an upward trend, although there was a fall in 2024.

Housing

86.7 percent of the Dutch population were satisfied or very satisfied with their housing situation in 2024. Housing is becoming more expensive all the time, but in spite of price rises, households are spending an ever-smaller proportion of their income on total living expenses. Nevertheless, compared with other EU countries, the proportion remains is high. However, the trend in perceived housing costs is improving. In 2024, seven percent of the population regarded their housing-related costs as very high. In 2023, the Netherlands had the lowest percentage for this indicator within the EU.

ABF Research estimates a 5 percent shortfall in the housing stock for 2024, equivalent to around 400,000 homes. A fifth of young adults (aged 25-29) still live in the parental home. This percentage is increasing, in part due to shortages in the housing market, but it is much lower than in most other EU countries.
The quality of homes is generally good. Since measurements began in 2005, each year more than 80 percent of residents have reported that their homes have no serious defects – such as a leaking roof, rotting window frames or damp walls, floors or foundations. However, in 2024 this proportion decreased by almost 9 percentage points compared to 2023, to 76.3 percent. 2024 was a relatively wet year, exacerbating damp problems.

Society

Dutch society is strong. The Netherlands ranks in the top 5 within the EU27 for contact with friends, family or colleagues, participation and accountability, trust in institutions and trust in other people. The trend in social trust has been rising for years. For the first time, there is a rising trend in participation and accountability.

A relatively high proportion of people have social interactions; approximately half of the population performed voluntary work and a growing percentage provided unpaid assistance to others outside their own household in their free time. Satisfaction with social life is high: nearly 80 percent of the population are satisfied or very satisfied. This percentage is lower than in the first year that life satisfaction was measured (83.5 percent in 2013), but the trend is no longer falling.

Approximately two-thirds of the population say they trust other people. This percentage is increasing. Compared with other EU countries, 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. In 2024, approximately 20 percent of adults said they felt ethical standards and moral values were either stable or moving in the right direction.

Trust in institutions (for the purposes of this summarising indicator: police, courts and the Dutch House of Representatives) increased to 62.9 percent points from 2023 to 2024, after falling for three consecutive years. 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.

Safety

In 2023, 2.2 percent of the population often felt unsafe in their own neighbourhood. This is a relatively small group, which has remained fairly constant over the years. In 2023, one in five residents said they had been victims of conventional crime, including violence, burglary, theft and vandalism. Relative mortality due to murder or manslaughter is lower in the Netherlands than in most other EU countries.

The percentage of young men and women who are sometimes forced to perform sexual acts against their will (almost) doubled between 2017 and 2023: from 2 to 4 percent in young men and from 12 to 20 percent in young women. In 2023, 15.6 percent of people aged 15 and over indicated that they had been victims of online crime.

The operational strength of the police (per 100,000 inhabitants) is declining. On the other hand, the proportion of people who have faith in the police is growing. The quality of Dutch public institutions is high compared with other EU countries. However, the perceived effectiveness of public administration is declining and the extent to which the public sector is perceived to be free from corruption is falling. On the other hand, citizens are more and more engaged.

Environment

The air quality of the living environment is improving as a result of a reduction in the urban background concentration of particulate matter (PM2.5) and of emissions of substances that cause acidification (sulphur oxide, nitrogen oxide and ammonia). Nevertheless, the percentage of the population (aged 16 and over) affected by pollution and contamination or other environmental problems reached a record high in 2024 (17.4 percent). Compared with other EU countries, a large proportion of households suffered from noise caused by neighbours and traffic. Moreover, this proportion is increasing over time.

The share of the total land area covered by the Netherlands Nature Network (NNN) has been growing, albeit very gradually since 2017. The number of birds in urban locations is falling. The same is true for populations of farmland birds and Dutch land fauna. The quality of surface water is low. Of the freshwater surface water protected by the Water Framework Directive (WFD), in 2024 only 5.1 percent was of good biological quality and 0.0 percent was of sufficient chemical quality. Biodiversity which is dependent on fresh surface water is increasing, however.