Young people more negative about crime, population density and mentality

© CBS
In 2024, young adults in the Netherlands were more likely to have negative views on crime, the size of the population and the mentality of people than they had in 2018. Students attending university or HBO (higher professional education) were the most likely to indicate that environmental pollution is a major problem, while young people in secondary education or MBO (secondary vocational education) were most likely to indicate that crime is a problem. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports this on the basis of the 2025 annual report of the National Youth Monitor.
In 2024, crime and environmental pollution were seen as major problems to 49 percent by young people aged 18 to 24, while 43 percent mentioned the size of the population and people's mentality. Young adults are more negative about these societal issues than they were in 2018: the population of the Netherlands is now more than twice as likely to be seen as a problem. Opinions about environmental pollution have hardly changed since 2018.


In 2018, people aged 18 to 24 were more positive about all these issues than people aged 25 and over. Only on the subject of the population of the Netherlands has that difference disappeared: young adults are now just as negative about this as people aged 25 and over.

Students in higher education most likely to see environmental pollution as a big problem

Young adults who are in or have completed university or HBO are more likely to consider environmental pollution and the mentality of people as major problems than young adults in other forms of education. Young adults in secondary education or MBO (secondary vocational education) are most likely to indicate that crime is a major problem.


Six in ten young adults rate their personal well-being as high

According to the National Youth Monitor, 61 percent of young adults rated their personal well-being as high in 2024. This was almost the same as in 2023, but still lower than 2019, the year before the coronavirus pandemic (69 percent). Young adults are less positive about their social life, safety, financial outlook and have less trust in institutions. Little has changed in terms of education or occupation and neighbourhood.


Young adults in secondary education or MBO are less likely to rate their personal well-being as high than those in university or HBO. They are less likely to trust institutions, have lower expectations about their financial outlook and are less satisfied with their job or educational opportunities and their neighbourhood.

In 2019, young adults were more likely to rate their personal well-being as high than those aged 25 and over, but that has since changed. In 2024, young adults aged 25 and over are more likely to rate their personal well-being as high than they did before the pandemic.

Other research also shows a more negative picture

The shift in personal well-being and views on societal issues is consistent with the results of the Monitor of Well-being 2025, a study in which Statistics Netherlands (CBS) looks at how people perceive their own life and the quality of their living environment. This shows that people aged under 25 tend to be less positive about several aspects of well-being than they were in 2019. They are more likely to report being victims of crime, are less likely to be satisfied with their lives and leisure time, are more likely to experience environmental problems in their neighbourhood, and are less likely to trust institutions.

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