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), Schmeets and Exel (2020) and Schmeets (2026).

• People at or above retirement age are the most likely to do voluntary work. Migrants are the least likely.
• Those who have completed higher education have the most trust in other people by far. They also have above-average trust in institutions. People born outside Europe have the lowest level of trust in other people, but above-average trust in institutions. People whose highest level of educational attainment is primary or secondary education are less likely to trust other people and institutions.

Volunteer work

In 2025, 47 percent of the Dutch population aged 15 and over said they had done volunteer work for an organisation or association at least once during the previous year. This figure has not changed significantly since 2019.

While there are no significant differences between men and women when it comes to volunteer work, the proportion of men who volunteered did rise slightly between 2019 and 2025, increasing by 1.9 percentage points.

People aged 65 to 74 are more likely than average to do volunteer work (54.7 percent), as are those aged 35 to 44 (52.5 percent). People aged between 25 and 34, by contrast, do less volunteer work than average (38.7 percent). The same is true for those aged 75 and over (43.2 percent). However, allowing for the fact that the composition of age groups differs by sex, education level and origin, the proportion of volunteers among the over-75s does not deviate from the average.

Since 2019, the trend among people aged 65 and over has been more favourable than average. Compared to 2019, there was an increase of 7 percentage points among those aged 65 to 74, and an increase of 11.5 percentage points among those aged 75 and over. The trend for other age groups was relatively unfavourable since 2019. There was a drop of 3.6 percentage points for 25 to 34-year-olds, and a drop of 4.6 percentage points for 45 to 54-year-olds.

At 55.3 percent, higher education graduates were more likely than average to do volunteer work. People who have only completed primary education or prevocational secondary education (VMBO), on the other hand, are less likely than average to do volunteer work (39 percent). However, the trend for this group was relatively favourable, with an increase of 4.3 percentage points between 2019 and 2025. Among those with a secondary education diploma, the proportion of people doing volunteer work was slightly less favourable than average, with a decrease of 2 percentage points compared to 2019.

People born in the Netherlands and whose parents were also born in the Netherlands are more likely than average to do volunteer work, at 50.9 percent. Meanwhile, first and second-generation migrants from outside Europe are less likely than average to do so. The latter group, however, does not deviate from the average after standardisation.

Social trust

Of the Dutch population aged 15 and over in 2025, 63.3 percent trusted others, with the remainder believing that you can never be too careful in your dealings with other people. The proportion of people who said they trusted others did not change significantly between 2019 and 2025.

Women’s trust in others is slightly below average (61.7 percent), while men’s is slightly above average (65 percent).

Both over-75s (58.3 percent) and young people aged 15 to 24 (59.8 percent) have below-average trust in other people. After standardisation, however, these age groups do not differ from the average. Those between the ages of 25 and 34, on the other hand, have below-average trust in others after standardisation (before standardisation, the level of trust among this group was average). Compared to 2019, trust in others fell among the 35-44 age group, with a decline of 4.5 percentage points. Among people aged 65 and over, trust increased by 9 percentage points among those aged 65 to 74 and by 6.7 percentage points among those aged 75 and over.

At 81.4 percent, people with a higher education degree or equivalent have above-average trust in others. By contrast, people with a VMBO diploma or equivalent (43.8 percent) and those with a HAVO, VWO or MBO diploma (60.4 percent) have below-average trust in others.

A relatively high proportion of people of Dutch origin are likely to trust other people (68.4 percent), while first and second-generation migrants with origins outside Europe report lower levels of trust.

Among people of Dutch origin and second-generation migrants of European origin, trust in others has risen since 2019, by 3.7 and 10.7 percentage points, respectively. Among non-European migrants, the proportion of people who trust others has fallen by 7.4 percentage points since 2019.

Trust in institutions

Trust in institutions refers to the proportion of people who trust the police, the judiciary and the Dutch House of Representatives. In 2025, 60.6 percent of people aged 15 and over had faith in these three institutions. This is not the percentage of people who trust all three institutions, but rather the average across the three institutions. The highest levels of trust were in the police and the judiciary, at 78.4 percent and 78.2 percent, respectively. Trust in the House of Representatives was markedly lower, at 24.6 percent. Compared to 2019, trust in the police, the judiciary and the House of Representatives fell by 2.5 percentage points.

Women’s trust in institutions is slightly above average (61.9 percent), while men’s is slightly below average (59.4 percent). Compared to 2019, men’s trust in institutions fell by more than the average, at 3.7 percentage points. Women’s trust showed a below-average decline, falling by 1.1 percentage points.

Older people have less faith in institutions than younger people: in the age groups from 65 upwards, trust in institutions was below average. Meanwhile, people aged below 35 had higher than average trust in institutions, while those aged 35-44 reported average levels of trust. Although 15 to 44-year-olds report average to above-average trust in institutions, trust in this age group fell relatively sharply between 2019 and 2025. Among people aged 55 and over, trust in institutions actually increased in this period. Nevertheless, among those aged 65 and over, institutional trust remained below average in 2025. This is due to the uneven composition of age groups in terms of sex, educational attainment and origin. After standardisation, trust in institutions no longer deviates from the average for most age groups. Only 15 to 24-year-olds are still more likely to trust institutions after standardisation.

At 67.7 percent, those who have completed higher education had higher than average trust in institutions. People with a different level of educational attainment are less likely to trust institutions. Trust among people with a VMBO diploma or equivalent qualification has increased in relative terms since 2019, rising by 0.7 percentage points. Among higher education graduates, on the other hand, there was a decrease of 6.4 percentage points.

At 54.5 percent, second-generation migrants with origins outside Europe have below-average trust in institutions. In 2019, institutional trust among this group was average, but by 2025 it had fallen sharply by 8.2 percentage points. Groups with other backgrounds reported average levels of institutional trust in 2025. After standardisation, however, migrants from outside Europe have significantly higher than average trust in institutions. Since 2019, trust among second-generation migrants from Europe has increased by 4.9 percentage points.