Resilience 'critical systems'
In order to cope with a major shock properly, certain systems are of critical importance to general well-being or specific SDGs. Critical systems are systems that are too important to fail or serve a crucial societal function that cannot fail. The government’s ability to operate effectively is especially vital when a shock affects large parts of the population.
- The Netherlands is dependent on imports for three-quarters of its energy supply, but the share of renewable energy is increasing rapidly.
- The resilience of critical systems with an essential societal function has declined.
- The capacity of the government to take effective action has declined.
Critical systems: System failure
in EU
in 2024
in EU
in 2024
Critical systems: Essential social function
in EU
in 2024
in EU
in 2023
in EU
in 2024
in EU
in 2022
Government leverage
in EU
in 2024
in EU
in 2024
in EU
in 2024
| Theme | Indicator | Value | Trend | Position in EU | Position in EU ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Critical systems: System failure | Power failure | 23 minutes without power due to blackouts per customer in 2025 | |||
| Critical systems: System failure | Dependency on energy imports | 72.9% of energy is imported in 2025 | 20th out of 27 in 2024 | Middle ranking | |
| Critical systems: System failure | Renewable energy | 20.2% of total final energy consumption in 2024 | increasing (increase well-being) | 18th out of 27 in 2024 | Middle ranking |
| Critical systems: System failure | ICT security incidents in the private sector | 7% of businesses had incidents caused by harmful intent in 2024 | decreasing (increase well-being) | ||
| Critical systems: System failure | ICT security incidents in the information and communication sector | 8% of businesses had incidents in 2023 | decreasing (increase well-being) | ||
| Critical systems: Essential social function | Common equity Tier 1 ratio | 16.1% core capital within banks total risk weighted assets in 2024 | 21st out of 27 in 2024 | Low ranking | |
| Critical systems: Essential social function | Trust in institutions | 60.6% of the population over 15 answered “very high“ or “fairly high“ in 2025 | 3rd out of 19 in 2023 | High ranking | |
| Critical systems: Essential social function | Time lost due to traffic congestion and delays | 5.63 vehicle hours lost per capita in 2024 | |||
| Critical systems: Essential social function | Job vacancy rate health and welfare | 43 vacancies per 1,000 jobs on 31 December 2025 | increasing (decrease well-being) | 25th out of 26 in 2024 | Low ranking |
| Critical systems: Essential social function | Level of water stress | 15.3% fresh water extracted from total amount of fresh water in 2024 | 15th out of 27 in 2022 | Middle ranking | |
| Government leverage | Government debt | 44.4% of gross domestic product in 2025 | decreasing (increase well-being) | 9th out of 27 in 2024 | Middle ranking |
| Government leverage | Government effectiveness | 1.75 score on a scale of -2.5 (weak) to 2.5 (strong) in 2024 | decreasing (decrease well-being) | 5th out of 27 in 2024 | High ranking |
| Government leverage | Rule of law | 1.71 score on a scale of -2.5 (weak) to 2.5 (strong) in 2024 | decreasing (decrease well-being) | 5th out of 27 in 2024 | High ranking |
Colour codes and notes to the dashboards in the Monitor of Well-being
Systems that cannot be allowed to fail include the Netherlands’ power grid and IT infrastructure. Dependence on energy imports has been around 70 percent in recent years. In 2025, the Netherlands relied on energy imports for 72.9 percent of its energy consumption. SDG7 shows that stocks in Dutch gas storage facilities (intended to cover temporary gas shortages) were relatively low in 2025, while the share of homes using little or no natural gas increased. Renewable energy has grown as a share of gross national energy consumption. In 2000, renewables accounted for less than 2 percent, but by 2018 they had risen to 7.4 percent and by 2024 to one-fifth of total final consumption. The percentage of companies experiencing ICT security incidents is decreasing. In 2024, 7 percent of all companies experienced an ICT incident instigated by malevolent actors. In 2023, 8 percent of companies in the information and communications sector faced security incidents.
Banks, institutions (specifically: the Netherlands’ police, the army, the press, the courts, civil servants, municipal councils, the Dutch House of Representatives and the EU) , traffic and transport, the water supply and healthcare all have a vital function in society and are systems that are too important to fail. In general, the shock-resilience of critical systems with an essential societal function has declined.
Trust in institutions is relatively high in the Netherlands (3rd out of 19 countries in 2023). In 2025, however, there was a decline of 2.3 percentage points compared to 2024. SDG 16.1 and SDG 16.2 show that this decline was mainly due to a sharp drop in trust in the Dutch House of Representatives. Meanwhile, trust in the judiciary is increasing, and about 8 in 10 people say they trust the police, although this figure is no longer trending upwards.
The labour shortage in the healthcare sector, which is already high compared to other EU countries, is increasing. By the end of 2025, there were 43 vacancies for every thousand jobs in healthcare. While the overall vacancy rate is no longer rising, it is still significantly higher than in other EU countries (SDG8.2). Time lost as a result of traffic congestion and delays increased between 2023 and 2024 (by 4.4 percent) to 5.63 vehicle hours lost per capita.
Compared to banks in other EU member states, banks in the Netherlands are less resilient to prolonged periods of low growth, high interest rates and high inflation levels. The Common Equity Tier 1 ratio (CET1) measures banks’ exposure to outstanding loans relative to equity. The Basel III Accord sets a minimum requirement of 4.5 percent equity relative to total risk-weighted assets. Although the Netherlands comfortably exceeded the lower limit with a CET1 ratio of 16.1 percent in 2024, it ranked behind most other EU countries (21st in the EU-27).
The government’s ability to operate effectively is vital if a shock affects large parts of the population. Government debt is trending downwards, but increased by 0.6 percent of GDP to 44.4 percent between 2024 and 2025. The effectiveness of public administration and the rule of law are both declining. Nevertheless, the quality of Dutch public institutions is high compared to other countries (5th in the EU-27 for both indicators in 2024). All in all, the government’s ability to operate effectively appears to be in decline.