SDG 1 No poverty

SDG 1 relates to the aim of eliminating extreme poverty by 2030. This includes providing adequate social protections, equal economic rights and increased resilience to financial shocks, particularly for the poorest and most vulnerable groups.

• Household financial resources are increasing.
• Relative poverty and the risk of poverty are low compared with other EU countries.
• In 2025, more people were worried about their financial outlook.

Dashboard and indicators

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

Resources and opportunities relate to the financial resources that people have at their disposal and the support available to them. Available financial resources are measured using income, assets and purchasing power trends. The data has been adjusted for inflation and is based on 2024 price levels.

Both mean and median standardised disposable income are trending upwards. In 2024, the mean standardised disposable income per household was 41,900 euros. The median disposable income (36,500 euros in 2024) is lower than the mean, because the latter is inflated by the highest incomes. The median is the middle value: half of all households had a lower income, while the other half had a higher income. The Netherlands is near the top of the EU rankings for both indicators (5th out of 27 in 2024).

Although median wealth is trending upwards, growth has levelled off in recent years. On 1 January 2024, the median wealth of Dutch households stood at 135,500 euros, only 200 euros higher than on 1 January 2022. Prices rose sharply over the same period, resulting in a fall in median household wealth (adjusted for inflation). The fall is also linked to the influx of Ukrainian nationals, who had few if any assets in the Netherlands upon their arrival.

In 2024, the purchasing power of the Dutch population increased by an average of 3.6 percent. This was the biggest rise in over twenty years. Purchasing power is not growing at the same pace across all income brackets. Employee households saw the biggest increase. The purchasing power of self-employed workers rose less, due to a reduction in tax breaks. Welfare households registered the smallest increase in purchasing power, in part due to the scrapping of the energy allowance. Households with children saw larger average increases than households without children.

Use concerns the use of financial resources available to people, and of various forms of support. For this category, no indicators are currently available that meet the quality criteria of this report.

Outcomes relate to people living in poverty, as well as to access to basic necessities, such as safe and affordable independent housing. After falling for five years, in 2024, poverty increased to 3.1 percent of the population based on the methodology applied in the Netherlands. The proportion of people living in a poor household for three years or more did continue to decline, to 0.7 percent. This equates to 131 thousand people. In 2024, the energy allowance was discontinued, but the rent allowance and the child budget were increased. There was also a sharp increase in collectively agreed wages and more tax breaks for workers. Nevertheless, these measures failed to prevent an increase in poverty in 2024 (from 2.7 to 3.1 percent). The proportion of minor-age children in poor families is falling, and stood at 2.8 percent in 2024 (93 thousand minor-age children). In 2018, at the start of the series of poverty figures, the proportion had been 8.7 percent. While poverty increased in the population as a whole, this was not the case for families with children, due to an increase in benefits allocated to families with children.

There are different definitions of poverty. The global lower limit of 2.15 dollars per person per day (based on 2017 prices) defined in the SDG is far too low for the Dutch context, meaning it is not relevant. A new measure of poverty was introduced in 2024 by CBS, Nibud and the Netherlands Institute for Social Research (SCP), which is aligned with the situation in the Netherlands. According to this measure, a household is considered poor if, after paying for housing, energy and healthcare, it has insufficient income and immediately disposable assets remaining to cover other basic needs. For international comparisons, the so-called European poverty threshold is commonly used, which is based on relative poverty. This European poverty threshold measures the proportion of the population at risk of poverty. It is set at 60 percent of the median income of the entire population.

Compared to other EU countries, the risk of poverty or social exclusion in the Netherlands is low. The share of the Dutch population who experience material deprivation, are at risk of poverty or live in a household with little or no work was 15.8 percent of the population in 2025 (2.8 million people). This percentage is on a slightly downward trend. The share of the population living in households with an income below 60 percent of the median disposable income in the Netherlands (i.e. who are at risk of poverty according to the European method) is not trending upwards or downwards. This share was 13.4 percent of the population in 2025. This percentage is low compared to other EU countries (3rd out of 13 countries in 2025). At 16.0 percent, the income shortfall is also low compared to other EU countries (2nd out of 13 in 2025). This indicator, which reflects the intensity of poverty, is calculated by measuring the difference between the European poverty threshold and the median income of households at risk of poverty, expressed as a percentage of the poverty threshold.

On 1 January 2025, 8.6 percent of households were registered as having a debt problem. This represents a reduction compared to a year before. In the period from 2021 to 2024, the proportion of households with a registered debt problem increased.

In January 2024, 30 out of every 10 thousand residents aged 18 to 64 were sleeping on the streets, in walk-in shelters or with family or friends. The number of homeless people has been increasing since 2022. Over 80 percent of them were male, and 32 percent were in one of the four major cities (Rotterdam, Amsterdam, The Hague or Utrecht). These figures have not changed significantly in recent years.

Perception refers to how people perceive their financial situation and whether they are worried about their financial outlook. In 2025, the share of the population with serious concerns about their financial outlook increased to 28.1 percent. This percentage had previously declined from the beginning of the measurement period in 2013 until 2021, after which it rose to a higher level in 2022 and 2023. Inflation was exceptionally high during those years. Following a dip in 2024, the percentage increased in 2025.