SDG 10.1 Social cohesion and inequality

The first part of SDG 10 is about social cohesion, inclusion and equality. Social cohesion is indispensable for the proper functioning of a society. Family, neighbours, friends and clubs are the foundation on which people build their lives, providing essential help and support. People should have equal opportunities to participate in society.

• Social contact and participation in society by engaging in voluntary work and providing informal support decreased in 2025.
• Wealth inequality has been on a downward trend in the Netherlands.
• Trust in others fell in 2025.

Dashboard and indicators

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

Social relationships and participation in society are essential for well-being ‘here and now’ and ‘later’. They promote social cohesion, strengthen mutual trust and shared norms and values, and reduce the risk of poverty and social exclusion.

Resources and opportunities refer to social capital, social structures, poverty, and income and wealth inequality. Income inequality in the Netherlands is low compared to other EU countries. The 80/20 ratio expresses the proportion between the total income of households in the top income quintile and that of households in the bottom quintile. In 2024, the income of the highest income group was nearly 4.5 times higher than that of the lowest group, putting the Netherlands in fifth place in the EU-27. The Netherlands’ Gini coefficient for income inequality is also relatively low. This coefficient measures how standardised disposable income is distributed among individuals. The Gini coefficient has a value between 0 and 1: the closer it is to 0, the more evenly incomes are distributed. The Gini coefficient for the Netherlands was 0.30 in 2024. This also put the Netherlands in fifth place in the EU-27 in 2024.

Wealth inequality has been trending downwards in recent years. In 2024, the Gini coefficient was 0.73. In 2018, it was 0.79. The appreciation of owner-occupied homes contributed to a reduction in wealth inequality SDG 10.2 between households. Among the less wealthy, an owner-occupied home is often the most important asset. Among the most wealthy, other assets, whose value has risen less sharply in recent years, account for a larger proportion of net worth.

Low incomes can prevent people from participating fully in society. In 2025, 13.4 percent of the Dutch population were living below the European poverty threshold (60 percent of the median income in the Netherlands). This put the Netherlands among the leading countries in the EU ranking for this indicator (3rd out of 13 available countries). Since the European poverty threshold is a relative measure that compares incomes within the same country, it does not necessarily indicate a low standard of living in absolute terms. In SDG1, there is also on a downward trend, in poverty based on the cost of basic necessities, although after five years of decreases, poverty rose again in 2024. The proportion of people living in a poor household for three years or more is also declining, falling to 0.7 percent in 2024, which equates to approximately 131 thousand people.

Use concerns social contacts and participation in society through organisations and associations, including volunteer work. The proportion of people aged 15 and over who, at least once a week, have social contact with others, engage in volunteer work or provide informal assistance decreased slightly in 2025, while participation in associations remained the same. In 2025, 70.9 percent of people in the Netherlands saw, spoke to or messaged family members, friends or neighbours at least once a week for social reasons. This was a fall of 1.1 percentage point relative to 2024. In 2023, the proportion of people who had contact with family, friends or colleagues for social reasons was higher than in other European countries. Only Portugal reported a higher figure. The share of the Dutch population who take part in activities with an association at least once a month was 41.1 percent in 2025. In 2025, 47.0 percent of the population engaged in organised volunteer work, down from 2024, when approximately half the population did so. The share of people providing unpaid (informal) assistance to others outside their own household also fell by 2 percentage points in 2025 to 34.1 percent. Until 2024, this proportion was still increasing over time.

Outcomes relate to poverty risk, the degree of social cohesion, and exclusion and discrimination. SDG1 also shows that, compared to other EU countries, the share of the Dutch population in disadvantaged groups, at risk of poverty or living in a household with little or no work is relatively small and has fallen slightly. In 2025, this group accounted for 15.8 percent of the population, or 2.8 million people.

In 2024, 4.4 percent of self-employed people lived in a poor household. The self-employed are vulnerable with regard to social security. Unlike employed persons, they have to arrange their own disability insurance, pensions and other income insurance.

In 2025, nearly 80 percent of the adult population reported being (very) satisfied with their social life. This figure has declined since the first year that it was measured (83.5 percent in 2013). Satisfaction with social life fell in 2020 and 2021. It subsequently rose again but not to its pre-2020 level. The way people from other countries are perceived is an indicator of social cohesion and the accessibility of society. While 36.9 percent of Dutch people aged 15 and over had a positive opinion of immigrants in 2020, this had fallen to 30.5 percent in 2023. Compared to other EU countries, this percentage is neither high nor low (6th out of 19 countries in 2023).

Subjective assessment refers to people’s trust in each other, their sense of sharing norms and values, and social exclusion. Over 63 percent of the population aged 15 and over trust other people. This was a decline of nearly 3 percentage points relative to 2024. Until 2024, trust had been on an upward trend. In 2023, trust in other people was high compared to other EU countries. In that year, the Netherlands ranked second, behind Finland.

At the same time, a relatively large share of people feel discriminated against compared to other EU countries, only one in five people believe that norms and values are moving in the right direction, and fewer people feel they have control over their own lives. In 2023, 12 percent of the population aged 15 and over identified as belonging to a group that suffers from discrimination. This was approximately the same as in 2020 and the second highest percentage of the 19 EU countries for which comparison is possible. In 2025, approximately 20.7 percent of adults felt that norms and values were either stable or moving in the right direction. Of the remainder, 34.7 percent believed they were clearly moving in the wrong direction and 44.6 percent felt that negative developments slightly outweighed positive ones. Norms are specific rules of behaviour and expectations that are often based on the values and beliefs that people hold. Shared norms and values bind people together and promote social cohesion.

The freedom to take decisions about one’s own life is influenced by factors including finances, work and housing, as well as education and social environment, and as such is also highly dependent on the opportunities people have in their lives. In 2025, 47.9 percent of the Dutch population felt they had a high degree of freedom to decide how to arrange their own lives. In 2022 and 2023, the figures were higher, and just over half of the Dutch population (52.7 percent in 2022 and 52.5 percent in 2023) reported having a high degree of control. In the years before 2020, the percentage fluctuated around 48 percent, meaning that perceived control is now at the same level as before 2020.