Well-being here and now: summary
| Theme | Indicator | Position in the European Union | Position in EU ranking | Trend (2018-2025) | Most recent (average) mutation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subjective well-being | Satisfaction with life | 2023: 1st out of 19 | High | No change | No change (2024-2025) |
| Subjective well-being | Feeling in control of own life | 2017: 3rd out of 27 | High | No change | No change (2024-2025) |
| Material well-being | Median disposable income | 2024: 5th out of 27 | High | Increase well-being | No change (2023-2024) |
| Material well-being | Individual consumption | 2025: 4th out of 27 | High | Increase well-being | Increase well-being (2024-2025) |
| Health | Healthy life expectancy of men | 2023: 17th out of 26 | Middle | No change | No change (2024-2025) |
| Health | Healthy life expectancy of women | 2023: 23rd out of 26 | Low | No change | No change (2024-2025) |
| Health | Overweight adult population | 2019: 5th out of 26 | High | No change | No change (2024-2025) |
| Labour and leisure time | Long-term unemployment | 2025: 1st out of 27 | High | Increase well-being | No change (2024-2025) |
| Labour and leisure time | Net labour participation | 2024: 1st out of 27 | High | Increase well-being | No change (2024-2025) |
| Labour and leisure time | Level of education achieved: HBO, university | 2024: 7th out of 27 | High | Increase well-being | Increase well-being (2024-2025) |
| Labour and leisure time | Satisfaction with leisure time | 2022: 6th out of 26 | High | No change | No change (2024-2025) |
| Labour and leisure time | Time lost due to traffic congestion and delays | Insufficient data (quality) | No data | No change | Decrease well-being (2023-2024) |
| Labour and leisure time | Satisfaction with work (employed) | 2017: 7th out of 27 | High | No change | No change (2024-2025) |
| Housing | Median housing costs (rented and own homes) | 2024: 21st out of 27 | Low | Increase well-being | No change (2023-2024) |
| Housing | Young adults (25-29 years) living with parents | 2025: 3rd out of 13 | High | Decrease well-being | No change (2024-2025) |
| Housing | Satisfaction with housing | 2017: 8th out of 27 | Middle | No change | No change (2024-2025) |
| Society | Contact with family, friends or neighbours | 2023: 2nd out of 19 | High | No change | Decrease well-being (2024-2025) |
| Society | Voice and accountability | 2024: 5th out of 27 | High | No change | No change (2023-2024) |
| Society | Trust in institutions | 2023: 3rd out of 19 | High | No change | Decrease well-being (2024-2025) |
| Society | Trust in other people | 2023: 2nd out of 19 | High | No change | Decrease well-being (2024-2025) |
| Society | Changes in values and norms | Insufficient data (quality) | No data | No change | No change (2024-2025) |
| Society | Voluntary work | Insufficient data (quality) | No data | No change | Decrease well-being (2024-2025) |
| Safety | Often feeling unsafe in the neighbourhood | Insufficient data (quality) | No data | Decrease well-being | No change (2023-2025) |
| Safety | Victims of crime | 2023: 13th out of 19 | Middle | No change | No change (2023-2025) |
| Environment | Managed natural assets (terrestrial) within NNN | Insufficient data (quality) | No data | Increase well-being | No change (2023-2024) |
| Environment | Quality of inland bathing waters | 2024: 16th out of 25 | Middle | Decrease well-being | No change (2024-2025) |
| Environment | Nitrogen deposition and terrestrial nature areas | Insufficient data (quality) | No data | Increase well-being | No change (2022-2023) |
| Environment | Urban exposure to particulate matter (PM2.5) | 2024: 10th out of 27 | Middle | Increase well-being | No change (2023-2024) |
| Environment | Environmental problems | 2023: 19th out of 27 | Middle | No change | Increase well-being (2024-2025) |
Well-being ‘here and now’ concerns the quality of life and the living environment of the people who currently live in the Netherlands. Well-being ‘here and now’ is described in terms of eight themes; subjective well-being, material well-being, health, labour and leisure time, housing, society, safety and environment.
Colour codes and notes to the dashboards in the Monitor of Well-being
The level of well-being ‘here and now’ in the Netherlands is high compared with other EU countries, and remains stable or is increasing in most cases. Most Dutch people are satisfied with their lives and with aspects of their lives such as work, leisure time and housing. However, the figures for 2025 do show a decline in trust in other people and institutions, with fewer people doing volunteer work or providing informal assistance. Households’ financial resources are increasing and few people live in poverty compared to other EU countries. Although there are plenty of opportunities to work, this has not led to higher real-terms wages for some time. An ever-increasing proportion of those in work are suffering from work-related mental fatigue. The housing stock is growing, but demand continues to outpace supply and more young adults are still living with their parents than in previous years. The quality of the living environment is improving in some respects, but pressures on nature remain.
Subjective well-being
Life satisfaction is generally high in the Netherlands. In 2025, 84.9 percent of Dutch people rated their own life a 7 or higher. In 2023, the Netherlands recorded the highest level of life satisfaction in the EU. Most people in the Netherlands are also satisfied with specific aspects of their lives, such as their home, work and social life. Even so, more than two million people rate their life a 6 or lower, and fewer than half of the population feel that they have a high level of control over their lives.
Material well-being
The median disposable income of households and individual consumption are among the highest in the EU-27 and continue to trend upwards.
On average, households are well able to support themselves in the event of a shock. According to the Dutch definition of poverty, both the proportion of children living in poverty and the proportion of the population living in long-term poverty are decreasing. In 2024, the median purchasing power of the Dutch population increased by 3.6 percent, the largest rise in over twenty years. Nevertheless, more people were concerned about their financial future in 2025 than in 2024.
Health
Men’s healthy life expectancy is neither high nor low compared to the rest of the EU, but women’s healthy life expectancy is relatively low. The healthy life expectancy of women is also lower than that of men in the Netherlands. Women live longer than men on average, but they spend a greater share of their lives in poorer health.
In 2025, nearly 77 percent of the Dutch population described their health as good or very good. This means that more than four million Dutch people regard their health as less than good. In 2025, 4.5 percent of the population faced serious limitations in their daily functioning due to long-term health problems. This percentage is no longer falling. The share of the population experiencing feelings of anxiety and depression has stabilised.
Labour and leisure time
Staff shortages mean that there are plenty of opportunities to work, even though the tension in the labour market is no longer increasing. The Netherlands’ vacancy rate was the highest in the EU in 2024 (1st out of 17 countries), but declined in 2025. For years, the Netherlands has had the highest net labour participation rate in the EU-27. Long-term unemployment (one year or more) is trending downwards and remains the lowest in the EU-27. Although most people are satisfied with their jobs, an increasing share of the working population are experiencing mental fatigue as a result of work. Meanwhile, the proportion of people who are worried about losing their job increased in 2025. In the medium term, however, workers’ concerns about job security are diminishing. The remuneration that workers receive for work has remained stable in recent years. Adjusted for inflation, the real hourly wages of workers in 2024 were among the highest in the EU-27, but they have not increased since 2009 in real terms.
In terms of participation in various forms of education, the picture is stable: over 96 percent of children from the age of 4 participate in pre-school education, over 7 percent of young adults leave education early, and over 23 percent of Dutch people aged 25 to 74 were attending some form of education in 2024 in the four weeks prior to being surveyed.
Housing
The majority of Dutch adults (86.5 percent in 2025) are satisfied with their home. This means that 13.5 percent were dissatisfied or not fully satisfied. In 2024, 30 out of every 10 thousand people aged 18 to 64 had no housing. The tightness in the housing market makes it difficult to find affordable accommodation. While the housing stock is growing, demand continues to outpace supply: ABF Research estimates that the housing shortage in 2025 was almost 400 thousand homes, equating to 4.8 percent of the housing stock. Buying or renting a home is becoming increasingly expensive. This makes it difficult for young adults entering the housing market to find a place to live, as reflected by the growing proportion of people aged 25 to 29 still living with their parents. This share is still low compared to other EU countries, however.
Housing is becoming more affordable for those who already have it, and households are spending an increasingly small proportion of their income on total housing costs. People in the Netherlands are generally satisfied with their living environment: it is getting cleaner and noise pollution from neighbours or traffic is no longer increasing.
Society
Social contacts and participation in society through volunteer work and informal assistance decreased in 2025. The proportion of people (aged 15 and over) who do volunteer work at least once a week decreased to 47 percent. The proportion of people providing unpaid (informal) assistance to others fell to 34.1 percent in 2025; until 2024, this figure had been trending upwards.
Trust in other people and institutions declined in 2025. Over 63 percent of the population aged 15 and over trusted other people, down from 66 percent in 2024. This decline marks the end of an upward trend.
Between 2024 and 2025, trust in institutions (police, the judiciary and the House of Representatives) decreased to 60.6 percent. Compared to other EU countries, the quality of public institutions is high in the Netherlands. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of public administration and the perceived integrity of the public sector are declining.
Safety
In 2025, 2.5 percent of people in the Netherlands often felt unsafe in their own neighbourhood. This group represents a relatively small but growing proportion of the population. One in five people reported having been a victim of a ‘traditional’ form of crime, such as violence, burglary, theft or vandalism. An increasing percentage of all suspects were minors in 2025. This share was already high compared to other EU countries in 2023. Cases of murder or manslaughter, on the other hand, are lower in the Netherlands than in most other EU-27 countries.
The number of police officers per 100 thousand people is trending downwards, although it did tick up in 2024 compared to 2023. Trust in the police was relatively high compared to other EU countries in 2023, and remained stable in 2025. Trust in the judiciary is also relatively high.
Environment
The air quality in living environments is improving as a result of a reduction in urban background concentrations of particulate matter (PM2.5) and emissions of substances that cause acidification (sulphur oxide, nitrogen oxide and ammonia). Despite a very gradual decline, the nitrogen limit is still exceeded in almost 70 percent of terrestrial nature. In recent years, the percentage of the population (aged 16 and over) affected by dirt and pollution or other environmental problems has declined somewhat following a significant increase, falling to 15.9 percent in 2025. This figure remains relatively high compared to previous years.
The total area of managed nature reserves has been growing, albeit very gradually since 2017. However, the amount of green-blue space per capita (which excluded land used for regular agriculture) is decreasing, as is biodiversity in most cases. Populations of urban birds, farmland birds and Dutch terrestrial fauna are all trending downwards. Only among species living in freshwater and marshlands do growing populations outnumber declining ones, even though the chemical and biological quality of natural water is insufficient almost everywhere. The water quality of inland waters is also trending downwards for the first time: 72.6 percent of these waters were classified as ‘excellent’ in 2018, compared to 70.4 percent in 2025.