Distribution of well-being
The previous chapter outlined well-being for the Netherlands as a whole. That picture is based largely on totals and averages of the Dutch population. Groups in the Netherlands with higher or lower well-being are not visible in the figures. This chapter therefore looks in Section 3.3 at the distribution of well-being between population groups. Section 3.4 then describes the extent to which individuals in the different population groups experience an accumulation of favourable or unfavourable outcomes in relation to aspects of well-being.
Colour codes
The Monitor uses colours to clarify the outcomes of the various indicators. For each indicator, Section 3.3 of this chapter examines whether population groups deviate from the national average. In the case of men and women, however, the section looks at whether there are differences between the two groups.
For indicators based on surveys, it checks whether the deviation is statistically significant (p<0.05). The indicator for material well-being is based on comprehensive data and examines whether a population group deviates from the average by more than 5 percent.
| The meanings of the colours are as follows: |
| GREEN |
| The relevant population group has higher than average well-being in this area. |
| GREY |
| The relevant population group has no statistically significant deviation from the average. |
| RED |
| The relevant population group has lower than average well-being in this area. |
The colour codes only serve as signals and they are expressly not a normative interpretation. The Monitor indicates where different population groups in the Netherlands actually stand in relation to the various aspects of well-being and whether there are differences in well-being between groups. It is the task of political decision-makers and policy-makers to consider actions and draw conclusions on policy based on this information.
3.1Selecting the themes and indicators
This chapter describes the distribution of well-being ‘here and now’ among population groups. The indicators used are in table 3.1.1. Distribution data are not available for all indicators from the ‘here and now’ dashboard. Neither does every indicator lend itself to distribution; an indicator such as biodiversity, for example, cannot be attributed to individuals. For this reason, on a few points there is divergence from the ‘here and now’ dashboard. See the explanatory notes to this Monitor for more information on this (CBS, 2020a).
In this chapter, different population groups are distinguished on the basis of a number of personal characteristics: sex, age, highest completed education level (low, medium and highnoot1) and migration backgroundnoot2 (Dutch, western or non-western). These are of course not the only characteristics that are decisive for the degree to which people have a high or a low level of well-being.
3.1.1Indicators for distribution of well-being
| Theme 'here and now’ | Indicator for distribution |
|---|---|
| Well-being | Satisfaction with life |
| Personal well-being | |
| Material well-being | Standardised disposable income |
| Health | Perceived health |
| Overweight population | |
| Labour and leisure time | Highest completed level of education |
| Net labour participation | |
| Long-term unemployment | |
| Satisfaction with work | |
| Satisfaction with commuter travelling time | |
| Satisfaction with leisure time | |
| Housing | Quality of housing |
| Satisfaction with housing | |
| Society | Contact with family, friends and neighbours |
| Voluntary work | |
| Trust in other people | |
| Trust in institutions | |
| Safety | Victims of crime |
| Feeling unsafe in the neighbourhood | |
| The environment | Experiences pollution in own neighbourhood |
3.2Summary overview
This chapter describes how well-being ‘here and now’ is distributed over various population groups. Are there groups that differ widely regarding well-being? Figure 3.2.1 provides an overview of the distribution of well-being by population group, as it is described extensively for the 20 indicators in Section 3.3. The figure shows where the relevant group has, on average, higher (green) or lower (red) well-being than the national average.noot3
This chapter also examines (Section 3.4) whether people from specific groups experience an accumulation of favourable or unfavourable outcomes: to what extent are there accumulations of several favourable or unfavourable results affecting the same people?
These are the most important conclusions:
- Well-being is most strongly connected with education level and migration background.
- The group with a low education level scores lower than average on a relatively large number of indicators. The exact opposite is true of the highly educated group, which has above-average scores for well-being on many indicators. Those with a medium education level are between the two other groups. At an individual level, this pattern is confirmed within the education levels. More than one-third of the lower educated experience an accumulation of unfavourable outcomes, while very few in this group (3.2 percent) are at the top of the distribution with an accumulation of favourable outcomes. Of the highly educated, nearly half are at the top of the distribution and an accumulation of unfavourable outcomes is rare. If we look at the top of the distribution, we are therefore fairly likely to encounter a highly educated individual, while at the bottom, this is more likely to be a person with a low education level.
- The population group with a native Dutch background has an above-average score for
18 of the 20 indicators, indicating higher well-being, while the group of people with
a migration background, in contrast, frequently scores below the average. This is
true to a slightly higher degree for the group with a non-western migration background
than for the people with a western migration background.
At an individual level, the picture within the groups with different migration backgrounds is more nuanced. Although the accumulation of negative outcomes is more common for people with a migration background than for those with a native Dutch background, the difference is more limited than could be expected on the basis of the group results of the individual indicators. The accumulation of unfavourable outcomes occurs more often for people with a non-western migration background than for people with a western migration background. - The differences in well-being according to age are smaller than differences according to education level and migration background. In most age categories, the numbers of favourable and unfavourable outcomes are virtually balanced. However, the group of 35 to 44‑year-olds has two favourable outcomes more than unfavourable ones. The reverse is true for the group of 55 to 64‑year-olds. At the individual level, the accumulation of favourable outcomes is somewhat more common for people under 55 years. It is 65 to 74‑year-olds who most often experience an accumulation of unfavourable outcomes.
- There is virtually no difference in well-being between men and women. This is particularly the case at group level, where both sexes have equal numbers of favourable and unfavourable outcomes. However, there are minor differences at the individual level. Men experience an accumulation of favourable outcomes slightly more often than women, and an accumulation of unfavourable outcomes slightly less often.
The difference in the accumulation of favourable or unfavourable outcomes is greatest between the low-educated and the highly educated. This is also the case if the connections between the personal characteristics are included and an adjustment is made, for example, for the lower average age of the highly educated. After the education level, age is the most decisive factor, followed by migration background and, lastly, sex.
Sex
Age
Highest completed level of education
Migration background
3.3Well-being by population groups
Well-being
Subjective well-being is an important aspect of well-being in a broader sense, because it is closely interwoven with quality of life (Diener and Suh, 1997). Information on people’s well-being provides an understanding of how they value their own lives, independently of objective measures such as income level or position in the labour market. Subjective well-being in the adult Dutch population has changed little over the past two decades. Since the late 1990s, a large majority of adults have reported being happy and satisfied with their lives (Van Beuningen and Moonen, 2019).
This section on subjective well-being addresses satisfaction with life and personal well-being. For further information on the well-being of the Dutch population, see CBS (2020b).
Satisfaction with life
In 2019, 87.3 percent of adults in the Netherlands said that they were satisfied with their lives; 10.3 percent were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied; and a relatively small group of 2.4 percent were dissatisfied with life.noot4
- People aged 25 to 34 years are less likely to be satisfied with life than the Dutch population as a whole. Of this group, 85.4 percent say that they are satisfied. In contrast, the share of 65 to 74‑year-olds who are satisfied with life is higher than average at 90.0 percent.
- At 84.0 percent, people with a low education level are less likely than average to be satisfied with life. They are also less likely to be satisfied when compared with the highly educated. People with a medium education do not diverge from the average, but the share of this group who are satisfied with life is smaller than for the highly educated. The proportion of highly educated people satisfied with life is higher than the average, at 90.3 percent.
- With a score of 88.5 percent, people with a native Dutch background are more likely than average to be positive about life. They also have a higher score compared with people with a western or non-western migration background. At 81.3 percent, fewer people with a non-western migration background are satisfied with life than the average.
How many people are satisfied with life?
Sex
Age
Highest completed level of education
Migration background
Personal well-being
The Personal Well-being Index (PWI) is a summarising measure for the well-being of people in various areas of life, in which 12 indicators belonging to eight relevant areas of life are combined into a single figure. Indicators include, among other things, people’s assessments of their health, their financial situation and their living environment (Van Beuningen et al., 2015).noot5 The PWI has a score of 1 to 10. People with a score of 7 or more have high personal well-being.
In 2019, 64.7 percent of the adult population had high personal well-being, 2.8 percent had low personal well-being (score of 1 to 5), and 32.5 percent were between those two groups.
- Among men, the share with high personal well-being, at 67.6 percent, is higher than among women, with 61.9 percent. This is specifically because, in general, women feel unsafe more often than men.
- The share of 18 to 34‑year-olds with high personal well-being is higher than average. Among people aged 45 to 64 years, this percentage is lower than average. The other age categories do not deviate from the average. Age categories mainly differ in the areas of satisfaction with health and trust in institutions, with younger age categories more likely to be positive about these aspects than 45 to 64‑year-olds.
- A larger than average percentage of highly educated people have high personal well-being and this percentage is also higher than for people with a medium or low level of education. People with a medium education, but especially those with a low education level, are below average as regards personal well-being. This pattern is the same for all parts of the PWI, except for people’s satisfaction with their social life. Major differences can principally be seen in relation to satisfaction with educational opportunities, worries about the financial future and trust in institutions.
- A larger than average share of people with a native Dutch background have high personal well-being and the share is also larger than for people with a migration background. People with a western migration background and – in particular – people with a non-western migration background are less likely than average to have high personal well-being. On average, people with a non-western migration background give a lower valuation for most areas of their lives than people with a native Dutch background. However, this is not true of the extent to which they trust the House of Representatives and judges.
How many people have high personal well-being?
Sex
Age
Highest completed level of education
Migration background
Material well-being
People’s financial situation is important for many aspects of their lives. A higher level of well-being provides more opportunities and choices, for example in housing, social activities and health. In addition, a good financial position ensures greater security. The median standardised disposable income is used here as the indicator for material well-being.noot6 This is a good measure for comparing the levels of well-being of households, because this income figure is adjusted for differences in the size and composition of households. Material well-being is a broader concept than just income. In regular CBS statistics, material well-being is represented by a household’s income, expenditure and capital. The combination of income and capital is additionally used in some cases. See CBS (2019a; 2019b) for more detailed information on the financial situation of households in the Netherlands.
Standardised disposable income
In 2018, the median income of households in the Netherlands was 26,500 euros.noot7 Average income was higher, at 29,500 euros. The arithmetic average is higher than the median, because incomes at the top of the range pull the average upwards. In order to limit the influence of those high incomes, the median income will be used below.
- Income is clearly related to the age of the main breadwinner of the household. Younger households usually have less disposable income, as the adults are still at the beginning of their careers. Median incomes subsequently rise for a time with age. Households with a main breadwinner aged 35 to 64 years have a higher than average disposable income. After people reach the pensionable age, their income declines somewhat, to something over 21,000 euros for households aged 75 years and over.
- The highest completed level of education is also clearly related to income. The better educated the main breadwinner in a household, the higher the median income. This income ranges from something over 20,000 euros among people with a low education level to more than 34,000 among the highly educated. The income of people with a medium education level is between the two extremes.
- The median income of households with a non-western main breadwinner is relatively low, at nearly 19,000 euros. This is partly related to the fact that people with a non-western migration background relatively often have a low education level. Main breadwinners with a western migration background, with their households, have a median disposable income of nearly 25,000 euros, which is also lower than the mean income for the population as a whole. Households with a native Dutch background have the largest disposable income.
How high is the median income of households?
Age
Highest completed level of education
Migration background
Health
People’s well-being is strongly connected with their health (CBS, 2016). Bad health is often linked to lower well-being and can also cause problems with work, social life and housing, for example. Perceived health and being overweight are used here as indicators for health. For further information about the health and lifestyle of the Dutch population, see CBS (2020c, 2020d).
Perceived health
Perceived health is people’s evaluation of their own health, which is a good indicator for the general state of health. Specifically, it is the percentage of people who evaluate their own health as being good or very good. In 2019, 78.7 percent of the Dutch population judged their own health to be good or very good.
- The share of men with good or very good perceived health was higher than that of women. Women are also more likely to suffer from long-term conditions, physical impairments and pain-related limitations than men (CBS, 2020c).
- The percentage of people who perceive their own health as good or very good declines as they age. A higher than average percentage of younger people up to and including the age category 25 to 34 years judge their health positively, while the health perception of people in the age categories from 45 years is positive for a smaller than average percentage. Elderly people are also more likely to have health problems, such as long-term conditions, physical impairments and pain-related limitations (CBS, 2020c).
- Highly educated peoplenoot8 report being in good or very good health more than average, at 84 percent. People with a medium education level are also just above the average, but a smaller share of this group report good or very good health compared to the highly educated. At 59 percent, the group of people with a low level of education is well below the average and far below the highly educated group. This is partly related to the fact that people with a low education level are older on average than the highly educated. However, within groups of a similar age, too, a higher education level is more often accompanied by good or very good perceived health.
- People with a native Dutch background are more than averagely positive about their own health, while the percentage with a positive health perception is lower than average for those with a non-western migration background. If we compare the groups with different migration backgrounds, we see that the percentage of people with a non-western migration background who perceive their health as good or very good is smaller than the share of people with a native Dutch background, despite the fact that, on average, people with a non-western migration background are relatively young and young people usually evaluate their health more positively.
How many people describe their health as good or very good?
Sex
Age
Highest completed level of education (25 yrs and older)
Migration background
Overweight population
The Body Mass Index (BMI) is used to determine whether a person is overweight. This is calculated by dividing the weight of a person in kilograms by the square of their height in metres. For example: a person who weighs 90.0 kg and is 1.80 m tall has a BMI of 90.0/1.80x1.80 = 27.8. An adult is referred to as being overweight or obese with a BMI of 25 or more. Different thresholds apply to young people, depending on age and sex. The proportion of overweight people in the population aged 4 years and older was 44.1 percent in 2019. This share comprised 31.4 percent of people who were moderately overweight (BMI of 25 to 29) and 12.7 percent of people with obesity (BMI of 30 or more).
- More men (48 percent) than women (40 percent) are overweight.
- Age and the tendency to be overweight are connected. In the age categories up to 34 years, the share of people who are overweight is below average and for those aged 35 years and older, it is above average. In the highest age category (75 years and older), the share of overweight people does decrease again, but it remains above average.
- People with a low education levelnoot9 have a higher than average likelihood of being overweight, and this is true to a lesser extent for people with a medium education level. In contrast, highly educated people are less likely than average to have a BMI of 25 or more. The percentage of people with a low or medium education level who are overweight is higher in relation to the average, but also in relation to the highly educated.
- A slightly larger share of people with a migration background are overweight relative to the average population and relative to people with a native Dutch background. This is the case for people with a western as well as a non-western migration background. At 43 percent, a slightly lower than average percentage of people with a native Dutch background are overweight.
How many people are overweight?
Sex
Age
Highest completed level of education (25 yrs and older)
Migration background
Labour and leisure time
Work is important to people, because it allows them to earn an income and to take an active part in society. Long-term unemployment can have negative consequences for well-being. In addition to paid work, working conditions and the work-life balance are also important. This theme covers net labour participation, long-term unemployment and job satisfaction, together with satisfaction with commuting time and with the amount of leisure time. For further information on the labour market situation of the Dutch population, see CBS (2020e). In addition to the above indicators, the highest level of completed education also comes under the theme of labour and leisure time. Education is important for finding a job and is often linked to greater opportunities for people to organise their lives according to their wishes. Furthermore, a higher level of education is positively related to life expectancy, health and social participation, and therefore indirectly influences well-being, both ‘here and now’ and ‘later’.
Education level
In 2019, 32.5 percent of the Dutch population aged between 15 and 74 years were highly educated. This means that they have obtained a higher vocational education or university qualification. As many women as men are highly educated.
- In the age categories 25 years and over, the older people are, the smaller the percentage of them who are highly educated. Whereas 48.5 percent of the 25 to 34‑year-olds were highly educated, that percentage declined with age, to 22.5 percent of 65 to 74‑year-olds. Only 11.0 percent of people aged between 15 and 24 years were highly educated. The majority of them are in education and are expected to complete their studies.
- At 38.6 percent, a larger than average share of people with a western migration background were highly educated, and this was also higher than the percentage of people with a native Dutch background. The opposite was true for people with a non-western migration background, 25.2 percent of whom were highly educated. For people with a native Dutch background, the share of the highly educated, at 32.9 percent, was slightly larger than average.
How many people have completed higher education?
Sex
Age
Migration background
Net labour participation
In 2019, 68.8 percent of the population aged 15 to 74 years had a paid job, which here means work regardless of the working hours. For this reason, workers with a small part-time job are also included.
- In 2019, net labour participation was 73.2 percent for men, against 64.4 percent for women.
- Of young people aged between 15 and 24 years, 65.3 percent were in employment. This is lower than average, but a large part of this group are still in education. At around 85 percent, net labour participation was highest among 25 to 54‑year-olds. Among people aged 55 to 64 years, the figure was somewhat lower at 69.7 percent, but this was still above average. Of people aged between 65 and 74 years, 13.9 percent were in paid work. The majority of them were retired.
- Net labour participation was highest among the highly educated, at 81.8 percent; this was higher than the average and higher than among people with a medium or low education level. Participation in the labour market by people with a medium education level was also above average, at 72.2 percent. Of the group of people with a low level of education, 49.5 percent were in paid work, which is lower than average.
- People with a native Dutch background had higher net labour participation compared with the average, as well as with people with a migration background. For people with a western migration background, net labour participation was below the average. It was even further below the average for people with a non-western migration background.
How many people are in paid work?
Sex
Age
Highest completed level of education
Migration background
Long-term unemployment
In 2019, 1.0 percent of the labour force was long-term unemployed, for example unemployed for at least 12 consecutive months.
- Long-term unemployment was relatively high among 55 to 64‑year-olds (1.9 percent of the labour force in this age category) and 65 to 74‑year-olds (2.6 percent). People aged 15 to 44 years were least likely to be long-term unemployed (less than 1.0 percent).
- Only 0.7 percent of highly educated people were long-term unemployed, which was less than the average and also a lower percentage than for people with a medium or low education level. With long-term unemployment at 1.5 percent, people with a low level of education were above the average.
- There were also differences depending on a person’s migration background. The long-term unemployment rate was lowest for people with a native Dutch background (0.8 percent) – lower than average and lower than for people with a migration background. People with a western migration background (1.4 percent) and especially people with a non-western migration background (2.2 percent) showed an above-average long-term unemployment rate. The long-term unemployment rate among people with a non-western migration background was therefore nearly three times as high as the rate for people with a native Dutch background.
How many people are long-term unemployed?
Sex
Age
Highest completed level of education
Migration background
Job satisfaction
In 2019, 77.9 percent of all employeesnoot10 aged between 15 and 74 years were satisfied with their work. This is evident from the Netherlands Working Conditions Survey (NEA), conducted by CBS and the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO).
- The job satisfaction of employees aged 25 to 34 years was somewhat less than average at 75.4 percent. Employees aged between 45 and 54 years (78.8 percent) and particularly those aged 65 to 74 years (84.4 percent) were more likely to be satisfied.
- Highly educated employees had a relatively high rate of job satisfaction, compared with the average and also with people with a medium or low education level. These last two groups were slightly below the average with regard to job satisfaction.
- Employees with a native Dutch background (80.0 percent) had a higher than average rate of job satisfaction, which was also higher than employees with a western (71.5 percent) or a non-western migration background (69.4 percent). Both groups with a migration background were below the average.
How many employees are satisfied with their work?
Sex
Age
Highest completed level of education
Migration background
Satisfaction with commuter travelling time
In 2019, 82.6 percent of working adults up to 74 years in the Netherlands were satisfied with their travelling time to and from work. Of the total, 5.2 percent were dissatisfied and 12.2 percent were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. These figures concern people aged between 18 and 74 years with a paid job of 12 or more hours per week.
- Fewer workers aged 25 to 34 years were satisfied with their commuter travelling time: at 77.8 percent, the level was lower than the average. People aged 55 to 64 years reported higher than average satisfaction with their commuting time, at 85.1 percent.
- The percentage of highly educated people satisfied with their travelling time was lower than the average and also lower than for people with a low or medium education level. Workers with a low or medium education level reported a higher than average level of satisfaction with their commuting time. Of the highly educated, 79.0 percent were satisfied, while 87.4 of those with a low education level and 84.9 percent of those with a medium education were satisfied.
- People with a native Dutch background were more likely to be satisfied with their travelling time to and from work than the average and than people with either a western or non-western migration background. People with a western migration background had a lower than average satisfaction rate. While 83.7 percent of people with a native Dutch background were satisfied, the figure was 77.1 percent for people with a western migration background and 79.9 percent for those with a non-western migration background. The difference between people with a native Dutch and a non-western migration background is related to age differences: non-western workers are younger on average than those with a native Dutch background and young people had a lower satisfaction rate as regards their commuting travelling time. The difference between people with a native Dutch and a western migration background cannot be attributed to this factor.
How many people are satisfied with their commuting time?
Sex
Age
Highest completed level of education
Migration background
Satisfaction with leisure time
In 2019, 74.2 percent of adults in the Netherlands were satisfied with the amount of leisure time that they had, while 7.5 percent were dissatisfied and 18.3 percent were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied.
- Fewer men (72.9 percent) than women (75.4 percent) were satisfied with the amount of free time they had. This is related to differences in age and level of education: among people aged 18 years and older, the women were on average slightly older than the men and they were less well educated on average. Elderly people and those with a low education level were more likely to be satisfied with their leisure time.
- People of different ages have differing opinions regarding how satisfied they are with the amount of leisure time available to them. A smaller than average percentage of people aged 18 to 54 years were satisfied with the amount of free time they had, while people aged 55 years and older were more likely than the average to be satisfied. People aged 65 years and older had a higher satisfaction rate: 92.9 percent of 65 to 74‑year-olds were satisfied with their leisure time, and among those aged 75 years and older, the figure was 91.7 percent. With over 50 hours a week, people aged 65 years and older had considerably more free time than other groups; in 2016, the average was nearly 44 hours per week (Netherlands Institute for Social Research, SCP, 2018).
- At 78.2 percent, more people with a low education level were satisfied with the amount of leisure time than the average and than the highly educated. Highly educated people had a lower than average satisfaction rate, at 71.7 percent. This difference is related to differences in age and working hours: on average, highly educated people are younger and work longer hours. They also have less leisure time: around 41 hours per week, against nearly 47 hours per week for people with a low education level (SCP, 2018). The difference between people with a low or a high education level disappears when figures are adjusted for working hours or age.
- People with a native Dutch background reported satisfaction with available leisure time that was higher than the average and higher than it was among people with a migration background. At 64.3 percent, people with a non-western migration background were less satisfied with the amount of leisure time they had than the average. The difference between people with a native Dutch background and those with a western migration background disappears if we take account of working hours, while the difference between people with a Dutch and a non-western migration background remains.
How many people are satisfied with their amount of leisure time?
Sex
Age
Highest completed level of education
Migration background
Housing
People’s housing is relevant for their quality of life. It is not only important that people enjoy their homes – there are also health risks associated with mould or damp. For this reason, we look below at the various deficiencies that a home can have and additionally at satisfaction with the home. See Van Beuningen (2018) for more information about the relationship between people’s well-being, the home and the living environment.
Quality of the home
In 2019, 14.8 percent of people reported that their home had at least one of the following defects: a leaking roof, damp walls, floors or foundations, or rotten window frames or floors.
- People in the age categories from 15 to 44 years had an above average chance of living in a home with such defects. A smaller share of elderly people aged 65 years and older reported such deficiencies.
- A slightly less than average percentage of people with a high education levelnoot11 reported living in housing with one or more defects. A larger share of people with a medium education level reported such defects than was the case for the highly educated.
- People with a native Dutch background were less likely than average to live in a home with problems of damp or rot. At 22.4 percent, people with a non-western migration background had a higher than average chance of facing such problems and the percentage was also higher than for people with a native Dutch background.
How many people live in housing with one or more defects?
Sex
Age
Highest completed level of education (16 yrs and older)
Migration background
Satisfaction with the home
In 2019, 87.5 percent of adults were satisfied with their home, while 4.5 percent were dissatisfied and 8.0 percent were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. A smaller percentage of tenants than home owners were satisfied with their home (CBS, 2019c; CBS 2019d).
- Satisfaction with the home was less likely than average for people aged between 25 and 44 years. In particular in the 25 to 34‑year-old group, the share of people who were satisfied with their home was relatively low, at 75.8 percent, compared with 85.6 percent for 35 to 44‑year-olds. In contrast, a larger than average share of people aged 55 years and older were happy with their home, with 90 percent being satisfied.
- A higher than average percentage of people with a native Dutch background were satisfied with their home. They were also more likely to be satisfied than people with a migration background. People with a non-western migration background were less likely than average to be satisfied with their home.
How many people are satisfied with their housing?
Sex
Age
Highest completed level of education
Migration background
Society
The theme of society involves indicators in the areas of participation and trust. These are both fundamental to social cohesion. In recent years, the government has increasingly focused on a civil society in which people are themselves more responsible for organising their lives and caring for their environment. Trust is important to people as individuals, but also for society as a whole. For the individual, trust contributes to higher well-being, among other things because it is more pleasant to be surrounded by people and institutions that one trusts. Within society, a higher degree of trust can help create a better society, and increase people’s willingness to help others (OECD, 2017). For more information on participation and trust in the Netherlands, see Schmeets (2018a, 2018b) and Schmeets and Exel (2020).
Contact with family, friends and neighbours
In 2019, an average of 72.2 percent of people aged 15 years and older had contact with family, friends and/or neighbours on a weekly basis. This concerns all forms of contact, from personal ‘face-to-face’ contact to interactions by telephone, text messages or email. People in the Netherlands generally have weekly contact with family and/or friends, but weekly contact with neighbours is less common. In 2019, an average of 82.6 percent of the population of the Netherlands aged 15 years and older had weekly contact with relatives living outside their household, while 76.0 percent saw friends weekly and 58.2 percent had contact with neighbours on a weekly basis. The average weekly contact over the three groups is the total figure. This is therefore not the percentage of people that had weekly contact with at least one of the three groups.
- Women were more likely than men to have social contact on a weekly basis: 74.6 percent of women had contact weekly, compared with 69.8 percent of men.
- A smaller than average percentage of people aged 45 to 64 years had weekly contact, while for those aged 65 years and older, the share was larger than average. The differences between the age categories are relatively small.
- Highly educated people had weekly contact less than the average and less than people with a low education level. Specifically, a larger proportion of people with a low education level had weekly contact with neighbours.
- People with a native Dutch background were more likely than the average to have contact weekly. In contrast, a smaller percentage of people with a western migration background had such contact, both in relation to the average and to people with a native Dutch background. People with a western migration background were less likely to have contact with family and friends every week than those with a native Dutch background, while there was no difference with regard to contact with neighbours.
How many people have weekly contact with family, friends and/or neighbours?
Sex
Age
Highest completed level of education
Migration background
Voluntary work
In 2019, just under half of the Dutch population aged 15 years and older (46.7 percent) said that they had done voluntary work for an organisation or association during the previous year. Voluntary work is done most often for sports clubs, schools and in care (Schmeets and Arends, 2020).
- Women worked as volunteers slightly more often than men in 2019: 47.9 percent versus 45.5 percent. In previous years, there were no statistically significant differences between men and women (Schmeets and Arends, 2020).
- A larger than average share of people aged between 35 and 54 years did voluntary work, while 25 to 34‑year-olds and people aged 75 and older were less likely than average to volunteer.
- Highly educated people, with 56.6 percent, were more likely than average to do voluntary work. A higher percentage of them did so than people with a medium or low education level. Somewhat more people with a medium education level were involved in voluntary work than the average (48.7 percent), while for those with a low education level, this was less than average, at 34.7 percent. However, people with a low education level who did voluntary work spent significantly more time on it than the highly educated (CBS, 2018a).
- With 49.9 percent, a larger than average proportion of people with a native Dutch background did voluntary work than people with a migration background. People with a western (38.4 percent) or non-western (34.1 percent) migration background did such work less than the average. However, volunteers with a non-western migration background invested more time in voluntary work on average than people with a native Dutch or western migration background (Arends and Schmeets, 2018).
How many people do voluntary work?
Sex
Age
Highest completed level of education
Migration background
Trust in other people
Of the Dutch population aged 15 years and older, more than six out of ten trusted other people in 2019: 61.8 percent trusted others, while the rest thought that one could not be cautious enough in dealings with other people.
- More men than women trusted other people: 63.9 percent against 59.8 percent.
- Of the various age categories, people aged 65 years and over trusted other people less than the average, while an above-average share of people from 25 to 54 years old did trust others. The differences between the age categories are partly linked to differences in the level of education: the elderly are on average less well educated and people with a low education level are less likely to trust other people than the highly educated.
- The share of highly educated people who trust others was above average at 80.0 percent. In contrast, people with a medium education level (60.2 percent) and especially those with a low education level (44.4 percent) were below the average, and thus reported less trust than the highly educated.
- A relatively high proportion of people with a native Dutch background trusted other people. People with a migration background were less trusting when compared with the average, as well as with people with a native Dutch background.
How many people trust other people?
Sex
Age
Highest completed level of education
Migration background
Trust in institutions
Trust in institutions here refers to average trust in the police, judges and the House of Representatives. On average, 63.1 percent of people aged 15 years and older had faith in these three institutions in 2019. This is not the percentage of people who trust all three institutions, but the average percentage over the three institutions. Trust in the police was highest at 75.3 percent, followed by trust in judges (73.6 percent) and in the House of Representatives (40.0 percent). Further information on trust in institutions can be found on StatLine (CBS, 2019e).
- The percentage of people who trust institutions declines with increasing age. More young people aged between 15 and 44 years had greater than average trust in institutions, while a smaller than average percentage of people aged 55 years and older shared this trust. With 70.9 percent, 15 to 24‑year-olds had most trust in institutions. A decline in trust is visible between the group of people aged 35 to 44 years – 67.8 percent of whom trused institutions – and the group aged 45 to 54 years, for which this was 61.8 percent.
- At 74.1 percent, the highly educated had higher than average trust in institutions. People with a medium education level, and in particular people with a low education level, reported less trust and were below the average and the level of the highly educated.
How many people trust institutions?
Sex
Age
Highest completed level of education
Migration background
Safety
A lack of physical safety can lead to temporary or permanent physical damage, physical injury or even death. It can also be a source of uncertainty and anxiety. Victims of crime can suffer financial or emotional damage, for example, which can have a negative impact on their quality of life (Lamet and Wittebrood, 2009). Furthermore, the perception of safety or the lack of it plays a role in the safety aspect of well-being: to what extent do people feel safe? Both factors – being a victim of crime and the perception of safety – are addressed below. For further information on the perception of safety and victims of crime in the Dutch population, see (CBS, 2020f).
Victims of traditional crime
In 2019, 13.7 percent of the Dutch population aged 15 years and older said that they had been a victim of crime during the preceding 12 months. This concerned violent crimes, crimes against property or vandalism. Property crimes were the most common (8.6 percent), while vandalism (5.1 percent) and violence (2.0 percent) occurred less frequently.
- Men, with 14.3 percent, were slightly more often victims of crime than women (13.0 percent).
- The percentage of victims of crime declines with increasing age. The percentage of people in the age categories up to 54 years who had been victims of crime was higher than average, while in people aged 55 years and older, the share was below the average. The largest number of victims was reported for the age categories 15 to 24 years and 25 to 34 years, and the smallest number was among those aged 75 and older.
- The percentage of victims of crime was higher than average among the highly educated (16.2 percent) and lower among people with a low level of education (10.8 percent). People with a medium education level did not deviate from the average and, in common with those with a low education level, they were less likely to be crime victims than highly educated people.
- A smaller than average percentage of people with a native Dutch background reported having been victims of crime (13.1 percent). Nearly 16 percent of people with a migration background, whether western or non-western, had been victims, which was a higher share than the average and higher than the group with a native Dutch background.
How many people fall victim to crime?
Sex
Age
Highest completed level of education
Migration background
Feeling unsafe in the neighbourhood
In 2019, 14.4 percent of people aged 15 years and older occasionally felt unsafe in their own neighbourhood and 1.4 percent reported often feeling unsafe.
- Relatively more women (1.7 percent) than men (1.1 percent) frequently felt unsafe.
- A higher than average share (1.9 percent) of people aged 25 to 34 years often felt unsafe in their own neighbourhood. However, among people aged 65 years and older, a smaller percentage frequently felt unsafe.
- Compared with the average, the percentage of people with a low education level who often felt unsafe was higher. This percentage was somewhat lower for the highly educated and compared with that group, a slightly larger share of people with a low or medium education level often felt unsafe.
- There were also differences in the extent to which people often felt unsafe in their own neighbourhood that depended on a person’s migration background. Compared with the average, a smaller share of people with a native Dutch background often felt unsafe (1.0 percent), while a larger share of people with a western (1.8 percent) and especially a non-western (3.4 percent) migration background frequently felt unsafe. In a comparison between people with a migration background and those with a native Dutch background, too, more people with a migration background felt a lack of safety.
How many people often feel unsafe in their neighbourhood?
Sex
Age
Highest completed level of education
Migratieachtergrond
The environment
Environmental pollution in a person’s immediate surroundings can cause health problems and have a negative effect on quality of life (OECD, 2017b; WHO, 2018). In 2017, over half of adults in the Netherlands said that they found the air, soil and water to be severely polluted. Moreover, 85 percent said that they were worried about the environment and more than half of these reported being concerned about the environment in their local area (CBS, 2018b). The experience of pollution in the living environment is used here as an indicator for the ‘environment’ theme.
Experience of environmental problems in the local area
In 2019, 15.1 percent of the Dutch population reported experiencing pollution in their living environment. This specifically concerned pollution or other environmental problems, such as smoke, dust, odours or polluted water.
- A smaller than average share of young people aged up to 24 years said that they experienced environmental pollution, as did people aged 75 years and older. In contrast, more 55 to 74‑year-olds than the average suffered due to pollution.
- A bigger than average percentage of people with a medium education levelnoot12 experienced pollution. They were also more likely to report this than highly educated people.
- A below average share of people with a native Dutch background said that they had suffered due to environmental pollution in their local area. People with a western or a non-western migration background were more likely than the average and more likely than people with a native Dutch background to experience pollution.
How many people experience pollution in their neighbourhood?
Sex
Age
Highest completed level of education (16 yrs and older)
Migration background
3.4Accumulation of favourable and unfavourable outcomes
The previous sections examined the extent to which the well-being ‘here and now’ of different population groups differs from that of the total population for individual indicators. Differences in well-being between population groups were also studied. The fact that a population group scores lower than the average for an indicator does not mean that all the people in that group have a low score for that indicator. Neither does it mean that all the people in that group generally have lower well-being if we consider all the indicators at the same time. For example, while an average of 87 percent of people are satisfied with life, the figure is 84 percent for people with a low education level. Although this is lower than the average, the majority of this group is satisfied. When we look at all the indicators for well-being ‘here and now’, the question is whether the favourable and unfavourable outcomes are distributed among different people in a population group or instead always affect the same people within the group. The latter case is referred to as an accumulation of favourable or unfavourable outcomes. In this section, we examine whether such an accumulation of outcomes – favourable or unfavourable – does occur. If this is the case, we look at the extent to which accumulation occurs and the characteristics of the people this concerns.
The study of the extent to which there is an accumulation of favourable and unfavourable outcomes at an individual level is based on the CBS study Sociale samenhang & Welzijn (Social cohesion & Well-being). Data from the integrated income and wealth statistics (IIWS) are linked to this. For each person, it is determined how he or she ‘scores’ for various indicators of well-being. The indicators selected for this are among the 14 original CES themes of ‘here and now’. The basic principle is to select one indicator for each of the original 14 themes, ideally one that is available for the entire adult population. In total, useful data were available for 10 of the 14 themes (see Table 3.4.1.). More extensive information can be found in the explanatory notes for this Monitor (CBS, 2020a).
3.4.1Indicators for accumulation of favourable and unfavourable outcomes
| CES theme | Indicator | Unfavourable | Middle | Favourable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subjective well-being | Satisfaction with life | Score 1–4 | Score 5–6 | Score 7–10 |
| Consumption and income | Standardised disposable household income | Lowest 20%-group | Middle three 20%-groups | Highest 20%-group |
| Health | Perceived health | Less than good | - | Good/very good |
| Diet | Body mass index (BMI) | Obese, underweight | Moderately overweight | Healthy weight |
| Labour | Labour participation | No paid work, younger than 75 yrs | No paid work, 75 yrs or older | Paid work |
| Leisure time | Satisfaction with amount of leisure time | Score 1–4 | Score 5–6 | Score 7–10 |
| Education | Highest completed level of education | Low education level | Medium education level | High education level |
| Housing | satisfaction with housing | Score 1–4 | Score 5-6 | Score 7–10 |
| Trust | Trust in other people | Does not trust other people | - | Trusts other people |
| Institutions | Trust in institutions (police, judges, House of Representatives) | Trusts none of the three | Trusts one or two | Trusts all three |
On average, people had a favourable outcome for 5.8 of the 10 indicators and an unfavourable outcome for 1.7 indicators in 2019. These averages are in line with 2018.
The group of people who enjoy high well-being, with eight or more favourable outcomes, is referred to here as the top of the distribution. This group covers 21 percent of the population. The group of people with at least four unfavourable outcomes is referred to here as the bottom of the distribution, and 13 percent of the population belong to this group. The rest of the people (66 percent) make up the middle of the distribution.
The summarising data of the indicators in Figure 3.2.1 in Section 3.2 show that people’s education level and the migration background are both strongly related to having above average or below average well-being. The differences between age categories are smaller and differences between men and women also turn out to be relatively small. We describe below the extent to which individual people within these groups experience an accumulation of favourable or unfavourable outcomes.
Sex
Age
Highest completed level of education
Migration background
- Education level. When we look at the accumulation of favourable and unfavourable outcomes, we see
that there are major differences between education levels. Nearly half of the highly
educated belong at the top of the distribution with high well-being, against 11 percent
of those with a medium education and 3 percent of people with a low education level.
People with a low education level are more likely to be at the bottom of the distribution;
this is the case for 35 percent of this group. These shares are significantly lower
among people with a medium education (8 percent) and the highly educated (3 percent).
The accumulation of favourable outcomes is therefore strongly concentrated among the
highly educated, while it is mainly people with a low education level who experience
an accumulation of unfavourable outcomes.
Based on the distribution of favourable and unfavourable outcomes, we can see that nearly 76 percent of all the people at the top of the distribution are highly educated. In contrast, at the bottom of the distribution it is the people with a low level of education who are overrepresented, at 68 percent. Therefore, if we zoom in on the top of the distribution, we have a relatively high chance of encountering highly educated people, and at the bottom of the distribution, we are likelier to find people with a low education level. - Migration background. An examination of the accumulation of favourable and unfavourable outcomes for people with different backgrounds reveals a more nuanced picture than the one that is shown in Figure 3.2.1. Although people with a non-western migration background are relatively likely to be at the bottom of the distribution (23 percent) and less likely to be at the top (15 percent), the differences between this group and people with a native Dutch or a western migration background are smaller than could be expected based on the outcomes of the individual indicators. It is shown that the unfavourable outcomes among people with a non-western migration background occur mainly in the first generation. In addition to the fact that the second generation is younger, health differences, having paid work, and working hours and associated income disparities play a role.
- Age. People aged 25 to 44 years are relatively likely to be at the top of the distribution. This is less likely among those aged 65 years and older: 10 percent of people aged between 65 and 74 years and 4 percent of the group aged 75 years and older are at the top of the distribution. At the bottom of the distribution, we see a relatively large share of 65 to 74‑year-olds. Nearly a quarter of them are at the bottom of the distribution, compared with a maximum of 10 percent of people up to the age of 44 years. The fact that a relatively large proportion of elderly people are at the bottom of the distribution is partly because more of them have health problems and fewer are in paid employment. More elderly people than young people have unfavourable scores specifically for trust in other people, health and education level.
- Sex. While a slightly larger share of men (22 percent) than women (20 percent) is to be found at the top of the distribution, the difference at the bottom of the distribution is somewhat larger. Fifteen percent of women are at the bottom, against 11 percent of men. Specifically, more women have unfavourable scores compared with men for trust in other people, education level and paid work. The difference between the percentages of men and women at the bottom of the distribution is small compared with the differences between other population groups.
The characteristics of the population that have been discussed in this chapter are to some extent connected. For example, people with a non-western migration background are usually relatively young and more likely to have a low education level, and a larger share of elderly people have a low education level compared with the total population. If these connections are taken into account, the highest completed level of education turns out to have the greatest influence on the number of indicators for which people have a favourable or an unfavourable outcome. Age is the next most decisive characteristic, followed by migration background and, lastly, sex.
It is not only the characteristics of the population, but also the indicators that are to some degree connected with each other and with the accumulation effects. For most of the population groups distinguished, perceived health and whether or not a person has paid work are shown to be most strongly linked to a number of favourable and unfavourable outcomes. For elderly people, having work is less relevant (65 to 74 years) or not at all relevant (75 years and older). Furthermore, for some of the population groups there is a strong connection between the number of favourable outcomes and the highest completed level of education, satisfaction with housing and satisfaction with the amount of leisure time.
As well as health and work, the indicator trust in other people is important to a large share of the population groups in relation to the number of unfavourable outcomes.
3.5References
References
Arends, J. and H. Schmeets, 2018, Vrijwilligerswerk: activiteiten, duur en motieven. Statistics Netherlands, The Hague/Heerlen/Bonaire.
Beuningen, J. van, 2018, Woning en woonomgeving gerelateerd aan tevredenheid met het leven. Statistische Trends, Statistics Netherlands, The Hague/Heerlen/Bonaire.
Beuningen, J. van, K. van der Houwen and L. Moonen, 2014, Measuring well-being. An analysis of different response scales. Statistics Netherlands, The Hague/Heerlen/Bonaire.
Beuningen, J. van, C. Jol and L. Moonen, 2015, De Persoonlijke Welzijnsindex. De ontwikkeling van een index voor subjectief welzijn. Statistics Netherlands, The Hague/Heerlen/Bonaire.
Beuningen, J. van, and L. Moonen, 2019, Trends in geluk en tevredenheid. Statistische Trends, Statistics Netherlands, The Hague/Heerlen/Bonaire.
CBS, 2016, Gezondheid, relaties en werk belangrijker voor geluk dan geld. Statistics Netherlands, The Hague/Heerlen/Bonaire.
CBS, 2018a, Laagstopgeleide vrijwilligers maken meer uren. Statistics Netherlands, The Hague/Heerlen/Bonaire
CBS, 2018b, More people find the environment highly polluted. Statistics Netherlands, The Hague/Heerlen/Bonaire.
CBS, 2019a, Welvaart in Nederland 2019. Statistics Netherlands, The Hague/Heerlen/Bonaire.
CBS, 2019b, Armoede en sociale uitsluiting 2019. Statistics Netherlands, The Hague/Heerlen/Bonaire.
CBS, 2019c, Huurders minder tevreden met woning. Statistics Netherlands, The Hague/Heerlen/Bonaire.
CBS, 2019d, Woontevredenheid; kenmerken woningen, regio’s. Statistics Netherlands, The Hague/Heerlen/Bonaire.
CBS, 2019e, Vertrouwen in mensen en in organisaties; persoonskenmerken. Statistics Netherlands, The Hague/Heerlen/Bonaire.
CBS, 2020a, Monitor Brede Welvaart & Sustainable Development Goals 2020: een toelichting. Statistics Netherlands, The Hague/Heerlen/Bonaire.
CBS, 2020b, Welzijn; kerncijfers, persoonskenmerken. Statistics Netherlands, The Hague/Heerlen/Bonaire.
CBS, 2020c, Gezondheid en zorggebruik; persoonskenmerken, (retrieved on 13-3-2020).
CBS, 2020d, Leefstijl en (preventief) gezondheidsonderzoek; persoonskenmerken, (retrieved on 13-3-2020).
CBS, 2020e, De arbeidsmarkt in cijfers 2019. Statistics Netherlands, The Hague/Heerlen/Bonaire.
CBS, 2020f, Veiligheidsmonitor 2019. Statistics Netherlands, The Hague/Heerlen/Bonaire.
Diener, E and E. Suh, 1997, Measuring Quality of Life: Economic, Social and Subjective Indicators. Social Indicators Research, 40 (1–2), blz. 189–216.
Lamet, W. and K. Wittebrood, 2009, Nooit meer dezelfde. Gevolgen van misdrijven voor slachtoffers. SCP Netherlands Institute for Social Research, The Hague.
OECD, 2017a, OECD Guidelines on Measuring Trust. OECD Publishing, Paris.
OECD, 2017b, How’s life? 2017: Measuring Well-being. OECD Publishing, Paris.
Schmeets, H., 2018a, Participatie op de kaart. Statistische Trends, Statistics Netherlands, The Hague Heerlen/Bonaire.
Schmeets, H., 2018b, Vertrouwen op de kaart. Statistische Trends, Statistics Netherlands, The Hague/Heerlen/Bonaire.
Schmeets, H. and J. Arends, 2020, Vrijwilligerswerk en welzijn. Statistische Trends, Statistics Netherlands, The Hague/Heerlen/Bonaire.
Schmeets, H., and J. Exel (2020). Vertrouwen, maatschappelijk onbehagen en pessimisme. CBS, statistische trends. Statistics Netherlands, The Hague/Heerlen/Bonaire.
SCP, 2018, Alle ballen in de lucht. Tijdsbesteding in Nederland en de samenhang met kwaliteit van leven. SCP Netherlands Institute for Social Research, The Hague.
Stiglitz, J. E., A. Sen and J.-P. Fitoussi, 2009, Report by the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress. Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress, Paris.
WHO, 2018, How air pollution is destroying our health. World Health Organization. (retrieved on 4-2-2020)
Noten
For the highest completed level of education, the 2016 International Standard Classification of Education in three levels was used as the basis. A low education level comprises groups 1 to 8 of primary education/special primary education; the first three academic years of senior general secondary education (HAVO)/pre-university education (VWO); all programmes of prevocational secondary education (VMBO); and level 1 of secondary vocational education (MBO-1). A medium education level comprises upper secondary education (HAVO/VWO); basic vocational training (MBO-2); vocational training (MBO-3); and middle management and specialist education (MBO-4). A higher education level comprises associate degree programmes; higher education (HBO/WO) Bachelor’s programmes; Master’s degree programmes at universities of applied sciences and at research universities (HBO, WO); and doctoral degree programmes at research universities (WO).
Further information about the delineation of migration background can be found here.
Men and women are compared with each other and not with the national average.
Satisfaction with life is measured on a scale of 1 to 10, on which a score of 7 or higher is seen as ‘satisfied’ (see Van Beuningen et al. (2014) for more information on the way this is determined).
The themes that are included in the PWI are based on the recommendations of Stiglitz et al. (2009).
Because this indicator is measured at the level of households, the characteristics of the main breadwinner of the household are considered when determining the distribution by population groups.
The income amounts in this section are all in 2018 prices.
The figures on perceived health by education level relate to the population aged 25 years and older. When determining the colours of the education levels for the visualisation, we therefore made a comparison between the figures for the education levels and the figure for the total population aged 25 years and older (73.6 percent).
The figures on the percentage of overweight people by education level relate to the population aged 25 years and older. When determining the colours of the education levels for the visualisation, we therefore made a comparison between the figures for the education levels and the figure for the total population aged 25 years and older (53.1 percent).
Because the NEA exclusively concerns employees, the job satisfaction of all people in work cannot be described here.
The figures on the quality of the home by education level concern the population aged 16 years and older. When determining the colours of the education levels for the visualisation, we therefore made a comparison between the figures for the education levels and the figure for the total population aged 16 years and older (14.6 percent).
The figures on environmental problems by level of education concern the population aged 16 years and older. When determining the colours of the education levels for the visualisation, we therefore made a comparison between the figures for the education levels and the figure for the total population aged 16 years and older (15.4 percent).