The Dutch are happy people. In 2017, almost 9 in 10 adults said they were happy. A slightly smaller group (85 percent) are satisfied with life in general. The share of people who say they are happy or satisfied has remained virtually the same in recent years.

A person’s degree of happiness is partly related to marital status. Among adults who are married, more than 9 out of 10 state they are happy, which is the highest share. They are followed by unmarried adults with 85 percent being happy. The least happy are divorced and widowed people with almost 80 percent.

Satisfaction with life is seen in almost all areas of life, but mostly in relation to the house people live in (87 percent). The neighbourhood is rated positively by a slightly smaller share. Lower satisfaction levels are seen when it comes to people’s physical health, their financial situation and the amount of free time they have available.

Happiness levels are partly determined by how people rate their own health. Over 95 percent of adults who have a very good self-perceived health say they are happy, against 1 percent who are unhappy. Among adults with a poor or very poor self-perceived health, 55 percent say they are happy and 16 percent are unhappy.

Older people are often happy with the amount of free time they have. This is the case for almost 95 percent of 65 to 74 year-olds. From the age of 75, this level of satisfaction diminishes slightly. Young people are often less satisfied with the amount of free time they have. Least satisfied are those in the age category 25 to 34 years: 64 percent are satisfied, versus 14 percent who are dissatisfied.

In 2017, 26 percent of adults in the Netherlands were very concerned about their future financial situation. Half of all 18-year-olds were not concerned about this, while 24 percent were less worried. The share of adults who say they are very concerned about their future finances has declined in recent years; it was 32 percent in 2013.

In general, smokers are less satisfied with their health than non-smokers. This refers to both physical and mental health. Of the smokers, 65 percent are satisified with their perceived physical health, while 76 percent are satisfied with their mental health. These percentages are 71 and 85 percent respectively for non-smokers.

Personal well-being increases as the educational attainment level gets higher. Over three-quarters of the highly educated say they have high personal well-being, versus less than half of the lower educated. In between are those with a medium-high level of education. The score on personal well-being is based on people’s assessment of various life aspects, including their financial situation, their health, social life and living environment.