How is the situation of young people in the Netherlands? Read it in the Annual Report Youth Monitor 2024 Summary
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In 2023, 88 percent of young adults aged 18 to 24 rated their health as good or very good. That was 91 percent in 2020. In recent years, they were less likely to rate their own health as very good and were more likely to say that it was ‘fine’. More young people have been suffering from mental health issues since 2021. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports this in its National Youth Monitor, which is based on figures from the Health Survey.
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In 2023, 474 thousand young people received youth care. This was 10,000 more than in 2021, an increase of 2.2 percent. This increase resulted from more young people receiving non-residential youth assistance. More girls aged 12 to 17 in particular were receiving this form of support. This is according to provisional figures by Statistics Netherlands (CBS).
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The number of young people aged 15-26 in paid work increased by 34 thousand in Q4 2023 compared to the same quarter one year earlier. A total of 77.9 percent of young people aged 15-26 were in paid employment. More 15 and 16-year-olds, in particular, have started paid work in recent years. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports this based on the Labour Force Survey, as part of the National Youth Monitor.
Read publicationIn 2014, 73 thousand young people between the ages of 12 and 25 (2.4 percent of the total youth population) were registered as suspects of a criminal offence. This is a decline of 43 percent since 2007. One third of all registered suspects in 2014 were young, down from 39 percent in 2007.
Read publicationBetween 2010 and 2014, over 14 percent of young Dutch between the ages of 12 and 20 were smoking. This percentage is particularly high in the north of the Netherlands. The share of young people smoking is highest in the province of Drenthe (19 percent), followed by the province of Groningen and the northern Netherlands region, each with 18 percent. The lowest share of smokers aged 12 to 20 is found in the middle region of the country. The municipal health care regions of Amsterdam, Utrecht and the Gooi- en Vecht area report a percentage share of 11 percent young smokers.
Read publicationMany municipalities in Groningen province have a very low employment rate among young people aged 15 to 27. Likewise, many young people in the larger cities in the provinces of South and North Holland are unemployed. Labour participation rates among young people in Amsterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam are 59 percent, 52 percent and 53 percent respectively, considerably lower than the national average of over 62 percent.
Read publicationNearly half of the 15-year-olds in the Netherlands are attending a form of pre-vocationalsecondary education (vmbo) in the academic year 2014/’15. The share is particularly large in the provinces of Groningen and Friesland. The number of vmbo students provides an indication of the educational level of young people in a municipality.
Read publicationAt the end of 2014, the Netherlands had almost 230 thousand children aged 0 to 18 years in families relying on income support benefits, which equals 6.5 percent of all children living with their parents. The percentage shares were considerably higher in Rotterdam (18.2 percent) and Amsterdam (14.4 percent). The Hague also featured in the top 10 of municipalities with children raised on income support, 12.3 percent. Utrecht was not included in the top 10, but ranked above average with 8.1 percent.
Read publicationThe number of young people under 18 has declined by 170 thousand since 2005. The Netherlands had 3.4 million minors at the start of 2015, amounting to 20 percent of the total population. The number of minors is expected to continue falling over the next few years by 90 thousand until 2023. The decline will occur in almost every region, in particular Achterhoek and Zeeuws-Vlaanderen. On the other hand, the Randstad urban conglomeration still sees an increase in the number of young people.
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