With a pandemic ongoing, the year 2020 reshaped the lives of young people in the Netherlands. In secondary education, relatively more students were promoted and almost all final examination students graduated. Fewer young people were at work; fewer girls between the ages of 12 and 18 used alcohol on occasion, and there was less excessive drinking among young men. The number of young people receiving youth care declined; on the other hand, the number of reported child abuse cases went up. Furthermore, compared to the previous year, in 2020 a smaller share of young people reported they were happy and satisfied with life. These are some of the results Statistics Netherlands (CBS) describes in the Annual Report of the National Youth Monitor 2021, published today.
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 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 publicationYouth unemployment among 15-22 year-olds has risen more substantially in 2009 than among 23-64 year-olds. Unemployment rose rapidly among young people without a basic qualification.
Read publicationRelative to other European countries, many young people in the Netherlands attend some form of education. The number of young people leaving school without a basic qualification is also below the European Union (EU) average.
Read publicationCompared with a few years ago, the situation in which young people with a non-western foreign background in the Netherlands find themselves has improved in a number of areas. They are better educated and more of them have jobs. In spite of this, they still have some catching up to do with respect to native Dutch young people.
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