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Broad prosperity in the Netherlands has increased slightly by 2024. This increase is mainly due to higher incomes, more job security and the further recovery of subjective well-being - or how happy and satisfied people are. At the same time, housing satisfaction remains a concern: after years of decline, it continued to decline in 2024. Researchers from RaboResearch and Utrecht ľ�ϸ���Ӱ�� report this in their update of the 'Brede Welvaartindicator' (BWI), published today.

More factors determine our sense of wealth

"How happy and “rich” people feel depends on so many more indicators than just purchasing power or GDP. That is why it is important to look at prosperity more broadly and include things like education, health, civic engagement, environment and social relations," says Auke Rijpma, assistant professor at Utrecht ľ�ϸ���Ӱ��. That is why, since 2016, researchers from RaboResearch and Utrecht ľ�ϸ���Ӱ�� have been bringing together eleven different dimensions (see Figure 1) in the Brede Welvaartindicator (BWI) to get a better picture of the real welfare of the Dutch.

Figure 1: The 11 dimensions of comprehensive wellbeing
Translated clockwise to English, the eleven dimensions are: (ecological) environment, safety, housing, subjective well-being, civic engagement, social contacts work-life balance, health, personal development, job security and income.  

Economic growth does not automatically lead to higher better wellbeing

Economic dimensions, such as income and job security, did play a major role in the rise in comprehensive wellbeing last year, explains RaboResearch economist Florine Zendijk. "Households kept more money on average as wages rose faster than inflation last year. Moreover, unemployment remains low and more people have permanent contracts. But I do want to stress that economic growth does not automatically lead to an improvement in broad prosperity."

Significant regional differences

Regional differences in broad prosperity are still significant. Erik Stam, professor at Utrecht ľ�ϸ���Ӱ�� explains, "Regions such as Het Gooi en Vechtstreek, Leiden and Bollenstreek, and the Achterhoek are among the leaders. These regions score high on income, health, personal development and social contacts."
In contrast, regions such as Delfzijl and Groot-Rijnmond (near Rotterdam), structurally lag behind in better wellbeing. "In Delfzijl and its surroundings, scores on housing, health, safety and income are lower than in the rest of the Netherlands. The earthquake problem in this region may play a role in the drop in housing satisfaction. Groot-Rijnmond and The Hague suffer from lower safety, job security and social engagement, which negatively affects their feelings of wellbeing," Stam said.

Development dimensions vary

In 2024, comprehensive wellbeing reached its highest level since measurement began in 2003. Whether a factor is perceived positively or negatively changes over time. Tanja van der Lippe, professor at Utrecht ľ�ϸ���Ӱ��, explains "For example, job security had a negative influence between 2004 and 2014 and a positive one after that, there are more opportunities on the labour market. Housing, on the other hand, has become an increasingly negative contributor, and personal development contributed positively until 2018 and has since shown a decline, partly due to declining reading and math skills among schoolchildren. The environmental and safety dimensions improved throughout the period (2004 and 2024)."

The full study is only available in Dutch at the .