Dutch largely satisfied with their lives

The vast majority of Dutch people are satisfied with their lives, according to figures from Statistics Netherlands. Only 2 percent of Dutch are downright negative about their lives, 12 percent are neutral and the rest are more or less satisfied. There is no remarkable difference between how men and women in the Netherlands consider their lives.

The stats office also asked respondents how they view the rest of Dutch society. 56 percent are optimistic about how things are going in the country. 35 percent are pessimistic, and 8 percent are neutral. The pessimistic group largely consists of older and low-skilled people. Young people are most positive about the state of the Netherlands.

The Netherlands also scored well in the United Nations' annual world happiness report. According to the UN ranking, the Netherlands is the 5th happiest country in the world, after Finland, Norway, Denmark and Iceland.