Fewer young people getting a driver's license after Covid-19 pandemic

The number of young people in the Netherlands with a driver’s license remains well below pre-pandemic levels, despite a slight increase in 2024. As of Jan. 1, 2025, a total of 201,000 people aged 17 to 20 held a Dutch driver’s license, up 2.3 percent from the previous year but down 9.8 percent compared to 2019, according to new data from Statistics Netherlands (CBS).

The total number of Dutch residents with a driver’s license continues to rise. At the start of 2025, nearly 11.8 million people had a valid license—1.1 percent more than in 2024 and 5.4 percent more than in 2019.

However, younger drivers remain well behind. Only 32 percent of 17- to 20-year-olds had a license in early 2025, a steep 7.8 percent drop from 2019. Other age groups also saw declines, with the biggest drops among people aged 20 to 30 (-3.5 percent), 40 to 50 (-2.6 percent), and 50 to 60 (-2.0 percent).

License ownership among older Dutch reached record levels

Meanwhile, license ownership among older Dutch residents has reached record levels. The sharpest increase was among people aged 75 and older, with 1.1 million of them holding a license in early 2025. That’s up 5.1 percent from 2024 and a striking 45.7 percent increase from 2019.

This trend is driven by two factors: a larger aging population and a higher percentage of elderly residents choosing to keep their licenses. As of early 2025, 64.9 percent of those 75 and older had a driver’s license, compared to 54.1 percent in 2019.

Among all age groups, those between 60 and 70 years old had the highest license ownership rate, at 90.2 percent, followed by 50- to 60-year-olds (87.5 percent) and 40- to 50-year-olds (86.3 percent).

CBS data also shows a clear urban-rural divide in license ownership. The more urban a municipality, the lower the percentage of residents with a driver’s license. In the most urbanized municipalities, just 67.9 percent of residents had a license at the start of 2025. In non-urban municipalities, that figure was significantly higher at 85.4 percent.

The municipality with the highest license ownership rate was Tubbergen, where 91.3 percent of residents had a valid license, followed by Staphorst at 90.7 percent. Amsterdam had the lowest rate, with just 61.3 percent of residents holding a license.

License ownership is also lower in municipalities with large student populations. Young residents in these areas are less likely to obtain a license, likely due to well-developed public transport and financial reasons.