Netherlands hit mental health low point in first half of 2021

In the first half of this year, 15 percent of Netherlands residents aged 12 or older were struggling with their mental health - the highest percentage since Statistics Netherlands started keeping track of mental health in 2001. This was especially true among young adults, four in ten of whom reported feeling gloomier than before the coronavirus crisis.

In the fourth quarter of 2020, relatively more people were mentally unhealthy than in the same quarter of 2019. That increase continued in the first quarter of 2021, after which it stabilized. Particularly the proportion of people who felt gloomy and depressed and the proportion who described themselves as less happy increased in the last quarter of 2020 and in early 2021.

Young people between the ages of 18 and 25 in particular struggled with their mental health. A quarter of this age group reported mental health problems in the first half of this year, 10 percent more than the average for 2020. They reported feeling restless, gloomy and unhappy more often than other age groups.

Some coronavirus related questions added to the stats office's regular survey late in 2020 showed that the coronavirus crisis affected a number of aspects in respondents' mental health. More than a quarter indicated that they felt more lonely during the pandemic than before. Feelings of fear, gloom and stress were also more common.