The Social State of the Netherlands

Original title: De sociale staat van Nederland 2007.

How is the Dutch population faring? That is the central question addressed in The Social State of the Netherlands 2007. To answer this question, the report describes the position of the Netherlands and the Dutch in a number of key areas of life today and explores whether any changes have taken place in that situation over the last ten years. Have people's incomes improved? Are there more people in work? Are people less troubled by crime? Has housing improved?
The non-material aspects of life situation are also covered: is the education level of the Dutch population rising or falling? How healthy are the Dutch? How cohesive is Dutch society? For example, is political participation or voluntary work increasing or decreasing?
The report also describes public opinion. How do people rate their existence? How satisfied are they with life in general, or with specific aspects of their lives? How do people perceive their health, work and circle of friends? How comfortable do they feel in Dutch society?
The confidence of the public in society in general and in the government in particular are also explored. In order to assess the present social situation, comparisons are made with developments over the last ten years.
Naturally, the report also devotes attention to the life situation of specific groups, in order to reflect the different opportunities, possibilities and preferences of different groups in the population - young and old, men and women, disabled and non-disabled, indigenous and immigrant, rich and poor - for structuring their lives.

This is the fourth edition of The Social State of the Netherlands, which has been published every two years since 2001.