A new measure of expected human capital calculated for 195 countries from 1990 to 2016 and defined for each birth cohort as the expected years lived from age 20 to 64 years and adjusted for educational attainment, learning or education quality, and functional health status was published by the Lancet in September 2018. The Netherlands had the fourth highest level of expected human capital with 27 health, education, and learning-adjusted expected years lived between age 20 and 64 years. [1]
In 2025, the life expectancy in the Netherlands was 81.9 years. [2] The life expectancy of individuals in the Netherlands dropped to 81.4 years during the COVID-19 pandemic and has not recovered. [3]
Cancer (27.1%), cardiovascular disease (22.4%), and Alzheimer's disease and other dementias (9.9%) were the leading causes of death in 2023. There is an estimated 185,000 new cases of cardiovascular disease annually with an incidence rate that is 10% lower than the European Union (EU) average. There is approximately 116,000 new cases of cancer annually with the incidence rate of cancer being 11% greater than the EU average. Other notable causes of death include respiratory disease (8.8%), external causes (6.8%), and digestive diseases (3.2%). [3]
In 2021, there were a total of 40,000 deaths caused by behavioral risk factors. With a total of about 21,000 death, smoking was considered the greatest behavioral risk factor. [3] Tobacco measures are continuing to be implemented in the Netherlands, as a result of the goals included in the National Prevention Agreement, [4] leading to a decline in the smoking rate for adults and youth since 2010. [3] At a rate of about 15%, the Netherlands has a lower population of individuals classified as obese compared to the OECD average. [2] However, the prevalence of obesity has been on the rise for adolescents and adults over the past few years. [3] In 2022, approximately 8.3 liters per capita of alcohol was consumed indicating a decrease in overall alcohol consumption in the past few years. [3] There was a total of 5,600 deaths resulting from pollution in the Netherlands, [3] with individuals being exposed to 8.9 micrograms of particulate matter (PM2.5) per cubic meter in the environment. [2]
According to data from June 2025, the mental health of adults has remained stable in terms of the percentage of individuals who feel lonely (42%) and feel stressed (25%). There was a 3% decline in the amount of individuals who felt happy a majority of the time. Adolescents also experienced a decline in mental health. [5]