Netherlands: Health System Outcomes

Maternal mortality ratio (per 100,000 live births), 2023: 4
Under-five mortality rate (per 1000 live births), 2024: 3.9
Neonatal mortality rate (per 1000 live births), 2024: 2.6
Probability of dying from any of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease between age 30 and exact age 70 (%), 2021: 9.9%
Prevalence of stunting in children under 5 (%), 2024: 1.6%
Prevalence of overweight in children under 5 (%), 2024: 5.4%
Prevalence of anaemia in women aged 15-49 years (%), 2023: 16.5%

Source: World health statistics 2026: Monitoring health for the SDGs, Sustainable Development Goals. Tables of health statistics by country and area, WHO region and globally (last accessed May 13, 2026). Geneva: World Health Organization; 2026. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.

Life expectancy at birth (in years), 2023: 81.9 years
Main causes of mortality (age-standardized rate per 100,000 population), 2023
– Circulatory system: 178
– Neoplasms: 220
– Respiratory system: 66
– External causes: 55
– Other: 284
Mortality from preventable causes (age-standardized rate per 100,000 population)
– 2023: 100
– 2013: 111
Mortality from treatable causes (age-standardized rate per 100,000 population)
– 2023: 49
– 2013: 60
Maternal mortality (deaths per 100,000 live births)
– 2021-2023: 3.4
– 2011-2013: 2.5
Infant mortality (deaths per 1 000 live births)
– 2021-2023: 3.4
– 2011-2013: 3.7

Source: OECD (2025), Health at a Glance 2025: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris, doi.org/10.1787/8f9e3f98-en.

Life Expectancy at Birth, 2023: 82
Under-Five Mortality Rate (per 1,000 live births), 2022: 4
Infant Mortality Rate (per 1,000 live births), 2022: 3
Neonatal Mortality Rate (per 1,000 live births), 2022: 3
Mortality Rate Among Children Aged 5-14 Years (per 1,000 children aged 5), 2022: 1
Maternal Mortality Ratio (per 100,000 live births), 2020: 4
Lifetime Risk of Maternal Death (1 in x), 2020: 1 in 13,316

Notes: Under-five mortality rate – Probability of dying between birth and exactly 5 years of age, expressed per 1,000 live births.
Infant mortality rate – Probability of dying between birth and exactly 1 year of age, expressed per 1,000 live births.
Neonatal mortality rate – Probability of dying during the first 28 days of life, expressed per 1,000 live births.
Mortality rate (children aged 5 to 14 years) – Probability of dying at age 5–14 years expressed per 1,000 children aged 5.
Maternal mortality ratio – Number of deaths of women from pregnancy-related causes per 100,000 live births during the same time period (modelled estimates).
Lifetime risk of maternal death – Lifetime risk of maternal death takes into account both the probability of becoming pregnant and the probability of dying as a result of that pregnancy, accumulated across a woman’s reproductive years (modelled estimates).

Source: United Nations Children’s Fund, The State of the World’s Children 2024: The Future of Childhood in a Changing World – Statistical Compendium. UNICEF, Nov. 20, 2024.

Life Expectancy at Birth, 2022: 82.45
Infant Mortality Rate, 2022 (per 1,000 live births): 3.00
Under-Five Mortality Rate, 2022 (per 1,000 live births): 3.48

Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2023). Data Portal, custom data acquired via website. United Nations: New York. Accessed 12 May 2023.

Maternal Deaths Per 100,000 Live Births, 2020: 4

Source: Trends in maternal mortality 2000 to 2020: estimates by WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank Group and UNDESA/Population Division. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2023. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.

“Life expectancy at birth for the Dutch population was 81.8 years in 2017, almost one year higher than the EU average (80.9 years), but still almost two years less than Spain (Figure 1). While life expectancy overall is higher than the EU average, men in the Netherlands live almost two years longer than the EU average, while Dutch women live a month less. This comparatively weak performance for women reflects the legacy of high smoking rates in previous generations (Section 3), which has led to an increase in the number of women with lung cancer.”

Source: OECD/European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies (2019), The Netherlands: Country Health Profile 2019, State of Health in the EU, OECD Publishing, Paris/European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, Brussels.

“Mortality from preventable causes in the Netherlands compares favourably with the rate across the EU as a whole, at 129 deaths compared to 160 per 100 000 population (Figure 11), reflecting both a lower prevalence of risk factors and a lower incidence of many of these health issues compared to most other EU countries. Lung cancer accounts for 30 % of preventable deaths in the Netherlands, making it the largest contributor to preventable mortality. Since the early 2000s, the government has implemented several public health policies aiming to minimise the impact of behavioural risk factors and social determinants of health. Smoking was banned in workplaces in 2004, and in cafés and restaurants in 2008, while alcohol control measures implemented in 2013 focused on reducing alcohol use among teenagers. The National Prevention Agreement concluded in 2018 prompts municipalities to implement regional and local agreements to improve health outcomes and reduce health inequalities in their populations. So far, 14 initiatives with an average of 41 participating organisations have been developed, working towards the 2040 targets to have a smoke-free generation, reduce the share of the overweight and obese population from 50 % to 38 % and decrease problematic alcohol abuse.

“The Netherlands reports one of the lowest mortality rates from treatable causes – that is, deaths that could have been avoided through effective health care interventions (Figure 11). These rates remain low compared to the rest of the EU in spite of the above-average mortality from colorectal and breast cancer in the Netherlands, which accounted for more than 40 % of treatable deaths in 2018. Mortality rates from other treatable causes – such as ischaemic heart disease, stroke and pneumonia – were among the lowest in the EU.”

OECD/European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies (2021), The Netherlands: Country Health Profile 2021, State of Health in the EU, OECD Publishing, Paris/European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, Brussels.

“One aspect of the ageing Dutch population is the growing life expectancy. Between 1980 and 2013 it has increased from 75.7 to 81 years. The consistently higher life expectancy of women continues to exist but the gap with men has decreased over the years (World Bank, 2015). Despite this growth in life expectancy, the Netherlands has moved from a top ranking on this indicator to a more intermediate position among OECD countries. Mortality rates provided in Table 1.3 show these are declining for all age groups. Not only has the general life expectancy of the Dutch population increased, but the health-adjusted life expectancy (HALE) has as well; since 2000 by two years, reaching 71 in 2013 (see Table 1.4).”

Source: Kroneman M, Boerma W, van den Berg M, Groenewegen P, de Jong J, van Ginneken E (2016). The Netherlands: health system review. Health Systems in Transition, 2016; 18(2):1–239.

World Health Systems Facts is a project of the Real Reporting Foundation. We provide reliable statistics and other data from authoritative sources regarding health systems and policies in the US and eighteen other nations.

Page last updated October 12, 2026 by Doug McVay, Editor.