The Netherlands Drug Situation 2010 - Trimbos-instituut

8 Social correlates and social reintegration8.1 Social exclusionGeneral trend in the NetherlandsThe Netherlands Institute for Social Research (SCP) monitors the general trends in socialcohesion, social exclusion, and poverty. In 2010, the SCP published The social state ofthe Netherlands 2009 which addressed the central question: "How is the Dutch populationfaring?" (Bijl et al. 2010). For the last ten years, the SCP monitored the trends in thepolitical, the socioeconomic, and the socio-cultural domain. With regard to social cohesion,respectively social exclusion, the main findings for the Netherlands are as follows: "In 2008, the Netherlands achieved the lowest score on the ‘misery index’. Both unemploymentand inflation were among the lowest in Europe, as was the budget deficit." "People have become slightly more tolerant of minorities in recent years, and alsoslightly less rigid in their views about the issuing of residence permits." "Satisfaction with the government increased between 2006 and 2008 and, followingthe sharp dip in 2002 and 2004, was almost back to its 1998 level, at 76%. Public satisfactionwith the government fell again slightly after November 2008, however." "The Dutch are the least satisfied with health care policy, as borne out by the earlierfinding that the Dutch feel that the government should spend more on care". "Also of particular interest is the group of citizens who, although they are satisfiedwith (or neutral about) their own lives, have little or no trust in politics. This is a sizeablegroup, which is not easily classified according to socio-demographic or traditionalpolitical characteristics". "The overall education level of the Dutch population is rising, including among immigrants." "Income inequality and the share of total income taken by the better off have remainedfairly stable since 1997. The poverty rate has declined slightly." "The labour force participation rate in the Netherlands has grown in the past decade,especially among women, older people and members of non-Western ethnic minorities." "There are wide socioeconomic differences in health status. People with lower socioeconomicstatus have less healthy lifestyles, live shorter lives and enjoy less goodhealth than those with a higher status." "Members of non-Western ethnic minorities are generally less healthy (overweight,inactivity, child mortality, diabetes), though some groups are healthier in some respectsthan the indigenous population (smoking among Moroccan women, mortalityrisks of middle-aged women, cardiovascular disease among Moroccans)." "Both political interest and trust in fellow citizens are high in the Netherlands comparedwith other countries." "Organised social participation", however, "is substantiallylower among Dutch citizens of Turkish and Moroccan origin than among the indigenousDutch". "The perception of safety by Dutch citizens has been improving for several years, andthere were again fewer people in 2008 who sometimes feel unsafe (20%). On theother hand, the group of people who often feel unsafe has not reduced (3%)."109