Measuring the SDGs an initial picture for the Netherlands

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Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) (9.3): the share of SMEs in the value added
of the real economy is stable over time (more than 60 percent), and average when
compared to other EU countries in 2013. The proportion of SMEs that consider access
to financing as being the main problem (almost 13 percent) was relatively high in
the Netherlands in 2015 when compared to other EU countries. This percentage was
approximately the same in 2011 (12 percent), rose to over 19 percent in 2013 before
falling again.
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Greenhouse gases (9.4): the greenhouse gas intensity of the Dutch economy was
average in the EU in 2013. It has slightly fallen since 2000, as greenhouse gas
emissions have decreased somewhat (see SDG 13) while on balance economic activity
has risen.
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Innovation (9.5): the trend for R&D expenditure (as a percentage of GDP) and the
number of patents (per million inhabitants) is stable, but for both indicators the
Netherlands’ EU ranking was somewhere in the middle in 2014. This while knowledge
development and diffusion are important in a rapidly changing world and for
sustainable development. The number of researchers is increasing and internationally,
the Netherlands has a reasonably high score in this area.
SDG 10 Reduced inequalities
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Income inequality and poverty (10.1 and 10.2): according to the Palma ratio, which
has been quite stable since 2000, Dutch income inequality is low compared to other
EU (2013). The Palma ratio is defined as the richest 10 percent of the population’s
share of gross national income divided by the poorest 40 percent’s share. The lower
the Palma ratio, the better it is for the poorest 40 percent. It should be noted that the
various measures for income inequality may give a different picture: the poverty gap,
for example, which has increased since 2012 (see sub-goal 1.2), and the 80/20 ratio
(income of the 20 percent richest divided by the income of the 20 percent poorest).
Moreover, as indicated for SDG 1, the group of people who are at risk of poverty is
relatively small in the Netherlands (6.5 percent in 2015), although it appears to have
grown since 2006.
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Protection of labour (10.4): the contrast between labour and capital can be measured
by the proportion of labour (wages and social security employee payments) in
the GDP. This proportion has remained rather stable in the Netherlands since 2000
(around 50 percent) and is internationally in the higher range.
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Social inequality (10.3): more and more people in the Netherlands report feelings
of discrimination (approximately 7 percent of the population in 2002 to more than
9 percent in 2014). In this context it should be noted that the questions in the
underlying survey on feelings of discrimination among people in the Netherlands
have changed in the course of time. Compared to other EU countries, in 2014 feelings
of discrimination appear to be more widespread than average.
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Migration policy (10.7): the Netherlands scored 61 (out of 100) on the migration
integration policy index (MIPEX) in 2014. This is a rather good score compared to the
27 other EU countries. However, since 2010 (score 69), the Dutch score has decreased
and the most recent score (2014) was before the large influx as a result of the
refugee crisis.
36 Measuring the SDGs: an initial picture for the Netherlands