More children getting a promising start
Statistics Netherlands sees improvement since 2007, but children from low-prosperity families remain vulnerable.
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Children born in 2021 were more often in circumstances that enable a promising start than children born in 2007. According to Statistics Netherlands (CBS), differences between groups of different backgrounds have narrowed, but the chance of a promising start remains unequally distributed.
Statistics Netherlands examined children’s first thousand days: the period from pregnancy to around their second birthday. The bureau looked, among other things, at prosperity, labour-force participation, family structure and parents’ mental-health problems. This is therefore not a direct measurement of school performance or later health.
Of the children with two parents of Dutch origin, 73 per cent grew up in a family without any of the risk factors examined. That share was 62 per cent among children with one parent of Dutch origin and one parent of foreign origin, and 40 per cent among children with two parents of foreign origin.
Show the figures
| 2021 | |
|---|---|
| Two parents of Dutch origin | 73% |
| Mixed parental origin | 62% |
| Two parents of foreign origin | 40% |
Statistics Netherlands found the greatest improvement since 2007 among children with two parents of foreign origin. In that group, the share without the risk factors examined rose from 29 to 40 per cent. The accumulation of multiple risk factors also declined in many groups.
The picture is not positive everywhere. In families with the lowest prosperity, the average number of risk factors actually increased among children with parents of Dutch origin. Statistics Netherlands particularly cites lower labour-force participation and a larger share of single-parent families as explanatory circumstances. The situation also deteriorated slightly in this prosperity group among children with parents of Indonesian or Iranian origin.
The figures describe groups and averages. They do not show that origin in itself causes differences, nor that every child in a family with a risk factor has a poor start. They do show that income, work, family circumstances and mental health are interconnected with the circumstances in which young children grow up.
The figures may prompt questions about support from childcare, youth healthcare and education. This comparison does not show whether a programme such as Kansrijke Start narrows the differences.
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One story, several perspectives
What is established
- Statistics Netherlands examined circumstances during children’s first thousand days.
- The share of children without the risk factors examined rose in several groups of different backgrounds between 2007 and 2021.
- Differences between groups of different backgrounds have narrowed, but have not disappeared.
- The situation deteriorated for some groups in the lowest-prosperity category.
Left
Arguments From a left-wing perspective, the figures point to structural inequality requiring income support, affordable childcare, public youth healthcare and support for single-parent families.
Values Equal opportunities, economic security and collective responsibility for children.
Consequences Targeted support can reduce differences at an early stage, but requires sustained public funding and does not automatically prevent all problems.
Centre
Arguments Broad cooperation between parents, municipalities, healthcare, childcare providers and schools is the obvious approach, with help tailored to families’ circumstances and properly evaluated.
Values Prevention, proportionality and practicability.
Consequences A combination of universal services and targeted help can remain accessible without unnecessarily labelling families.
Right
Arguments This perspective emphasises that labour-force participation, stable families and personal responsibility are important protective factors, and warns against a government that takes over too much of the parenting role.
Values Family autonomy, responsibility and efficient public spending.
Consequences Targeted support may be more effective and cheaper than broad schemes, but an overly limited approach may fail to reach families facing multiple problems.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The percentages, comparison years and risk factors mentioned were checked directly against the Statistics Netherlands publication. The text makes clear that these are group averages and interconnected circumstances, not individual predictions or proven causes.
- confirmed Children born in 2021 were more often in circumstances conducive to a promising start than children born in 2007. — Main conclusion of Statistics Netherlands. source
- confirmed Seventy-three per cent of children with two parents of Dutch origin grew up without the risk factors examined. — Statistics Netherlands table and explanatory notes. source
- confirmed The percentages were 62 per cent among children of mixed origin and 40 per cent among those with two parents of foreign origin. — Statistics Netherlands publication. source
- confirmed Among children with two parents of foreign origin, the share without risk factors rose from 29 to 40 per cent. — Statistics Netherlands explicitly compares 2007 and 2021. source
- confirmed In the lowest-prosperity category, the situation deteriorated for some groups of different backgrounds. — Statistics Netherlands explicitly mentions Dutch, Indonesian and Iranian origin. source
Editor's note
The main findings and percentages come from the Statistics Netherlands publication of 11 November 2026. The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) confirms the policy context but uses different indicators; the conclusions have therefore not been combined into a single trend.Sources
- Kinderen hebben vaker een kansrijke start — Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek
- Kansen en risico’s in de eerste duizend dagen — Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek
- Meer aandacht voor gezonde start kinderen, impact op gezondheid blijft achter — RIVM