Data on homelessness and housing exclusion 2026: Netherlands

Summary of key data and information

	Summary of key data and information
Official statistical definition of homelessness (Table 1)	In official statistics, the Netherlands defines people experiencing homelessness in accordance with the definition of Wolf et al. (2002) which includes: people living on the street or other public space, without a permanent place of residence; persons who make short-term use of night care or accessible care; and persons without permanent residence, who sleep with family or friends on a non-structural basis and do not know where they will sleep the next night.
Latest national estimates of homelessness (Table 2, Table 3)	33 000 individuals, representing 0.18% of the total population (2024)
	31% are women, 61% are men
	Point-in-time count, based on the Homelessness in the Netherlands Study
	ETHOS Light groups included	Included: ETHOS Light 1: Living on the streets, in public spaces ETHOS Light 2: Emergency accommodation (e.g. shelters) ETHOS Light 3: Accommodation for the homeless (e.g. hostels and women’s refuges) ETHOS Light 5: People in non-conventional dwellings (e.g. caravans, cars or tents) ETHOS Light 6: Living temporarily with others in conventional housing (e.g. sofa-surfing) Not included: ETHOS Light 4: People in institutions
	Notes: Each ETHOS Light group includes one or more sub-categories of living situations. ETHOS Light groups are considered as “included” in the data collection approach if at least one of the sub-categories is counted.
Legal framework to collect data on homelessness (Table 4)	There is no legal obligation to collect data on homelessness in the Netherlands.
Homelessness Strategy (Table 5)	National Homelessness Strategy: The Dutch National Action Plan on Homelessness: Housing First Regional and/or local homelessness strategies exist
Approaches to collect data on homelessness (Table 6)	Homeless in the Netherlands Study: Estimation of people experiencing homelessness through the capture‑recapture statistical method using administrative data (Table 6.1). ETHOS Light Count: Regional point-in-time research including all ETHOS categories (Table 6.2).

Table 1. Official statistical definition of homelessness

Statistical definition

Homelessness

The Netherlands defines homeless people in accordance with the definition of Wolf et al. (2002) which includes: people living on the street or other public space, without a permanent place of residence; persons who make short-term use of night care or accessible care; and persons without permanent residence, who sleep with family or friends on a non-structural basis and do not know where they will sleep the next night.

Table 2. Data on people experiencing homelessness: Headline estimate, by living situation

Presented according to ETHOS Light Typology

Year	Headline estimate of homelessness (Individuals)	% of total population	ETHOS Light 1 People living rough	ETHOS Light 2 People in emergency accommodation	ETHOS Light 3 People in accommodation for the homeless	ETHOS Light 4 People living in institutions	ETHOS Light 5 People living in unconventional dwellings	ETHOS Light 6 People staying with family/friends
2016	30 500	0.18%	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
2023	30 600	0.17%	Included in headline estimate but not specified	Included in headline estimate but not specified	Included in headline estimate but not specified	Not included	Included in headline estimate but not specified	Included in headline estimate but not specified
2024	33 000	0.18%	Included in headline estimate but not specified	Included in headline estimate but not specified	Included in headline estimate but not specified	Not included	Included in headline estimate but not specified	Included in headline estimate but not specified
Metadata: Type of count: Point-in-time Data are comparable across years: Yes Included in headline estimate: Children: No Temporary accommodation for: Asylum seekers: No Refugees: No Victims/survivors of domestic violence: No

Note: Data refer to people between the age of 18 and 65 years old. The headline estimate was estimated using the capture‑recapture method and was therefore not directly observed. Although ETHOS 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 are included in the headline estimate, each ETHOS category is only partially counted.

Source: OECD Questionnaire on Affordable and Social Housing (QuASH); Statistics Netherlands (CBS) (2024), Homelessness in the Netherlands Study.

Table 3. Data on people experiencing homelessness: Headline estimate, by sub-group and living situation

Presented according to ETHOS Light Typology, 2025

	Single adults	Men	Women	Youth (aged 0‑18)	Youth (aged 18‑27)	Older people (aged 60‑69)	Older people (aged 70 and over)	Families with children (# of households)
Headline estimate of homelessness	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
As percentage of total population experiencing homelessness(1)	54%	61%	31%	14%	19%	6%	1%	9%
ETHOS Light 1: People living rough	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
ETHOS Light 2: People in emergency accommodation	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
ETHOS Light 3: People in accommodation for the homeless	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
ETHOS Light 4: People living in institutions	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
ETHOS Light 5: People living in unconventional dwellings	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
ETHOS Light 6: People staying with family/friends	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
Metadata: Type of count: Point-in-time Included in headline estimate: Children: Yes Temporary accommodation for: Asylum seekers: Yes Refugees: Yes Victims/survivors of domestic violence: Yes

Note: Sub-groups are not mutually exclusive. 1. These percentages are based on several regional ETHOS-light counts. As more reserach is done, these percentages might change slightly.

Source: OECD Questionnaire on Affordable and Social Housing (QuASH); Resultaten ETHOS telling dak- en thuisloosheid - Kansfonds.

Table 4. Legal framework to collect data on homelessness

	Legal framework
Law that governs data collection on homelessness	None.
Legal obligations	None.

Table 5. Homelessness strategy

	Homelessness strategies in place
National Homelessness Strategy	The Dutch National Action Plan on Homelessness: Housing First
Regional and/or local homelessness strategies exist	Yes.

Table 6. Approaches to collect data on homelessness

6.1. Homeless in the Netherlands Study
Description Using the capture‑recapture method, three registers are used to estimate the total number of people experiencing homelessness in the Netherlands: 1. People at reception addresses: A list compiled by the CBS of persons who, according to the personal records database, stay at day and night shelters 2. WWB: A list available in the CBS of persons who were on the social assistance register as persons without a permanent place of residence 3. LADIS: A selection of people experiencing homelessness from the National Alcohol and Drug Information System. Since 2020, a selection of people experiencing homelessness who were known to one of three probation organisations in the Netherlands has been used instead of the LADIS: (1) Probation Netherlands (RN); (2) Stichting Verslavingsreclassering GGZ (SVG); and (3) Salvation Army Youth Protection and Probation Foundation. The data are comparable despite the change in methodology in 2020. The reference date is always the first of January of the year in question.
Type of count generated Point-in-time	Methods Capture‑recapture Administrative data
Lead authority(ies) Statistics Netherlands (CBS) Ministry of health, welfare and sports	Source(s) of information Administrative data is used to perform the capture‑recapture method
Scope National level	Depth of data Key demographic characteristics
Frequency Annual
ETHOS Light groups included: ETHOS Light 1: Living on the streets, in public spaces ETHOS Light 2: Emergency accommodation (e.g. shelters) ETHOS Light 3: Accommodation for the homeless (e.g. hostels and women’s refuges) ETHOS Light 5: People in non-conventional dwellings (e.g. caravans, cars or tents) ETHOS Light 6: Living temporarily with others in conventional housing (e.g. sofa-surfing) Note: Each ETHOS Light group includes one or more sub-categories of living situations. ETHOS Light groups are considered as “included” in the data collection approach if at least one of the sub-categories is counted.
Notes and sources Homeless in the Netherlands (cbs.nl) 30.6 thousand homeless people at the start of 2023 (cbs.nl) StatLine - Daklozen 18 tot 65 jaar; persoonskenmerken, 1 januari (cbs.nl)
6.2. ETHOS Light Count
Description Regional point-in-time research based on the observations by a large variety of professionals. The research includes all ETHOS categories.
Type of count generated Point-in-time	Methods Point-in-time count
Lead authority(ies) Hogeschool Utrecht	Source(s) of information Observations by a large variety of professionals
Scope Regional level	Depth of data Wide range of information: Wide range of characteristics (such as gender, age, nationality, legal status, household, family composition, sources of income, health, duration of homelessness, postal address)
Frequency The count is executed yearly in different regions. The goal is to have a regional count in covering all municipalities roughly every four years.
ETHOS Light groups included: ETHOS Light 1: Living on the streets, in public spaces ETHOS Light 2: Emergency accommodation (e.g. shelters) ETHOS Light 3: Accommodation for the homeless (e.g. hostels and women’s refuges) ETHOS Light 4: People in institutions ETHOS Light 5: People in non-conventional dwellings (e.g. caravans, cars or tents) ETHOS Light 6: Living temporarily with others in conventional housing (e.g. sofa-surfing) Note: Each ETHOS Light group includes one or more sub-categories of living situations. ETHOS Light groups are considered as “included” in the data collection approach if at least one of the sub-categories is counted.
Notes and sources This research project covers all ages and all legal statuses.

Please refer to the OECD Affordable Housing Database, indicator HC3.1.Population experiencing homelessness, https://www.oecd.org/content/oecd/en/data/datasets/oecd-affordable-housing-database.html.

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