The number of deaths per 1,000 inhabitants in the Netherlands amounted to *** in 2023. Between 1960 and 2023, the death rate rose by ***, though the increase followed an uneven trajectory rather than a consistent upward trend.

This table includes key figures on mortality in the Dutch population broken down by gender. The figures include totals and ratios of deceased persons, infant mortality, mortality in babies younger than 4 weeks and perinatal mortality (after a gestation period of 24 weeks or more and after a gestation period of 28 weeks or more). The table also presents figures on life expectancy at birth and average age at death.

For additional information on Mortality the reader is referred to the Dutch tables.

Data available from: 1950

Status of the figures: All data recorded in this publication are final data.

Changes as of 15 August 2025: The final figures of 2023 and 2024 are added to the table.

When will new figures be published? In the third quarter of 2026 final figures of 2025 will be published in this publication.

Actual value and historical data chart for Netherlands Death Rate Crude Per 1 000 People

In 2022, the infant mortality rate in the Netherlands was 3.2. This means that out of every 1,000 newborns, just over three had died before their first birthday. Infant mortality was lowest in the most recent period. In total, nearly 179,000 babies were born in 2021.

 Steadily declining infant mortality  

Despite a slight increase in infant mortality in the last two years, medical developments have ensured a remarkable decrease in the number of children dying in their infancy. In 1950, out of every 1,000 live born babies nearly 27 would die in their first year. This was over seven times as high as today.

Infant mortality in Western Europe  

The infant mortality rate in the Netherlands is comparable to other Western European countries. In the United Kingdom for example, the infant mortality rate was four in 2019, whereas France had a mortality rate of 3.3 in 2020. A slightly lower infant mortality was observed in neighboring Belgium, where the mortality rate was 2.7 in 2019.

Historical dataset showing Netherlands death rate by year from 1950 to 2025.

Between 2008 and 2022, each year roughly between 134,000 and 180,000 people died in the Netherlands. From 2014 onwards, the number of deaths increased annually, peaking in 2021 at roughly 171,000. That year, women were on average 80.7 years old when they died, men were four years younger.

 Neoplasms most common cause of death  

The most common causes of death in 2020 were neoplasms and diseases of the circulatory system, which made approximately 47,100 and 36,600 victims respectively. That year, two women died as a result of pregnancy complications and childbirth in the Netherlands. Fatal skin diseases were relatively rare as well, with 323 deaths.

Birth excess  

The Netherlands has a birth excess: each year the number of live births exceeds the number of deaths in the country. Although some 171,000 people died in 2021, the birth of nearly 179,400 babies meant the Netherlands still had a birth excess of over 8,500. In the last decade, the birth excess dropped considerably though, from nearly 50,000 people in 2008 to under 9,000 in 2021.

This table contains the number of deaths in the population of the Netherlands by underlying cause of death (short list), sex and age-group (at time of death).

Since 2013 Statistics Netherlands is using Iris software for automatic coding for cause of death. This improved the international comparison of the data. The change in coding did cause a significant shift in the statistic. Since 2013 the (yearly) ICD-10 updates are applied.

Data available from: 1950

Status of the figures: Figures up until and including 2021 are final.

Changes as of December 20th 2022: The final figures for 2021 have been added.

Changes as of June 23 rd 2022: The provisional figures for 2021 have been added. The figures of average population have been revised for the years 2019 and 2020 to ensure that the calculation is similar to the calculations of the years preceding 2019.

Changes as of August 18th 2021: As of 2020 “COVID-19” has been added to the causes of death.

When will new figures be published? The aim is to publish provisional figures for 2022 in the second quarter of 2023.

Netherlands NL: Mortality Rate: Adult: Male: per 1000 Male Adults data was reported at 67.330 Ratio in 2014. This records a decrease from the previous number of 70.382 Ratio for 2013. Netherlands NL: Mortality Rate: Adult: Male: per 1000 Male Adults data is updated yearly, averaging 122.947 Ratio from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2014, with 55 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 158.634 Ratio in 1970 and a record low of 67.330 Ratio in 2014. Netherlands NL: Mortality Rate: Adult: Male: per 1000 Male Adults data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Netherlands – Table NL.World Bank: Health Statistics. Adult mortality rate, male, is the probability of dying between the ages of 15 and 60--that is, the probability of a 15-year-old male dying before reaching age 60, if subject to age-specific mortality rates of the specified year between those ages.; ; (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision. (2) University of California, Berkeley, and Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research. The Human Mortality Database.; Weighted average;

The Netherlands: Deaths of children five to fourteen years of age per 1000 live births: The latest value from 2022 is 0 deaths per 1000 births, unchanged from 0 deaths per 1000 births in 2021. In comparison, the world average is 3 deaths per 1000 births, based on data from 187 countries. Historically, the average for the Netherlands from 1990 to 2022 is 1 deaths per 1000 births. The minimum value, 0 deaths per 1000 births, was reached in 2008 while the maximum of 1 deaths per 1000 births was recorded in 1990.

In 2020, just over 150,000 people passed away in the Netherlands. The most common causes of death were neoplasms, diseases of the circulatory system as well as mental and behavioural disorders. By comparison, fatal diseases of the skin and complications of pregnancy and childbirth were not very common.

 Differences between men and women  

The two most important causes of death in the Netherlands were the same for both genders, although neoplasms were more common among men, and diseases of the circulatory system were more common among women. Some causes of death were more common among a certain gender though. For example, nearly twice as many women as men died from musculoskeletal diseases (742, vs. 385)

 Comparison with neighboring Belgium  

In neighboring country Belgium, the most common causes of death were also cardiovascular diseases and neoplasms. In Belgium, nearly 28,600 people died of neoplasms in 2016, the most recent available year. In the Netherlands, this was the cause of death of just over 46,500 people.

Actual value and historical data chart for Netherlands Mortality Rate Infant Female Per 1000 Live Births

Netherlands NL: Mortality Rate: Under-5: Male: per 1000 Live Births data was reported at 4.200 Ratio in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 4.300 Ratio for 2015. Netherlands NL: Mortality Rate: Under-5: Male: per 1000 Live Births data is updated yearly, averaging 4.900 Ratio from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2016, with 5 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 9.400 Ratio in 1990 and a record low of 4.200 Ratio in 2016. Netherlands NL: Mortality Rate: Under-5: Male: per 1000 Live Births data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Netherlands – Table NL.World Bank: Health Statistics. Under-five mortality rate, male is the probability per 1,000 that a newborn male baby will die before reaching age five, if subject to male age-specific mortality rates of the specified year.; ; Estimates Developed by the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UNICEF, WHO, World Bank, UN DESA Population Division) at www.childmortality.org.; Weighted Average; Given that data on the incidence and prevalence of diseases are frequently unavailable, mortality rates are often used to identify vulnerable populations. Moreover, they are among the indicators most frequently used to compare socioeconomic development across countries. Under-five mortality rates are higher for boys than for girls in countries in which parental gender preferences are insignificant. Under-five mortality captures the effect of gender discrimination better than infant mortality does, as malnutrition and medical interventions have more significant impacts to this age group. Where female under-five mortality is higher, girls are likely to have less access to resources than boys.

Actual value and historical data chart for Netherlands Mortality Rate Under 5 Per 1 000

Yearly (annual) dataset of the Netherlands Infant Mortality Rate, including historical data, latest releases, and long-term trends from 1960-12-31 to 2023-12-31. Available for free download in CSV format.

This bar chart displays death rate (per 1,000 people) by country using the aggregation average, weighted by population in Netherlands. The data is about countries per year.

Historical dataset showing Netherlands infant mortality rate by year from 1950 to 2025.

Actual value and historical data chart for Netherlands Tuberculosis Death Rate Per 100000 People

UNICEF's country profile for Netherlands (Kingdom of the), including under-five mortality rates, child health, education and sanitation data.

Forecast: Perinatal Mortality Rate in the Netherlands 2024 - 2028 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

Historical dataset showing Netherlands maternal mortality rate by year from 1985 to 2023.