The Dutch are generally happy with their lives but there is a wide gap between the high-skilled and low-skilled when it comes to having trust in official institutions, according to a new report by national statistics office CBS.

While 85% of university and college graduates trust the legal system, only 45% of people who went to trade school do so, the CBS said. And 75% of graduates have faith in the political system, compared with just 40% of the low-skilled. The picture is similar for other national and European institutions.
Young people are also more likely to trust institutions than pensioners, the report said.
Bridging this divide is a ‘fundamental job’ for the government, said Alexander Rinnooy Kan, chairman of the government’s SER advisory body who was presented with the first copy of the report.
Other facts which emerge from the report: The well-educated live on average seven years longer than those with basic education levels. The number of households living under the official poverty line has gone up slightly to 8% of the total and four out of 10 workers are prepared to stay in work until the age of 65, the current state pension age.