Just two in five adults in the Netherlands stick to the recommended guidelines of none or no more than one glass of alcohol a day, the Trimbos addiction institute said on Wednesday.

Some 50% of women keep to the guidelines, but just 30% of men do so, the institute said. And just 30% of people with university or college degrees follow the one glass a day rule.

Nevertheless, there has been a slight improvement since 2014, when 37.4% of the population drank more than the recommended amount.

The Trimbos institute said 9% of the Dutch population can be classified as heavy drinkers, consuming more than four glasses a day if female and six if male. Men are much more likely than women to drink too much.