Property price rises ‘slightly’ reduce Dutch wealth gap

Photo: DutchNews.nl
Photo: DutchNews.nl

The booming housing market has helped to reduce the wealth gap in the Netherlands but Rotterdam still leads the way when it comes to the greatest difference in assets between rich and poor, the national statistics agency CBS said on Tuesday.

The big cities like Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Groningen have relatively large populations of wealthy people but also large groups of youngsters, students and people with an ethnic minority background – all of whom are among the poorest people in the Netherlands, the CBS said.

The CBS includes shares, saving schemes and property among its list of assets.

The new figures show that wealth inequality has fallen slightly since 2015, as property price rises boost assets. At the same time, around half the population have no assets at all, or only debts, the CBS said.

Rotterdam has the widest asset gap, followed by Blaricum and Laren, near Hilversum, and Rotterdam commuter town Schiedam.

The most ‘egalitarian’ areas are Hilvarenbeek in Brabant and the Bible belt town of Staphorst. This is partly because of their elderly populations who have built up considerable assets over the years, the CBS said.

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