The Dutch are becoming more pessimistic about society, with 57% of the over 15s saying that things are moving in the wrong direction, national statistics agency CBS said on Monday.

The 2021 figure is in sharp contrast to that from 2018, before coronavirus, when 38% were pessimistic about the future, the CBS said.

In addition, 44% of those questioned said that most people’s lives were worsening rather than improving, a nine percentage point rise on 2018. And 39% disagree with the statement that ‘the future looks hopeful’, compared with 26% three years earlier.

Although pessimism has increased across all age groups, the elderly are more likely to be concerned about the future than youngsters. While 50% to 16 to 25-year-olds say society is going wrong, that figure rises to 62% among the over 75s.