Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Netherlands instead of Ireland, you would:

Health

be 47.3% less likely to be obese

In Ireland, 27.9% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Netherlands, that number is 14.7% of people as of 2024.

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live 1.0 years less

In Ireland, the average life expectancy is 83 years (81 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2024. In Netherlands, that number is 82 years (81 years for men, 83 years for women) as of 2024.

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be 34.5% more likely to die by suicide

Ireland has a suicide rate of 8.6 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Netherlands, it is 11.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Economy

be 16.4% less likely to be unemployed

In Ireland, 4.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Netherlands, that number is 3.9% as of 2025.

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make 44.0% less money

Ireland has a GDP per capita of $131,592 as of 2025, while in Netherlands, the GDP per capita is $73,684 as of 2025.

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Expenditures

spend 78.6% more on education

Ireland spends 2.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2021. Netherlands spends 5.2% of total GDP on education as of 2022.

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spend 46.1% more on healthcare

Ireland spends 6.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In Netherlands, that number is 10.0% of GDP as of 2024.

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Geography

see 68.9% less coastline

Ireland has a total of 1,448 km of coastline. In Netherlands, that number is 451 km.

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Safety

be 21.4% more likely to die in a road accident

In Ireland, road accidents kill 2.8 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Netherlands, they kill 3.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

find 33.1% more home broadband

Ireland has 32.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Netherlands has 43.0 as of 2024.

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live with 2.1 times more strain on fresh water

Ireland withdraws 8% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Netherlands withdraws 17% as of 2022.

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Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook, United Nations SDG Indicators (2021). How we calculate this

Compare further: Ireland vs. Netherlands

Cost of Living Comparison · 7 categories - 2026 data
Netherlands is 3.5% more expensive than Ireland overall
→
Size Comparison · See true size
Ireland is about 1.7 times bigger than Netherlands.
→
Moving from Ireland to Netherlands · OECD 2023
2,351 people moved from Ireland to Netherlands.
→
City Size Comparison · See true size
Compare the size of Dublin vs Amsterdam
→

Netherlands: At a glance

Netherlands is a sovereign country in Europe, with a total land area of approximately 33,893 sq km. The Dutch United Provinces declared their independence from Spain in 1579; during the 17th century, they became a leading seafaring and commercial power, with settlements and colonies around the world. After a 20-year French occupation, a Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed in 1815. In 1830 Belgium seceded and formed a separate kingdom. The Netherlands remained neutral in World War I, but suffered invasion and occupation by Germany in World War II. A modern, industrialized nation, the Netherlands is also a large exporter of agricultural products. The country was a founding member of NATO and the EEC (now the EU) and participated in the introduction of the euro in 1999. In October 2010, the former Netherlands Antilles was dissolved and the three smallest islands - Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba - became special municipalities in the Netherlands administrative structure. The larger islands of Sint Maarten and Curacao joined the Netherlands and Aruba as constituent countries forming the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
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How big is Netherlands compared to Ireland? See an in-depth size comparison.

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