Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Netherlands instead of Portugal, you would:
Health
be 18.7% less likely to be obese
In Portugal, 18.1% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Netherlands, that number is 14.7% of people as of 2024.
see 66.3% more spent on your healthcare
Portugal spends $4,928 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Netherlands spends $8,195 as of 2024.
have 33.8% fewer doctors per person
Portugal has 58.5 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Netherlands has 38.8 as of 2022.
Economy
be 37.2% less likely to be unemployed
In Portugal, 6.2% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Netherlands, that number is 3.9% as of 2025.
be 11.6% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Portugal, 16.4% live below the poverty line as of 2021. In Netherlands, however, that number is 14.5% as of 2021.
make 2.3 times more money
Portugal has a GDP per capita of $32,082 as of 2025, while in Netherlands, the GDP per capita is $73,684 as of 2025.
Life
be 73.3% less likely to die during childbirth
In Portugal, approximately 15.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Netherlands, 4.0 women do as of 2023.
have 16.5% more children
In Portugal, there are approximately 7.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Netherlands, there are 9.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 25.9% more likely to die during infancy
In Portugal, approximately 2.7 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Netherlands, on the other hand, 3.4 children do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 13.8% more on education
Portugal spends 4.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Netherlands spends 5.2% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
Geography
see 74.8% less coastline
Portugal has a total of 1,793 km of coastline. In Netherlands, that number is 451 km.
Safety
be 52.8% less likely to die in a road accident
In Portugal, road accidents kill 7.2 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Netherlands, they kill 3.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
use 20.6% more electricity
Portugal uses 5,294 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Netherlands uses 6,386 kWh as of 2024.
live with 35.2% more strain on fresh water
Portugal withdraws 12% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Netherlands withdraws 17% as of 2022.
Environment
be 30.0% more likely to die from air pollution
In Portugal, air pollution causes 10.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Netherlands, it causes 13.0 as of 2019.
emit 98.8% more CO2
Portugal emits 3.3 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Netherlands emits 6.6 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Portugal vs. Netherlands
Netherlands: At a glance
How big is Netherlands compared to Portugal? See an in-depth size comparison.