Netherlands

Overview

Netherlands lands at #68 of 72 on the Cooked Index — 5th Least Cooked. The clearest fault line runs through political institutions: political polarization (Polarization 55/100) is worse than 28% of countries tracked. Housing policy isn't far behind — housing cost burden trails 29% of the field. And economic policy rounds out the picture: income inequality (Gini 25.7) sits worse than 3% of countries. Same scoreboard, different departments.

At 14/100, Netherlands is 13 points below the median of 27 across all 72 countries (higher = more cooked). Where the system is holding up: homicide rate (Homicide 0.6/100k) — better than 85% of countries tracked. Strip away the country name and you're really looking at a political institutions problem.

Sources: V-Dem + Global Peace Index (2025) · OECD Affordable Housing Database (HC1.2) (2024) · World Bank — Gini Index (SI.POV.GINI) (2018–2022)