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Country guide· 28 min read

Netherlands rankings 2026: where Netherlands places in 227 global Top 10s

Netherlands is #1 in Countries with the highest government procurement spending, #1 in 1 ranking and inside the top 10 of 43 rankings. Every position, value and source, regenerated as the data refreshes.

This is the complete picture of Netherlands across Top10Earth: 227 current rankings out of 491 that compare countries, from the economy and health to energy, education and food. Every figure below is the latest published value from its source. Its best position is #1 in Countries with the highest government procurement spending, where it is measured at 20.48 % of GDP (Government procurement spending) as of 2026-11-02. Netherlands holds the #1 spot in 1 ranking and finishes inside the top 10 in 43 rankings.

Where Netherlands is number one

Netherlands leads the world in 1 ranking. In each case the runner-up and the gap are shown so the lead can be judged, not just the position.

Top 10 finishes

Netherlands is inside the top 10 of 42 further rankings beyond the ones it leads. Each entry names the country directly above it, which is the position to beat at the next refresh.

The remaining 30 top-10 positions are in the full list at the end of this guide.

Netherlands by theme

The rankings are grouped by category below, so the economic picture, the health picture and the environmental picture can be read separately. Positions are out of the number of countries each source reports, which differs by ranking.

Environment and energy

In environment and energy, Netherlands holds 68 positions: #2 of 50 in Countries with the largest share of global plastic waste exports (17.37 %), #2 of 50 in Countries with the largest share of global plastic waste imports (13.76 %), #5 of 50 in Countries with the highest plug-in hybrid share of car sales (17.3 %) and #6 of 50 in Countries importing the most palm oil (1,429 thousand tonnes). 64 more rankings are listed below.

Finance and crypto

In finance and crypto, Netherlands holds 52 positions: #1 of 43 in Countries with the highest government procurement spending (20.48 % of GDP), #3 of 50 in Countries by foreign direct investment, net (117.4k BoP, current US$ million), #4 of 50 in Biggest goods exporters (746.27 BoP, current US$ bn) and #4 of 50 in Countries by charges for the use of intellectual property, payments (43.5k BoP, current US$ million). 48 more rankings are listed below.

Food and agriculture

In food and agriculture, Netherlands holds 29 positions: #2 of 50 in Countries with the highest tomato yields (478.89 tonnes per hectare), #7 of 50 in Countries with the highest potato yields (41.7 tonnes per hectare), #8 of 50 in Countries using the most cereals for animal feed (72.9 %) and #8 of 50 in Countries with the highest barley yields (6.17 tonnes per hectare). 25 more rankings are listed below.

World and society

In world and society, Netherlands holds 29 positions: #7 of 50 in Countries with the highest happiness scores (7.22 score (0-10)), #11 of 41 in Countries with the oldest liberal democracies (80 years), #12 of 50 in Countries with the highest share of adults with a bachelor's degree (36.56 % of population 25+) and #12 of 50 in Countries with the most container port traffic (14.5k thousand TEU). 25 more rankings are listed below.

Health and wellbeing

In health and wellbeing, Netherlands holds 25 positions: #4 of 50 in Countries with the highest death rates from falls (26.87 per 100,000 people), #6 of 50 in Countries with the highest death rates from Alzheimer's and dementias (89.21 per 100,000 people), #11 of 50 in Countries spending the most on health per person (6,845.14 US$) and #14 of 50 in Countries with the highest share of people using safely managed drinking water (99.96 %). 21 more rankings are listed below.

Education and science

In education and science, Netherlands holds 12 positions: #9 of 50 in Countries with the most researchers per million people (6,563.34 per million people), #11 of 50 in Countries with the most students reaching minimum maths level (primary) (83.11 %), #11 of 50 in Countries with the most students reaching minimum reading level (primary) (96.45 %) and #16 of 50 in Countries spending the most on research as a share of GDP (2.27 % of GDP). 8 more rankings are listed below.

Consumer tech

In consumer tech, Netherlands holds 7 positions: #14 of 50 in Countries by communications, computer, etc. (62.75 % of service imports, BoP), #17 of 50 in Countries with the highest share of people using the internet (97.01 %), #20 of 50 in Countries with the most fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people (42.98 per 100 people) and #20 of 50 in Countries with the most internet users (share of population) (97.01 % of population). 3 more rankings are listed below.

Travel

In travel, Netherlands holds 5 positions: #19 of 50 in Countries with the most rail travel (0.01 million), #22 of 50 in Countries earning the most from tourism (10.93 US$ bn), #24 of 50 in Countries with the most airline departures (307.43 thousand) and #28 of 50 in Countries with the most air passengers (41.44 million). 1 more ranking is listed below.

What changed at the latest refresh

Comparing each ranking's newest snapshot with the one before it, Netherlands moved in 206 rankings:

Since the first snapshot

Top10Earth keeps every snapshot it publishes. Where a ranking has been captured at least three times, the first recorded position can be compared with today's:

Where Netherlands ranks lowest

A guide that only listed wins would be misleading. Netherlands's lowest current positions are 50th of 50 in Countries using the most nitrogen fertilizer (189.28 thousand tonnes), 50th of 50 in Countries with the highest brain cancer death rate (3.21 deaths per 100,000 people) and 50th of 50 in Countries with the highest government debt (share of GDP) (54.21 % of GDP). Whether a low position is good or bad depends on the metric: being near the bottom of an emissions or mortality ranking is the better place to be.

Every ranking that includes Netherlands

How to read these numbers

Each ranking measures one metric from one named source at one time, so a #3 in one table and a #3 in another are not directly comparable. Countries also report in different years: the capture date is when Top10Earth fetched the data, while the source's own year is stated on each ranking page under methodology. For a side-by-side with another country on the same measures, open any ranking and use the head-to-head links, or visit Netherlands's entity page for the live table and rank-history chart.

Top10Earth never estimates or edits a value. Each number is fetched from its source on a schedule, hashed, stored and ranked by software, then checked by a quality gate before it is published. If a refresh fails that gate the previous snapshot stays live and a person looks at why. Every past snapshot is kept, which is what makes the rank-history charts on each ranking page possible.

Questions people ask about Netherlands

What is Netherlands's best ranking on Top10Earth?

#1 in Countries with the highest government procurement spending, with 20.48 % of GDP (Government procurement spending) as of 2026-11-02.

How many rankings include Netherlands?

227 current country rankings out of 491 on the site, including 1 ranking where it is #1.

Is Netherlands in the top 10 of anything?

Yes: 43 rankings, including #1 in Countries with the highest government procurement spending, #2 in Countries with the highest tomato yields and #2 in Countries with the largest share of global plastic waste exports.

Where do the numbers come from?

From Our World in Data and World Bank Open Data. Each ranking page names its source, metric definition and capture date.

When was this guide last updated?

The newest snapshot used here was captured on 2026-11-02. The guide is regenerated automatically as rankings refresh.

Live table and history →

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