Poverty Line
The number of people in the Netherlands living below the poverty line has increased significantly in recent years and the economic crisis is probably responsible for this. In 2011, as many as 971,000 people (over 6% of the population) are short of money every month.

Cars
Despite the economic crisis, more than 200,000 cars were added to already overcrowded Dutch roads in 2010. The total number of cars in the Netherlands exceeds 8 million and one million cars changed owners in 2010.

Poor v. Rich
Of the 421 municipalities in the Netherlands, Bloemendaal (near The Hague) is the richest. While the average income of Dutch people is €24,600 per year, the inhabitants of Bloemendaal 'earn' €40,000 every month! The poorest inhabitants of the Netherlands live to the east of Groningen and the south of Limburg.

A2
Anyone who drives in the Netherlands is no stranger to traffic jams. Holland's main traffic artery, the A2, runs from Maastricht to Amsterdam and it's hardly a surprise that most bottlenecks are worse here than anywhere else in the nation.

Plastic bags
According to experts the largest environmental problem of the 21st century seems to be plastic pollution and the Dutch government seems to have finally realised this as well. One measure which will undoubtedly have a great effect is the removal of all thin plastic bags from 28 Dutch supermarket chains and wholesalers. This measure will reduce plastic waste by 500,000kg each year.

Pornography
According to a recent poll, a large percentage of the Dutch population is of the opinion that prison inmates live pampered lives in their cells. This impression was increased when it was revealed that detainees no longer have access to DVDs, videos and the devices needed to play them. They have also been banned from watching porn on pay per view channels. What's a criminal to do?