Dutch teens: The happiest students in the world

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that works with governments to drive economy, social and environmental change to set international standards, have revealed that Dutch teenagers are amongst the happiest in the world. 

The PISA report

According to the OECD's first ever report on teenage wellbeing carried out by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) organisation, the Dutch enjoy good relationships with their parents and teachers and are generally quite happy with their lives. 

The report found that most OECD participating countries had happy 15-year-olds, reporting an average satisfaction score of 7,3 out of 10. 

Dutch results

Focusing mainly on how teens interpret their school years, the report found that over eight in 10 Dutch 15-year-olds felt that they were part of a school community, and over nine claimed that they felt they belonged rather than a feeling like an outsider. The Dutch scored considerably high in this category against the OECD average of 8,2.  

In addition, over 95 percent of Dutch teens also expressed that they felt their parents took an interest in what they were learning as well as their school activities. 

Migrants to the Netherlands

The report also looked at how happy the children of immigrants were at school.

It found that 83 percent of students in the Netherlands who were born in, or whose parents were born in Arabic-speaking countries, felt they belonged at school compared with only 67 percent of those who settled in Denmark. 

To compare your country with the Netherlands, go to the Netherlands Pisa 2015 page.