Country Foundations

Netherlands

Constitution in force since 1814, 8,739 words. Rights measured for 2023.

Declared
44%
mean across compared rights
Practiced
82%
mean across compared rights
Gap
+38%
delivers more than promised
Executive respects constitution
79%
V-Dem, measured directly

The rights ledger

Each row compares what the constitution declares against what is measured in practice. The two values are always shown together — a gap on its own is easy to misread.

Declared in the constitutionPracticed (measured)Falls short / exceeds
0255075100Right to life — declared 0%, practiced 86%, gap +86%Right to life0%86%+86%Freedom from torture — declared 0%, practiced 97%, gap +97%Freedom from torture0%97%+97%Freedom from slavery and forced labour — declared 0%, practiced 77%, gap +77%Freedom from slavery and forced labour0%77%+77%Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) — declared 100%, practiced 82%, gap −18%Freedom from arbitrary detention (ha…100%82%−18%Right to a fair and public trial — declared 67%, practiced 80%, gap +13%Right to a fair and public trial67%80%+13%Presumption of innocence — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Presumption of innocenceno practice measure0%——Right to legal counsel — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to legal counselno practice measure100%——Protection from self-incrimination — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from self-incriminationno practice measure0%——Protection from double jeopardy — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from double jeopardyno practice measure0%——Due process of law — declared 0%, practiced 73%, gap +73%Due process of law0%73%+73%Trial by jury or lay participation — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Trial by jury or lay participationno practice measure0%——Freedom of expression — declared 0%, practiced 81%, gap +81%Freedom of expression0%81%+81%Freedom of the press — declared 100%, practiced 72%, gap −28%Freedom of the press100%72%−28%Freedom of thought and conscience — declared 100%, practiced 76%, gap −24%Freedom of thought and conscience100%76%−24%Freedom of religion — declared 100%, practiced 91%, gap −9%Freedom of religion100%91%−9%Separation of religion and state — declared 50%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Separation of religion and stateno practice measure50%——Academic freedom — declared 50%, practiced 73%, gap +23%Academic freedom50%73%+23%Freedom of assembly — declared 100%, practiced 81%, gap −19%Freedom of assembly100%81%−19%Freedom of association — declared 0%, practiced 81%, gap +81%Freedom of association0%81%+81%Right to petition government — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to petition governmentno practice measure100%——Right to form and join trade unions — declared 0%, practiced 69%, gap +69%Right to form and join trade unions0%69%+69%Right to vote and universal suffrage — declared 50%, practiced 92%, gap +42%Right to vote and universal suffrage50%92%+42%Right to privacy — declared 100%, practiced 91%, gap −9%Right to privacy100%91%−9%Freedom of movement — declared 0%, practiced 88%, gap +88%Freedom of movement0%88%+88%Right to asylum — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to asylumno practice measure0%——Right to own property — declared 38%, practiced 84%, gap +46%Right to own property38%84%+46%Equality before the law — declared 100%, practiced 91%, gap −9%Equality before the law100%91%−9%Right to education — declared 50%, practiced 73%, gap +23%Right to education50%73%+23%Right to health care — declared 50%, practiced 81%, gap +31%Right to health care50%81%+31%Right to shelter or housing — declared 0%, practiced 83%, gap +83%Right to shelter or housing0%83%+83%Independent judiciary — declared 0%, practiced 88%, gap +88%Independent judiciary0%88%+88%Right to bear arms — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to bear armsno practice measure0%——decl.prac.gap

· marks a right with no provision in that country’s constitution. Scores run 0–100; practiced values are V-Dem indicators normalized across all country-years.

Promise and practice over time

The declared line steps when the constitution changes. The practiced line moves when behaviour does. The distance between those two moments is the part worth looking at.

Declared (the text)Practiced (measured)The text changed
0501001848: constitutional text changed (+14 pts declared)1850190019502000

Mean across the 23 rights measured on both sides, 1814–2023. Vertical marks show years when the constitutional text changed enough to move the declared score.

Promised, but not delivered

  • Freedom of the press −28%
  • Freedom of thought and conscience −24%

Delivered, though never promised

  • Right to life +86%
  • Freedom from torture +97%
  • Freedom from slavery and forced labour +77%
  • Due process of law +73%

Declared internationally

A constitution is only one place a country makes promises. These are the nine core UN human rights treaties.

Civil & Political Rights (ICCPR)ratified 1978
Economic, Social & Cultural Rights (ICESCR)ratified 1978
Racial Discrimination (ICERD)ratified 1971
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)ratified 1991
Convention against Torture (CAT)ratified 1988
Rights of the Child (CRC)ratified 1995
Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)ratified 2016
Enforced Disappearance (CPED)ratified 2011
Migrant Workers (ICMW)no action

Compare with

AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAngolaArgentinaArmeniaAustraliaAzerbaijanBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBeninBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBrazilBulgariaBurkina FasoBurma/MyanmarBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaColombiaComorosCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCyprusDemocratic Republic of the CongoDenmarkDjiboutiDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEswatiniEthiopiaFijiFinlandFranceGabonGeorgiaGhanaGreeceGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyana

Data generated 2026-08-08.