Business · Economy · 7 hrs ago
Dutch economy grows 0.6% in the third quarter
The Dutch economy grew 0.6% in the third quarter, according to the country's statistics office.
Growth was slightly slower than in the previous quarter, but the economy was 2.1% larger than a year earlier.
Industry contributed more than half of the growth, especially the machinery sector, which includes companies such as ASML.
Consumer spending also increased, with people buying more food and clothes and taking more holidays.
Higher government spending added to growth, including more spending on healthcare and public-sector salaries; about 5,000 government jobs were added, mainly in the police and defence.
That increase comes as the government plans to reduce the number of civil servants by 25,000 in the coming years.
The IMF recently raised its growth forecast for the Netherlands, saying the country had limited the effects of the Iran war on oil and gas supplies and may benefit from Germany's economic recovery.
The Dutch economy grew by 0.6% in the third quarter, according to Statistics Netherlands.
Growth was slightly lower than in the previous quarter.
Compared with a year earlier, the economy grew by 2.1%.
Industry accounted for more than half of the growth, particularly the machinery industry.
Consumer and government spending also increased.
- Who
- The Dutch economy, as measured by Statistics Netherlands.
- What
- It grew by 0.6% in the third quarter.
- When
- The third quarter of 2026.
- Where
- The Netherlands.
- Why
- Industry, consumer spending and government spending contributed to growth.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The Dutch economy grew faster than 0.5% in each of two consecutive quarters.
The International Monetary Fund revised its growth expectations for the Netherlands.
The Dutch economy grew by 0.6%, slightly less than in the previous quarter.
- Third-quarter growth
- 0.6%
- Year-on-year growth
- 2.1%
- Industry's share of growth
- More than half
- Additional government jobs
- About 5,000
- Date reported
- October 30, 2026
3 sources
What people are saying
The fact that the economy has grown faster than 0.5 percent for two quarters in a row means the Dutch economy is doing quite well.
Dutch machines are finding their way around the world; we earn good money from that, and it gives the Netherlands a competitive advantage.
Expectations were that the economy would not grow quickly, but by now we are beating all those forecasts.