The figures relate to 2024, during which the current cabinet started halfway through. The effects of the ambitions from the government program, such as the 22% budget cut on the national government, are not yet visible. The year 2024 serves as the baseline measurement.

Personnel and vacancies
The report shows that the number of civil servants in 2024 has increased by 6.2% compared to the previous year, reaching 157,019 FTE. Compared to the previous year, the percentage of hiring has remained stable at 15.4%. In 2024, there were 16.5% fewer vacancies opened at the national government. Judith Uitermark: “For the coming years, we have agreed to work towards a more effective and efficient government, that is as small as possible and as large as necessary. To achieve this, we are focusing on less bureaucracy, fewer rules, less administration and accountability burdens, and working more as one National Government. Each ministry does this in its own way, with an agreement to critically assess whether external openings are necessary for vacancies and to deploy civil servants where they are most needed.”

Furthermore, the figures show that the upward trend of the share of women in the (sub)top continues: in 2024 it was 40.9%. The target is 45-55% in 2026. There are also more employees with a job under the Jobs Agreement Act, although the national government still falls short of the target.

Expertise and integrity as a basis for trust
The cabinet has agreed in the government program to work towards a future-proof national government that does the work well for society and is there for every citizen. This requires something from the national government as a whole, and from every individual civil servant. Therefore, in 2024 the civil service oath has been renewed and various ways have been devoted to civil service expertise. This will be intensified by the establishment of a basic training for every civil servant.

The same applies to increasing social safety and attention to integrity; an important basis for being able to do the work well. It was previously shown that 10% of civil servants experience racism, and the Annual Report shows that there are more integrity incidents than the previous year. Therefore, preparations for a national complaints committee and integrity committee are in full swing.

More Woo requests
The cabinet places great value on a transparent government and is working through the Open Government Act (Woo) for better access to government information. In 2024, the number of published documents at the national government has significantly increased and the number of submitted Woo requests has risen again. More requests were processed and the number of imposed penalties for Woo requests decreased. However, many Woo requests were still processed outside the legal deadline. Since January 2025, the National Dashboard Woo requests has been online so that the processing of requests can be better monitored.

The Annual Report on Government Operations 2024 can be read here.