Is a minimum income a UBI?

No. A means-tested, household or conditional minimum is not strict universal basic income.

COUNTRY FILE

Netherlands

NLDRelated benefit

National statusNo strict national UBI

It does not simultaneously meet universality, individuality, unconditionality, periodicity, cash and lasting national scale.

Related activityRelated benefit

Weten Wat Werkt / Utrecht; Participation Act / bijstand

CheckedAugust 26, 2026

No material legislative change is listed after the source scan.

Netherlands has no strict national UBI (universal + individual + unconditional + periodic + cash + lasting). The closest current instrument is “Participation Act / bijstand” (related): Municipal minimum income.

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RELATED BENEFITS

Related benefits

Related programme

Participation Act / bijstand

Municipal minimum income. Utrecht trials relaxed conditions; they are not UBI.

PILOTS AND CASH STUDIES

Pilots and cash studies

Pilot

Weten Wat Werkt / Utrecht

Municipal trials relaxing welfare conditions, not full UBI.

CRITERIA

Six criteria, per programme

Flags from different programmes are not added together to imply a national UBI.

Related programme

Participation Act / bijstand

UniversalNo

IndividualNo

UnconditionalNo

PeriodicYes

CashYes

Lasting nationalYes

SOURCES

Where this file comes from

Official source · 2026-08-26World Bank — World Development Indicators
Institution or operator · 2026-08-26Gemeente Utrecht — Weten Wat Werkt
Official source · 2026-08-26Rijksoverheid — Bijstand
Official source · 2026-08-26European Commission MISSOC — Mutual Information System on Social Protection

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