Netherlands
EDRIX Score
6.24
EOTRIX Score
7.93
Tier
Specialized Contender
Overall Assessment
The Netherlands presents a stark paradox: it is a leader in open source policy and boasts the EU's most vibrant developer ecosystem, yet this strength is not reflected in the technological choices of its public and private sectors, which show a high degree of dependency.
Sobering Reality
The official website for the capital, Amsterdam, is hosted in the US, uses US-based Akamai for DNS, and has its email run by Microsoft. This significantly impacts its otherwise strong profile.
2020 Baseline
In 2020, the Netherlands was a "solid contender," with a balanced and mature approach across both strategic autonomy and open source policy.
2024 Progression
The Netherlands has made significant strides in formalizing its OSS strategy. It is actively pursuing an "open unless" policy, mandating the sharing of source code. A key development is the creation of a national Open Source Programme Office (OSPO) to implement this policy.
2025 Data-Driven Analysis
The Netherlands ranks #2 in the EOTRIX due to perfect 10.00 scores in Public Policy and Developer Ecosystem. It has the highest density of GitHub developers per capita in the EU. This strength is sharply contrasted by very low scores for Private Sector (3.57) and Public Sector (4.29) digital health, indicating a significant dependence on non-sovereign technology providers in its core internet infrastructure.
Strengths
- Developer Ecosystem: The highest density of GitHub developers in the EU.
- Public Policy: A mature, institutionalized policy with a clear "open unless" mandate and a dedicated OSPO.
Weaknesses
- Public/Private Sector Resilience: A surprisingly high dependency on non-sovereign technology for core national domains, indicating a major policy-implementation gap.
Outlook
The Netherlands has all the necessary components—policy and talent—to be a top-tier leader in digital resilience. Its critical challenge is to bridge the gap between its capabilities and its real-world implementation. The new OSPO's success will be measured by its ability to steer both public and private sectors toward adopting more sovereign solutions.