Income of universities in the Netherlands by source of funds
| Other income | Tuition fees | Contract activities | Direct government income | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 428.6 | 296.1 | 926.2 | 2586.9 |
| 2005 | 451.2 | 313.5 | 969.1 | 2677.4 |
| 2006 | 478 | 330.6 | 1013.3 | 2743.3 |
| 2007 | 522 | 344.2 | 1086.4 | 2816.6 |
| 2008 | 620.1 | 356.8 | 1299 | 3197.6 |
| 2009 | 540.2 | 421.3 | 1436.1 | 3340.1 |
| 2010 | 553.7 | 465.8 | 1526.5 | 3354.5 |
| 2011 | 568.3 | 489.8 | 1599.8 | 3441.8 |
| 2012 | 544.8 | 520.8 | 1649.5 | 3465.1 |
| 2013 | 523 | 540.6 | 1656.9 | 3584.8 |
| 2014 | 499 | 535.9 | 1712.2 | 3626 |
| 2015 | 524.7 | 579.5 | 1838 | 3696.7 |
| 2016 | 566.9 | 613.6 | 1820.1 | 3802.4 |
| 2017 | 533.5 | 656.7 | 1865 | 3900.9 |
| 2018 | 550.1 | 691.2 | 1924.8 | 4120.9 |
| Other income | Tuition fees | Contract activities | Direct government income | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UT | 5.8 | 8.1 | 22.8 | 63.4 |
| VU | 10.8 | 9.6 | 17.4 | 62.1 |
| RUG | 9.0 | 10.2 | 21.4 | 59.4 |
| UU | 6.1 | 7.7 | 28.3 | 57.9 |
| TU/e | 7.2 | 7.6 | 27.5 | 57.7 |
| UvT | 7.0 | 13.6 | 21.8 | 57.6 |
| UM | 9.0 | 9.2 | 24.7 | 57.1 |
| TUD | 4.4 | 9.7 | 29.4 | 56.4 |
| Totaal | 7.6 | 9.3 | 26.7 | 56.4 |
| WUR | 7.6 | 10.4 | 25.6 | 56.4 |
| UvA | 3.8 | 10.2 | 29.9 | 56.1 |
| LEI | 5.9 | 10.5 | 28.8 | 54.9 |
| RU | 8.4 | 7.2 | 31.5 | 52.9 |
| EUR | 14.8 | 9.4 | 29.5 | 46.2 |
Analysis
Total income of the universities has developed positively since 2004, from 4.2 to 7.3 billion euro in 2018. Direct government funding remains the largest source of funds for the universities, although its share has declined since 2004 from 61% to 57%. Especially revenues from "Contract activities" have risen faster than direct government funding, so the share of this income has increased in the period 2004-2018, from 22 to 26%. Since 2012, this percentage has been relatively stable. "Other income" grew less constantly and its proportion went down (from 10% to 8%).
Of all universities, the University of Twente (UT) has the largest share of government funding (63% of total income). At the Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR), direct government income constitutes less than half (46%) of the total income, while the shares of contract income (30%) and other income (15%) are comparatively large. Radboud University (RU) and the University of Amsterdam (UvA) also obtain a significant portion (30% or more) of their income from contract income. Tilburg University (TiU) has a relatively large proportion of tuition fees, income from courses and examination fees, at 14%.
For an explanation of the used acronyms we kindly refer to the web page Definitions for Science in Figures.
More data
Additional data about the income and expenditure of the universities in the Netherlands over more years and per university are available in Excel format.