Overview

• CBS reports 7,300 deaths from accidental falls in 2024, a 5% rise from 2023, averaging 20 deaths per day and remaining the leading non‑natural cause of death.
• Older adults bear the brunt, with 45% of deaths among people aged 80–89 and 36% among those 90+, and the steepest per‑capita increase seen in women aged 90 and over.
• Long‑term care is heavily affected, with 5,000 of the fatalities receiving Wlz care and 85% of those living in institutions, where the share of deaths due to falls rose to 7.7% from 3.1% in 2015.
• VeiligheidNL estimates a record 119,000 emergency‑department treatments for people 65+ after falls in 2024, including more than 90,000 serious injuries, roughly one case every four minutes.
• Regional data for Zuid‑Holland show over one‑third of residents 65+ fell at least once in 2024—including about 43% in Ridderkerk—and more than 10,000 were hospitalized, reinforcing calls for targeted fall‑prevention.