--- title: "765,000 people in the Netherlands: what the CODE ROOD study tells us about period poverty" description: "The 2024 CODE ROOD study by Neighborhood Feminists reveals how widespread period poverty really is in the Netherlands. The numbers, the context, and what you can do." url: https://myperiod.app/en/blog/code-rood-menstruatie-armoede-nederland lang: en date: 2025-10-22 publisher: PERIOD. B.V., Amsterdam --- [Back to blog](https://myperiod.app/blog) [Privacy & PERIOD.](https://myperiod.app/blog/categorie/privacy) · 6 min read # 765,000 people in the Netherlands: what the CODE ROOD study tells us about period poverty [Lees dit artikel in het Nederlands](https://myperiod.app/blog/code-rood-menstruatie-armoede-nederland) PERIOD. team · October 22, 2025 Period poverty sounds like a problem somewhere else. It isn't. In 2024, **765,000 people** in the Netherlands struggled to access menstrual products. That's not one neighbourhood, not one demographic, that's a city the size of Amsterdam. ## What is CODE ROOD? **CODE ROOD** is an annual study by [Neighborhood Feminists](https://neighborhoodfeminists.com), a Dutch non-profit fighting period poverty. They distribute products through pickup points (MUPs) across the country, and, just as importantly, make visible what numbers usually hide. The 2024 edition is the first to properly map how many people in the Netherlands struggle with the basics: a tampon, a pad, a cup. It matters because period poverty has long been dismissed as "a small issue" here. It isn't. ## The numbers ### 765,000 people had trouble accessing products At some point in 2024, 765,000 people in the Netherlands couldn't reliably get menstrual products. Sometimes because of money, sometimes availability, often both. ### 13% of menstruating women couldn't afford products One in eight. That's not a margin, that's structural. ### 400,000 women couldn't afford products at any point Not "a tight month". Not "end of the month". *Never*. For 400,000 women in the Netherlands, a pack of tampons simply isn't in the budget. ### 1 in 5 had to change their daily routine Skipping work, missing school, cancelling appointments. Period poverty isn't just about products, it's about missed lessons, shifts and opportunities. ### More than 610,000 women fell back on poor alternatives Toilet paper, old rags, newspaper, socks. Unhygienic, unsafe, and often with health consequences, from irritation to infections. ### A lifetime of menstruating costs €498 to €5,730 On average, a person menstruates around **450 times** in their life, adding up to **7.4 years**. The cost in the Netherlands? Between €498 and €5,730, depending on the products used. For people counting every euro, that's not a detail. ## More than a poverty problem: the knowledge gap Period poverty isn't only about money. It sits on top of something deeper: a stubborn taboo, very little knowledge about your own body, and shame that keeps people from talking, not with friends, not with parents, not with their GP. If you've never been taught how a cycle works, you also don't know what's normal. What's heavy bleeding. When to ask for help. Which products suit your body. **Body literacy** isn't a luxury. It's the baseline. And for many people, that baseline is missing. As long as menstruation stays something we whisper about, period poverty stays invisible too. And invisible problems don't get solved. ## What you can do - **Talk about it.** With your daughter, son, colleague, best friend. The more normal the conversation, the smaller the taboo. - **Support the organisations doing the work.** [Neighborhood Feminists](https://neighborhoodfeminists.com) and [Armoedefonds](https://armoedefonds.nl) distribute products through MUPs across the Netherlands. - **Donate products.** An extra pack of pads or tampons in your basket, dropped off at a pickup point. Small gesture, real impact. - **Ask for it at work or school.** More and more places offer free products in bathrooms. Ask why yours doesn't yet. ## Where PERIOD. fits in Honestly: PERIOD. doesn't solve period poverty. We're a cycle app, not a non-profit. But we do believe the knowledge gap, one of the reasons this problem stays invisible, can shrink. PERIOD. helps you understand your cycle: when you bleed, why your energy shifts, what a normal pattern looks like and what doesn't. Free, ad-free, and we don't sell your data. Because knowledge about your own body shouldn't be a privilege. ## Read more Want to learn more or contribute? Look up [Neighborhood Feminists](https://neighborhoodfeminists.com), [Armoedefonds](https://armoedefonds.nl) and [Plan International Netherlands](https://www.planinternational.nl). The more people know the CODE ROOD 2024 numbers, the harder this problem is to ignore. *Source: CODE ROOD 2024, Neighborhood Feminists.* **PERIOD. is free to download on the [App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/period-cycle-period-tracker/id6757947793) and [Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.myperiod.android).** Want to understand your cycle better? ## Keep reading [Best period tracker app for privacy in 2026: 6 questions that decide itWhich cycle app is safest for your data? Six questions to test any app in two minutes, plus how Flo, Clue, Natural Cycles and PERIOD. compare.Read more](https://myperiod.app/blog/best-period-tracker-app-privacy-2026)[Is PERIOD. free? What the app really costs (and what it does not)Short answer: yes. Tracking your cycle, predictions and reminders cost nothing. Plus and baby are extras. Here is exactly what is what, no fine print.Read more](https://myperiod.app/en/blog/is-period-gratis-wat-kost-de-app)[Does my period app sell my data? How to check in 5 minutesShort answer: you cannot tell from the app itself, but you can from the privacy policy and the trackers. Five checks you can do yourself, on any cycle app, including ours.Read more](https://myperiod.app/en/blog/verkoopt-mijn-menstruatie-app-mijn-data-checklist)