Young people in the Caribbean Netherlands: Student survey results
About this publication
How are young people on Bonaire, Saba and St Eustatius doing, and how do they see their future? This publication describes how young people in the Caribbean Netherlands perceive their own health and well-being, how they spend their spare time, and what they plan to do in the future. The findings presented here are taken from the Caribbean Netherlands Student Surveys 2020 and 2024, which were carried out among students under 18 years of age in secondary education and secondary vocational education (MBO).
The findings show that:
• Overall, students in the Caribbean Netherlands rated their happiness and life satisfaction between 6.9 and 7.5 on average;
• Girls were bullied more often than boys, on both Bonaire and Saba;
• Most students eat too little fruit and regularly consume sugary drinks;
• There were more young people who vape on Bonaire and Saba than there were smokers;
• On average, students reported more than six hours of screen time per day;
• In the week preceding the survey, nearly half of all students on St Eustatius had provided care to relatives or acquaintances with problems involving health or old age;
• Most students plan to leave the islands in the future, either to explore the world or to attend a study programme abroad.
1. Introduction
How are young people doing, and what do they need to achieve their full potential? These are the questions that policymakers and researchers set out to answer. The circumstances of young people in the Netherlands are monitored in the National Youth Monitor, which is carried out by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) in cooperation with the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS). The monitor provides an up-to-date picture of the circumstances of Dutch young people in the following areas: family, education, safety and justice, health and well-being and work. The figures from the monitor are available through the Youth Monitor StatLine (CBS, 2025), as well as in the Annual Youth Monitor Report (CBS, 2024).
Young people in the Caribbean Netherlands are included in the National Youth Monitor, but there is less data available than on young people in the European Netherlands. The Caribbean Netherlands Student Survey is carried out to fill this gap and gain a clearer picture of the lives of young people in Bonaire, Saba, and St Eustatius. The survey is distributed among students of up to 18 years old in secondary education and MBO; the questions concern the students’ well-being, health, leisure activities, household and care tasks, financial situation, education, and plans for the future.
This article describes some of the results of the 2024 Caribbean Netherlands Student Survey. Some of the variables discussed are compared with the results of the 2020 survey. The article specifically includes the variables that concern how young people feel (well-being, health), how they spend their leisure activities, and how they see the future. The latter is a major theme among young people in the Caribbean Netherlands, partly because enrolling in higher education involves leaving the islands. The themes of work, education, and family situation are beyond the scope of this article, but are regularly discussed in the Annual Report Youth Monitor. Additionally, more info on those themes can be found in the Youth Monitor StatLine (CBS, 2025b).
The main question of this article is as follows: how are young people in Bonaire, Saba, and St Eustatius doing? The question involves several sub questions, namely:
- How is the well-being of students in the Caribbean Netherlands?
- How do they perceive their own health?
- What do they do in their spare time?
- What are their plans for the future?
2. Data
Statistics Netherlands developed a digital questionnaire for the Caribbean Netherlands Student Survey (CBS, n.d.), which was distributed among students on Bonaire, Saba, and St Eustatius in 2020 and 2024. The survey’s target population had the following characteristics: all participants were students in secondary (vocational) education; they were younger than 18 years old on 30 September of the survey year; and they were enrolled at their school when CBS received the student lists. The questionnaire was available in Dutch, English, Spanish, and Papiamentu.
The questionnaire was carried out on Bonaire, Saba and St Eustatius, which allows us to make comparisons between young people living on those three islands in this article. It is not possible to make comparisons with young people in the European Netherlands.
Students in the Caribbean Netherlands
There were 1,601 students (under the age of 18 years) in secondary education on Bonaire on 30 September 2024, compared with 1,272 students in 2020. According to the National Youth Monitor’s annual report (CBS, 2024b), the number of young people on Bonaire increased during this period, particularly those aged between 12 and 17.
In 2024, Saba and St Eustatius had 112 and 219 students, respectively; those figures are similar to those in 2020.
| 2024 | 2020 | |
|---|---|---|
| Bonaire | 1601 | 1272 |
| Saba | 112 | 100 |
| St Eustatius | 219 | 218 |
Schools were asked to help carry out the survey; students and their parents were informed about the fieldwork by letter before the start of the survey. In 2024, the response rate on Bonaire was 46 percent. To account for non-response, a model was developed for survey weights including sex and age as weighting variables. On Saba, the response rate was 86 percent and on St Eustatius it was 73 percent. Since the response on these two island was not selective accounting for sex and age, each participant was weighted equally in order to scale up to the target population. The response to the 2020 survey was so low and selective on St Eustatius that the figures were not reliable enough for publication. This means that the data on St Eustatius cannot be compared between years.
3. Results
This section discusses the results of the 2024 Caribbean Netherlands Student Survey. These results are compared to those of the earlier 2020 survey where this is relevant and possible. The order of the subjects discussed is the same as that used in the survey itself. Differences between groups are only mentioned when these are statistically significant, assuming a confidence interval of 95%.
3.1 Well-being
To get a clear picture of student well-being in the Caribbean Netherlands, we looked at how respondents rated their happiness and general life satisfaction, whether they had experienced bullying or discrimination, and whether they had someone they could talk to about personal issues.
Students on Saba happier and more satisfied than in 2020
Students on Saba gave an average score of 7.4 when asked both about how happy they were as a person and how satisfied they were with their lives. This means that they were happier and more satisfied than in 2020. In 2024, the students on Bonaire score their happiness at 7.5, on average, and their life satisfaction at 7.4, slightly lower than in 2020. Finally, students on St Eustatius scored their happiness at 7.1 and their satisfaction at 6.9 in 2024.
| 2024 (Score (1-10)) | 2020 (Score (1-10)) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bonaire | Happiness | 7.5 | 7.7 |
| Bonaire | Satisfaction | 7.4 | 7.7 |
| Saba | Happiness | 7.4 | 7.1 |
| Saba | Satisfaction | 7.4 | 6.7 |
| St Eustatius | Happiness | 7.1 | |
| St Eustatius | Satisfaction | 6.9 |
Boys on Bonaire happier and more satisfied than girls
In 2024, boys on Bonaire reported both higher happiness and higher life satisfaction than girls. Similarly, boys on St Eustatius were also happier than girls. However, there were no differences in life satisfaction between the sexes on Saba and St Eustatius. On all the islands, students aged 10-14 years were happier and more satisfied than those aged 15-17 years.
| Total (Score (1-10)) | Boys (Score (1-10)) | Girls (Score (1-10)) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bonaire | Happiness | 7.5 | 7.8 | 7.1 |
| Bonaire | Satisfaction | 7.4 | 7.7 | 7.2 |
| Saba | Happiness | 7.4 | 7.5 | 7.2 |
| Saba | Satisfaction | 7.4 | 7.5 | 7.3 |
| St Eustatius | Happiness | 7.1 | 7.3 | 6.8 |
| St Eustatius | Satisfaction | 6.9 | 7 | 6.9 |
| Total (Score (1-10)) | 10-14 years (Score (1-10)) | 15-17 years (Score (1-10)) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bonaire | Happiness | 7.5 | 7.7 | 7.2 |
| Bonaire | Satisfaction | 7.4 | 7.8 | 7 |
| Saba | Happiness | 7.4 | 7.5 | 7.2 |
| Saba | Satisfaction | 7.4 | 7.7 | 7.1 |
| St Eustatius | Happiness | 7.1 | 7.3 | 6.8 |
| St Eustatius | Satisfaction | 6.9 | 7.2 | 6.5 |
Girls on Bonaire and Saba bullied more than boys
In 2024, girls on Bonaire and Saba indicated that they were bullied more often than boys in the year prior to the survey. This difference was largest on Saba, where 31 percent of the girls had experienced bullying, compared to 17 percent of the boys. Additionally, bullying was more common among those aged 10–14 years than those aged 15–17 years. Bullying took place offline for the most part; among young people on Bonaire and Saba it mainly took the form of gossip, while on St Eustatius it mainly took the form of swearing or name-calling. The number of students who experienced bullying on Bonaire and Saba in 2024 was similar to the number in 2020. However, in 2020 there were no significant differences between boys and girls on Saba.
Around 1 in 5 students on Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba stated that they had experienced discrimination in the year prior to the survey. That share was slightly larger for girls than boys on Bonaire, but there were no differences between the sexes on Saba or St Eustatius. There was also little or no difference between the age groups 10-14 years and 15-17 years, even though this was the case for bullying. Students on Bonaire and St Eustatius were more likely to have experienced discriminatory comments; on Saba, discrimination mainly took the form of gossip. Across all three islands, the majority of students who had experienced discrimination stated that this had happened at school.
| Total (% people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | Boys (% people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | Girls (% people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bonaire | |||
| Discriminated | 20.6 | 17.3 | 24 |
| Bullied | 22.2 | 18.5 | 26 |
| Saba | |||
| Discriminated | 21.9 | 19.1 | 24.5 |
| Bullied | 24 | 17 | 30.6 |
| St Eustatius | |||
| Discriminated | 17.5 | 16.3 | 18.9 |
| Bullied | 13.8 | 11.6 | 16.2 |
| Total (% people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | 10-14 years (% people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | 15-17 years (% people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bonaire | |||
| Discriminated | 20.6 | 21.4 | 19.8 |
| Bullied | 22.2 | 26.7 | 17 |
| Saba | |||
| Discriminated | 21.9 | 23.4 | 20.4 |
| Bullied | 24 | 34 | 14.3 |
| St Eustatius | |||
| Discriminated | 17.5 | 17.6 | 17.4 |
| Bullied | 13.8 | 17.6 | 8.7 |
Not all students were able to confide in someone regarding personal issues
It is vital to young people’s well-being that they are able to talk to someone if they are experiencing personal difficulties (NJi, 2022). In 2024, 21 percent of students on St Eustatius (completely) disagreed with the statement ‘I can talk about my personal problems with someone I trust.’ That share was 18 percent on Saba and 11 percent on Bonaire.
| (Completely) agree (% of young people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | Neither agree nor disagree (% of young people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | (Completely) disagree (% of young people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bonaire | 68.6 | 20.5 | 10.9 |
| Saba | 57.3 | 25 | 17.7 |
| St Eustatius | 53.8 | 25.6 | 20.6 |
3.2 Health
The survey also aimed to provide an insight into the health of students in the Caribbean Netherlands. For that reason, several questions focused on the students’ own perception of their health; their consumption of fruit, vegetables and sugary drinks; and whether they vaped or smoked.
Vast majority perceived own health as good or very good
The majority of students in the Caribbean Netherlands in 2024 perceived their own health as good or very good: 75 percent on Bonaire, 71 percent on Saba, and 68 percent on St Eustatius. In the cases of Bonaire and Saba, those figures were similar to the results from 2020.
| 2024 (% of young people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | 2020 (% of young people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | |
|---|---|---|
| Bonaire | 75.1 | 74.2 |
| Saba | 70.8 | 68.8 |
| St Eustatius | 67.5 |
Boys more likely than girls to perceive their health as good or very good
In 2024, boys perceived their health as good or very good more often than girls did. On Bonaire, 81 percent of boys said their health was good or very good, compared to 69 percent of girls. These figures were, respectively, 77 percent and 65 percent on Saba and 73 percent and 61 percent on St Eustatius. Students on Bonaire aged 10-14 years were also more likely to perceive their health as good or very good than those aged 15–17 years. There were no differences of perception between the two age groups on either Saba or St Eustatius.
| Perceived health good or very good (% people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | |
|---|---|
| Bonaire | |
| Total | 75.1 |
| Boys | 81.4 |
| Girls | 68.6 |
| Saba | |
| Total | 70.8 |
| Boys | 76.6 |
| Girls | 65.3 |
| St Eustatius | |
| Total | 67.5 |
| Boys | 73.3 |
| Girls | 60.8 |
| Perceived health good or very good (% people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | |
|---|---|
| Bonaire | |
| Total | 75.1 |
| 10-14 yrs | 78.3 |
| 15-17 yrs | 71.4 |
| Saba | |
| Total | 70.8 |
| 10-14 yrs | 72.3 |
| 15-17 yrs | 69.4 |
| Sint Eustatius | |
| Total | 67.5 |
| 10-14 yrs | 69.2 |
| 15-17 yrs | 65.2 |
Most students ate too little fruit and regularly consumed sugary drinks
10 percent of students on Saba in 2024 stated that they ate enough fruit at least five days a week (i.e. at least two portions of 100g per day). On Bonaire and St Eustatius, that was 16 percent and 20 percent, respectively. Additionally, less than half of students on Saba and St Eustatius indicated that they ate meals that included vegetables at least five days per week: 26 percent of students on Saba and 38 percent of students on St Eustatius. For Bonaire, the share was larger at 52 percent. On all three islands, more than half of students ate breakfast at least five days per week.
| Eat sufficient fruit ( % people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | Eat vegetables with meals ( % people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | Eat breakfast ( % people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bonaire | 15.7 | 52.4 | 61.2 |
| Saba | 10.4 | 26 | 51 |
| St Eustatius | 20 | 38.8 | 56.2 |
High-sugar drinks, such as soda, lemonade, and energy drinks, are popular among students in the Caribbean Netherlands. Less than 5 percent of students on the islands indicated in 2024 that they never consume sugary drinks. The other students said that they regularly consume sugary drinks, usually several days per week. On Bonaire, 43 percent of students consume sugary drinks at least five days per week. That percentage was 50 percent on Saba and 60 percent on St Eustatius. Roughly half of the students who consume drinks high in sugar stated that they drink two or more per day (on average).
More young people who vape on Bonaire and Saba than there are smokers
In 2024, some of the young people in the Caribbean Netherlands sometimes vaped: 13 percent on Bonaire, 10 percent on Saba, and 6 percent on St Eustatius. The share of students on Bonaire who vaped was larger than the share of students who smoked tobacco products. The same was true on Saba, although there were too few smokers to publish a figure. Around 5 percent of students on St Eustatius smoked and/or vaped.
| Smokers ( % people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | Vapers ( % people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | |
|---|---|---|
| Bonaire | 5.5 | 12.7 |
| Saba¹ | 10.4 | |
| St Eustatius | 4.4 | 5.6 |
| 1)The response rate for smokers was too low to publish | ||
3.3 Leisure time
The survey also asked students in the Caribbean Netherlands how they spend their leisure time, which activities they enjoyed, whether they were invited to join other people, how much screen time they had, how often they read books, and how often they felt bored. The survey also included questions on household tasks as well as care responsibilities.
Video games a popular leisure activity
Playing video games is a popular leisure activity among students in the Caribbean Netherlands. In the case of Bonaire and Saba, 46 percent of students said they often play video games in 2024; the same was true for 53 percent of students in St Eustatius. Boys in particular play a lot of video games; the difference between sexes was largest on Saba, where 72 percent of boys said they often play video games, versus 20 percent of girls. Meeting friends outside was a relatively popular leisure activity on all three islands. Participating in after-school activities was more common on Saba (39 percent) than on Bonaire (10 percent) and St Eustatius (18 percent). The main reason that respondents gave for not participating in such activities was that they did not enjoy this.
| Play video games ( % people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | Meet friends outdoors ( % people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | Creative activities ( % people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | Meet friends at home ( % people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | Voluntary work ( % people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | After-school activities ( % people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bonaire | 45.8 | 33 | 24.9 | 20.8 | 13.4 | 10 |
| Saba | 45.8 | 41.7 | 24 | 13.5 | 16.7 | 38.5 |
| St Eustatius | 52.5 | 41.9 | 17.5 | 16.2 | 11.2 | 18.1 |
Most students invited to join others for activities
Among students on Bonaire in 2024, 73 percent (completely) agreed with the statement ‘I get invited to go out and do things with other people.’ Among students on Saba and St Eustatius, the percentage who agreed with this statement was 58 percent and 71 percent, respectively. On all the islands, around 1 in 10 students said they (completely) disagreed with the statement.
| (Completely) agree ( % people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | Neither agree nor disagree ( % people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | (Completely) disagree ( % people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bonaire | 73.2 | 16.8 | 10 |
| Saba | 58.3 | 28.1 | 13.5 |
| St Eustatius | 70.6 | 20 | 9.4 |
Over six hours of screen time
Students in the Caribbean Netherlands indicated that they spend an average of more than six hours per day on a computer, tablet, or smartphone in 2024. This figure did not include using computers at school or at work. Screen time on Bonaire was 6.4 hours, on Saba it was 7.9 hours, and on St Eustatius it was 8.8 hours.
| Average screen time (average per day, in hours) | |
|---|---|
| Bonaire | 6.4 |
| Saba | 7.9 |
| St Eustatius | 8.8 |
| 1)Students responding 24 hours to this question have been omitted from the figures. | |
A quarter of students had not read or listened to books in previous year
A quarter of students in the Caribbean Netherlands indicated in the 2024 survey that they had not read or listened to a book in their free time in the previous year. A smaller percentage said they read books every day: 19 percent on Saba and 9 percent on both Bonaire and St Eustatius. The majority of students did not go to a library to read or listen to books.
| Every day (% of young people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | Once a week or more (% of young people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | Once a month or more (% of young people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | Occasionally (% of young people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | Never (% of young people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bonaire | 8.6 | 14 | 14.8 | 34.7 | 27.9 |
| Saba | 18.8 | 13.5 | 11.5 | 30.2 | 26 |
| St Eustatius | 9.4 | 18.8 | 11.2 | 33.8 | 26.9 |
Half of students are bored sometimes
In 2024, half of students in the Caribbean Netherlands stated that they were sometimes bored. A smaller percentage indicated they were often bored: 29 percent on Bonaire, 36 percent on Saba, and 40 percent on St Eustatius. Girls on Bonaire were slightly more likely than boys to indicate that they were bored; on Saba and St Eustatius the responses given by girls and boys were similar.
| Often feel bored (% of young people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | Sometimes feel bored (% of young people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | Never feel bored (% of young people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bonaire | 29.4 | 53.5 | 17.1 |
| Saba | 36.5 | 47.9 | 15.6 |
| St Eustatius | 40 | 53.1 | 6.9 |
Students often wash the dishes
In the 2024 survey, most students in the Caribbean Netherlands indicated that they had performed one or more household tasks in the week prior to the survey. Students on Bonaire had spent on average 4.1 hours doing such tasks, those on Saba 3.1 hours and those on St Eustatius 3.9 hours. Doing the dishes was the task mentioned the most often. A small number of students said they had not done any of the tasks mentioned in the survey: 10 percent on Bonaire and St Eustatius, and 7 percent on Saba.
| Wash dishes (% in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | Other household tasks (% in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | Mop the floor (% in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | Cooking (% in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | Grocery shopping (% in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | None (% in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bonaire | 68.2 | 50.2 | 48.3 | 39.8 | 37.2 | 9.6 |
| Saba | 69.6 | 55.4 | 62.5 | 38.4 | 25 | 7.1 |
| St Eustatius | 70.8 | 42 | 53 | 42.9 | 33.3 | 10 |
Almost half of students on St Eustatius cared for acquaintances or family who needed help
In 2024, some students in the Caribbean Netherlands had helped to take care of acquaintances or relatives in the week prior to the survey. This may mean that they helped to provide care for people with health issues and/or elderly persons, or that they helped other children in the household. Healthcare-related tasks include cleaning, washing, and dressing, providing company, providing transport, or odd jobs at home. On St Eustatius, 46 percent of students helped take care of acquaintances or relatives, while 43 percent took care of other children within the same household. These figures were 34 percent and 38 percent respectively on Saba and 27 percent and 28 percent respectively on Bonaire.
| Cared for acquaintances or family (% people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | Cared for other children in the household (% people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | |
|---|---|---|
| Bonaire | 27.2 | 27.8 |
| Saba | 34.4 | 37.5 |
| St Eustatius | 45.6 | 43.1 |
3.4 Plans for the future
Studying was the plan mentioned the most often for the future
In the 2024 survey, over half the students on Saba indicated that they wanted to continue their studies after obtaining their school diploma. On Bonaire and St Eustatius that percentage was 42 and 48, respectively. The majority of the remaining students either wanted to find a job or start their own business. A small share of students stated that they did not know yet: 15 percent of students on Bonaire and Saba, and 18 percent on St Eustatius.
| Continue studying (% of young people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | Work (% of young people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | Start own business (% of young people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | Something else (% of young people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | Don't know yet (% of young people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bonaire | 42.3 | 18.5 | 15.8 | 8.5 | 14.9 |
| Saba | 53.1 | 12.5 | 13.5 | 6.2 | 14.6 |
| St Eustatius | 48.1 | 13.8 | 15 | 5 | 18.1 |
Large majority want to leave the island
A large majority of students in the Caribbean Netherlands stated in 2024 that they would like to leave their island in the future and live somewhere else. This was true for 91 percent of students on Saba and St Eustatius and 81 percent on Bonaire. On all three islands, the most common reasons given for wanting to leave were to study and to see more of the world.
| Bonaire (% people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | Saba (% people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | St Eustatius (% people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18 years) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discover the world | 56.1 | 59.8 | 44.5 |
| Work or studies | 53 | 60.8 | 64.5 |
| Don't like it here | 26.5 | 29.7 | 23.5 |
| Family live elsewhere | 15.2 | 18.6 | 10.5 |
| Study abroad scholarship | 5.8 | 7.5 | |
| Health | 1.5 | 5.9 | |
| Other | 18.3 | 21.8 | 18 |
Most students get good advice on the important things in life
Making plans for the future and moving to a different location are major decisions, and good advice can be useful when making them. In 2024, 79 percent of students on Bonaire (completely) agreed with the statement: ‘I get good advice about the important things in life’. The same was true for 76 percent of students on Saba and 77 percent on St Eustatius. On all three islands, 5 percent or less disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement.
| (Completely) agree (% people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18) | Neither agree nor disagree (% people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18) | (Completely) disagree (% people in secondary education/MBO aged under 18) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bonaire | 78.7 | 15.9 | 5.4 |
| Saba | 76 | 18.8 | 5.2 |
| St Eustatius | 76.9 | 19.4 | 3.7 |
4. Conclusion
The findings and analyses presented here can be used to draw a number of conclusions that answer the question: How are the youth in Caribbean Netherlands doing?
How is the well-being of students in the Caribbean Netherlands?
Overall, students in the Caribbean Netherlands rated their happiness and life satisfaction between 6.9 and 7.5 on average. However, there were significant differences between age groups: across the islands, those aged 10-14 years were happier and more satisfied with their lives than those aged 15-17 years. Boys on Bonaire and St Eustatius were happier than the girls. On both Bonaire and Saba, girls were bullied more often than boys. The majority of students on all the islands stated that they had someone to talk to about personal issues, but there was also a minority for whom this was not the case.
How do they perceive their own health?
While the vast majority of students perceive their own health as either good or very good, they also regularly consume drinks that are high in sugar and do not eat enough fruit. Some of the young people in the Caribbean Netherlands vape sometimes: 13 percent on Bonaire, 10 percent on Saba and 6 percent on St Eustatius. Vaping was more common than smoking tobacco on both Bonaire and Saba.
What do they do in their spare time?
Video games were by far the most popular leisure activity on the islands. Additionally, students on St Eustatius indicated that they use a computer, tablet and/or smartphone for an average of 8.8 hours each day; this figure did not include usage related to school or work. For Bonaire and Saba, the figures for screen time were 6.4 hours and 7.9 hours, respectively. Another popular leisure activity on the islands is meeting up with friends outside. In addition to leisure time, most students were also involved in household tasks or care responsibilities. In the week prior to the survey, nearly half the students on St Eustatius had helped to take care of relatives or friends with problems involving health or old age.
What are their plans for the future?
When asked what they wanted to do after graduating, most students in the Caribbean Netherlands in 2024 stated that they wanted to continue their studies. Many indicated that they planned to leave their island in the future, either to explore the world or to attend a study programme abroad.
References
Statistics Netherlands (CBS) (n.d.) Onderzoeksbeschrijving Scholierenonderzoek Caribisch Nederland.
CBS (2024). Annual Report Youth Monitor 2024.
CBS (2024b). Annual Report Youth Monitor 2024: Young People in the Caribbean Netherlands.
CBS (2025). StatLine Youth Monitor.
CBS (2025b). Jeugdmonitor StatLine, thema Caribisch Nederland.
NJi (2022). Eerder praten over mentale gezondheid.