A graph showing the types and frequency of financial difficulties experienced by households in Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba. Graphic courtesy of the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS).
ST. EUSTATIUS--Approximately thirty per cent of people above fifteen years old in St. Eustatius in 2021 said they had difficulties making ends meet on their income, according to figures published by the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). This figure was about twenty per cent in Saba and Bonaire.
However, the situation in Saba was different in 2017, when 36% of the island’s population said they had trouble meeting their monthly financial obligations.
In 2021, around 15% of the population on the three islands said that monthly housing cost was a major financial burden to them. This percentage was higher in 2017 in Saba and Bonaire, but not in St. Eustatius.
The difficulties people experience are linked to their level of education, said CBS.
In St. Eustatius, people with a low education level were almost twice as likely to experience difficulties as highly educated people, or 40% and 20%, respectively.
This was almost three times as much in Bonaire (29%) compared to those with medium- or high-level education (10%). There was no difference between the lower- and higher-educated in Saba.
Around 70% of the population on all three islands said they did not have enough money for one or more specific expenses.
This varied from paying for a hot meal including meat, chicken or fish every other day (lowest in Bonaire at 10%) to paying for unexpected necessary expenses (highest in St. Eustatius at 60%).
On all three islands, half of the population did not have enough money to replace worn-out furniture, while approximately 45% were unable to afford a one-week holiday every year.
The percentage of people saying they did not have enough money to buy new clothes on
a regular basis varied greatly per island – from 15% in Saba to 45% in Bonaire.
Also different per island was the share of people who did not have enough money to invite family or friends to dinner at least once a month. This was more than 25% in Saba and more than 35% in St. Eustatius.
In St. Eustatius, the financial future is of great concern to nearly 60% of the population. This was around 45% in Bonaire and Saba, where people with low and medium education levels were very concerned.
In Bonaire, people between 15 and 45 years old were more concerned about their financial future (50%) than people older than 45. Particularly in Saba, women (51%) were more concerned about their financial future than men (38%).
