In the Caribbean Netherlands, residents of Sint Eustatius are the most satisfied with their lives

People living on Sint Eustatius are happier with their lives than people on Bonaire and Saba. Sixty percent of people on Sint Eustatius say that their daily lives have improved over the past five years. On Bonaire, 37 percent feel the same, compared with 33 percent on Saba.

Not everyone thinks life has improved. On Saba, 45 percent say that life has become worse. On Bonaire, 29 percent say this, compared with just 8 percent on Sint Eustatius.

People rate their happiness between 8.0 and 8.5. For other aspects of life, such as finances and life on the island, people give ratings between 7.2 and 8.4. In 2025, people on Sint Eustatius are more satisfied with their finances than they were in 2021.

There has been little change in other areas. On Bonaire and Saba, the figures also remained unchanged between 2021 and 2025. Many people on Sint Eustatius are satisfied with the Public Entity (the local government).

This is the local government. More than half of the people on Sint Eustatius are satisfied with it. On Bonaire, the figure is one-quarter, and on Saba it is 28 percent.

On Bonaire, one-third are dissatisfied. On Sint Eustatius, 10 percent say they are unhappy with the local government. On Saba, the figure is 27 percent.

People on Sint Eustatius are also the most satisfied with the national government. On Bonaire and Saba, more people are dissatisfied. On all three islands, 38 percent are neither completely satisfied nor dissatisfied with the national government.

The study was conducted by Statistics Netherlands (Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek, CBS).