CBS survey finds higher life satisfaction scores on St Eustatius

Residents of St Eustatius gave higher scores for happiness and other measures of life satisfaction than residents of Bonaire and Saba in a 2025 survey by Statistics Netherlands (CBS). CBS said residents across the three Caribbean Netherlands islands rated their own happiness between 8.0 and 8.5, while scores for individual aspects of life satisfaction ranged from 7.2 to 8.4.

According to CBS, 60% of St Eustatius residents said daily life on their island had improved or improved significantly over the previous five years. The figure was 37% on Bonaire and 33% on Saba. Eight percent of respondents on St Eustatius said life had worsened or worsened significantly, compared with 29% on Bonaire and 45% on Saba.

CBS said 54% of respondents on St Eustatius were satisfied or very satisfied with local government, compared with 25% on Bonaire and 28% on Saba. Dissatisfaction with local government was reported by 10% on St Eustatius, 27% on Saba and about one-third on Bonaire.

People on St Eustatius were more satisfied with their financial situation in 2025 than in 2021, CBS said. It reported little change in their scores on other life-satisfaction measures, while happiness and satisfaction scores on Bonaire and Saba did not change between 2021 and 2025. CBS did not ask respondents for reasons behind their assessment of whether life had improved or worsened.

CBS said respondents on Bonaire and Saba were less satisfied with the Dutch national government than those on St Eustatius. Around 38% of respondents on each island were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with the national government.