What percentage of the population has difficulty making ends meet?
In 2021, approximately 20 percent of the population aged 15 years or older on Bonaire and Saba said they had difficulties making ends meet with their income. This figure was higher on St Eustatius namely over 30 percent. In 2017, the situation on Saba was different: 36 percent of the population said they had difficulties making ends meet.
| Kenmerk | 2021 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|
| Bonaire | 20 | 24 |
| St Eustatius | 32 | 25 |
| Saba | 23 | 36 |
In 2021, around 15 percent of the population on the three islands said that monthly housing costs were a major financial burden for them. This percentage was higher in 2017 on Saba and Bonaire, but not on St Eustatius.
Differences based on education level
The experienced difficulties are linked to people’s level of education. On St Eustatius, people with a low level of education were almost twice as likely to experience difficulties making ends meet than people with a high level of education; 40 and 20 percent respectively. On Bonaire, this was almost three times (29 percent) compared to those with medium or high level education (10 percent). On Saba, there was no difference between the lower and higher educated.
Not enough money for specific purchases
Around 70 percent 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 featuring meat, chicken, fish or meat substitute every other day (lowest on Bonaire, namely 10 percent) to paying for unexpected financial expenses (highest on St Eustatius, namely 60 percent). On all three islands, half of the population did not have enough money to replace worn-out furniture while approximately 45 percent 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 percent on Saba to 45 percent on Bonaire. Also different per island was the percentage of people with not enough money to invite family or friends to dinner at least once a month. This was over 25 percent on Saba and over 35 percent on St Eustatius.
| Categories | Bonaire | St Eustatius | Saba |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cannot afford to | . | . | . |
| Face unexpected necessary expenses |
51 | 60 | 42 |
| Replace worn-out furniture | 51 | 51 | 49 |
| Take a one-week holiday each year |
47 | 46 | 43 |
| Buy new clothes regularly |
45 | 22 | 15 |
| Invite family or friends over for dinner |
31 | 36 | 26 |
| Eat a hot meal with meat, chicken or fish every other day |
10 | 24 | 21 |
| Make at least one of the above expenditures |
68 | 74 | 74 |
Concerns about financial future
On St Eustatius, almost 60 percent of the population had many concerns about their financial future.noot1 This was around 45 percent on Bonaire and Saba, where people with low and medium education levels in particular were very concerned. On Bonaire, people between 15 and 45 years of age were more concerned about their financial future (50 percent) than people aged 45 and over. Particularly on Saba, women (51 percent) were more concerned about this than men (38 percent).
| Kenmerk | Bonaire | St Eustatius | Saba |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 43 | 57 | 45 |
| Sex | . | . | . |
| Male | 44 | 55 | 38 |
| Female | 42 | 59 | 51 |
| Age | . | . | . |
| 15 to 44 yrs | 50 | 61 | 48 |
| 45 yrs and over | 37 | 54 | 41 |
| Education level | . | . | . |
| Low | 45 | 60 | 47 |
| Medium | 46 | 52 | 52 |
| High | 33 | 52 | 31 |
Noten
Explanation – Concerns about financial future
The level of concern about their financial future was determined using the following question: ‘On a scale of 1 to 10, could you say how often you are concerned about your financial future? 1 stands for ‘never’ and 10 for ‘continuously’.
A score between 7 and 10 is classified as ‘many concerns’ about their financial future; a score of 5 and 6 as ‘few concerns’, and a score between 1 and 4 as ‘no concerns’.