How has the number of inhabitants changed since 2011?
Between the beginning of 2011 and the end of 2024, the population of the Caribbean Netherlands grew by 52 percent to 32 thousand inhabitants. This growth was mainly due to more people settling on the islands than leaving. The population of Bonaire grew, in particular. The population of Saba also increased, whilst on St Eustatius the number of inhabitants actually fell slightly.
The population of Bonaire grew from 15.7 thousand people in 2011 to 26.6 thousand in 2024, an increase of 69 percent. This was because more people settled on the island (21.8 thousand) than left (12.7 thousand).
Natural population increase also played a role, but was less significant: 2.9 thousand children were born, whilst 1.5 thousand persons passed away.
The number of births and deaths per year has increased slightly on Bonaire. Immigration has increased significantly, particularly over the last three years.
| Year | Live births | Deaths | Immigration | Emigration | Change in population |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 181 | -109 | 1544 | -851 | 862 |
| 2012 | 191 | -70 | 1532 | -824 | 867 |
| 2013 | 194 | -79 | 1548 | -666 | 1005 |
| 2014 | 207 | -98 | 1235 | -825 | 492 |
| 2015 | 160 | -102 | 1271 | -832 | 503 |
| 2016 | 195 | -76 | 1313 | -1659 | -229 |
| 2017 | 197 | -99 | 1388 | -1130 | 370 |
| 2018 | 206 | -73 | 1286 | -887 | 555 |
| 2019 | 203 | -97 | 1479 | -773 | 811 |
| 2020 | 228 | -111 | 1422 | -703 | 830 |
| 2021 | 217 | -124 | 1589 | -860 | 828 |
| 2022 | 229 | -156 | 2270 | -857 | 1517 |
| 2023 | 237 | -139 | 1877 | -936 | 1043 |
| 2024 | 231 | -149 | 2220 | -1000 | 1419 |
Population decline on St Eustatius
On St Eustatius, the population declinednoot1 by more than 300 people (9 percent), to 3.3 thousand at the end of 2024. This was because more people left the island (3.4 thousand) than settled there (2.8 thousand) in the period 2011−2024.
At the same time, more children were born than persons passed away. The natural change in population was therefore positive on St Eustatius. This partially offset the population decline caused by the high emigration rate.
| Year | Live births | Deaths | Immigration | Emigration | Change in population |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 33 | -13 | 298 | -188 | 181 |
| 2012 | 21 | -12 | 275 | -145 | 105 |
| 2013 | 51 | -18 | 378 | -285 | 123 |
| 2014 | 24 | -22 | 177 | -330 | -143 |
| 2015 | 36 | -11 | 172 | -876 | -684 |
| 2016 | 31 | -13 | 181 | -129 | 57 |
| 2017 | 28 | -22 | 252 | -150 | 98 |
| 2018 | 35 | -18 | 179 | -394 | -210 |
| 2019 | 30 | -15 | 213 | -218 | 1 |
| 2020 | 50 | -16 | 119 | -150 | 3 |
| 2021 | 38 | -18 | 192 | -128 | 100 |
| 2022 | 31 | -25 | 175 | -128 | 51 |
| 2023 | 30 | -17 | 172 | -273 | -89 |
| 2024 | 40 | -21 | 172 | -134 | 66 |
Population growth on Saba
The population of Saba has grown by almost 400 people since 2011, or by 20 percent. At the end of 2024, approximately 2.2 thousand people resided there. On Saba, too, migration was the main factor driving growth: more people moved to Saba (4 thousand) than left (3.6 thousand).
On Saba, the natural rate of change during this period was neutral. In some years, there were more births than deaths, and in other years it was the other way around.
| Year | Live births | Deaths | Immigration | Emigration | Change in population |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 7 | -17 | 410 | -264 | 174 |
| 2012 | 15 | -13 | 472 | -431 | 20 |
| 2013 | 10 | -12 | 305 | -456 | -145 |
| 2014 | 11 | -16 | 358 | -401 | -35 |
| 2015 | 17 | -9 | 336 | -210 | 136 |
| 2016 | 17 | -10 | 346 | -287 | 63 |
| 2017 | 18 | -13 | 292 | -157 | 145 |
| 2018 | 15 | -11 | 234 | -474 | -240 |
| 2019 | 11 | -13 | 232 | -243 | 18 |
| 2020 | 11 | -16 | 137 | -157 | -15 |
| 2021 | 9 | -20 | 196 | -180 | -7 |
| 2022 | 19 | -15 | 251 | -137 | 124 |
| 2023 | 15 | -13 | 247 | -187 | 25 |
| 2024 | 12 | -11 | 217 | -109 | 98 |
Sources
Relevant links
Dashboard – Population forecast (Dutch only)
News message – Population of the Caribbean Netherlands up by nearly 1,600 in 2024
Noten
The decline in the population of St Eustatius between 1 January 2015 and 1 January 2016 is related to a clean-up of the population register. Approximately 600 people were then classified as emigrants. They were still registered in 2015, but upon verification, they turned out no longer to reside on the island.
The population register on Saba was also cleaned up between 1 January 2018 and 1 January 2019. This resulted in more than 200 people being deregistered and classified as emigrants.