What do young people plan to do in the future?
In 2024, more than four in ten students on Bonaire indicate that they wanted to continue studying after obtaining their secondary diploma. On Saba and St Eustatius, approximately half of students had these plans. Most students plan to leave the island in the future and start living somewhere else. The most frequently cited reasons for this are to pursue an education or degree, or to see more of the world.
In 2024, 42 percent of the students on Bonaire (aged under 18 years) in secondary education (VO) and senior secondary vocational education (MBO) said that they plan to continue their education after obtaining their secondary diploma. On Saba and St Eustatius, the figures are 53 percent and 48 percent respectively. Of the remaining students, the majority wanted to start working or start their own business. A minority said that they do not know yet.
Compared to 2020, students on Bonaire are slightly more likely to indicate that they want to work or start their own business. On Saba, students were slightly less likely to indicate that they want to start their own business and were more likely to be unsure about their future plans.
| Year | Education | Work | Start own business | Something else | I do not know yet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bonaire | . | . | . | . | . |
| 2024 | 42.3 | 18.5 | 15.8 | 8.5 | 14.9 |
| 2020 | 45.7 | 14.9 | 12.5 | 9.3 | 17.5 |
| Saba | . | . | . | . | . |
| 2024 | 53.1 | 12.5 | 13.5 | 6.2 | 14.6 |
| 2020 | 48.4 | 16.1 | 20.4 | 5.4 | 9.7 |
| St Eustatius | . | . | . | . | . |
| 2024 | 48.1 | 13.8 | 15.0 | 5.0 | 18.1 |
| 2020¹ | . | . | . | . | . |
| 1)The response on St Eustatius was so low and selective in 2020 that the figures are not reliable enough for publication. | |||||
Large majority of students want to leave the island
Among students on Saba and St Eustatius in 2024, 91 percent said they want to leave the island and live somewhere else. On Bonaire the share was 81 percent. The most frequently cited reasons for this are to pursue an education or degree, or to see more of the world. About a quarter of the students said they do not like living on the island.
| Bonarie | Saba | St Eustatius | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discover the world |
56.1 | 59.8 | 44.5 |
| Training, education or work |
53.0 | 60.9 | 64.4 |
| Do not like living on the island |
26.5 | 29.9 | 23.3 |
| Family lives elsewhere |
15.1 | 18.4 | 10.3 |
| Scholarship for education abroad |
5.7 | . | 7.5 |
| Health | 1.5 | 5.7 | . |
| Other | 18.3 | 21.8 | 17.8 |
Most students receive good advice about the important things in life
Making plans for the future and moving away are important decisions, and it can be helpful to get good advice from other people about them. In 2024, 79 percent of students on Bonaire (completely) agreed with the statement ‘I receive good advice about the important things in life’. On Saba and St Eustatius, the share was almost the same. On all three islands, 5 percent or fewer (completely) disagreed with this statement.
| Categories | (Completely) agree | Neither agree nor disagree | (Completely) disagree |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bonaire | 78.7 | 15.9 | 5.4 |
| Saba | 76.0 | 18.8 | 5.2 |
| St Eustatius | 76.9 | 19.4 | 3.7 |