What type of housing do people in the Caribbean Netherlands live in?
In 2024, the vast majority of the households in the Caribbean Netherlands lived in self-contained housing. Self-contained housing refers to a regular home occupied by a single household with its own facilities (including bathroom, kitchen and toilet). Housing is classed as non-self-contained if two or more households share a home, or if the house is not a regular house.
On Bonaire, 82 percent of households lived in self-contained housing in 2024 and the remaining 18 percent lived in non-self-contained housing. On St Eustatius, the majority of households also lived in self-contained housing: 73 percent, versus 27 percent in non-self-contained housing.
On Saba, the difference between the two groups was the smallest: 60 percent of the households here lived in self-contained housing, and 40 percent in non-self-contained housing.
Detached houses most common type of self-contained housing
On Bonaire in 2024, 82 percent of the households in self-contained housing lived in detached houses, 9 percent in semi-detached or terraced houses, and 9 percent in an apartment. On St Eustatius these figures are similar, with 78 percent living in detached houses, 12 percent in semi-detached or terraced houses and 9 percent in an apartment.
On Saba, the share of households living in an apartment is substantially larger, at 27 percent, while 65 percent live in detached houses. 8 percent of households on Saba live in semi-detached or terraced houses.
| island | Detached house | Semi-detached or terraced house | Apartment | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bonaire | 81.6 | 8.8 | 9.5 | 0.2 |
| St Eustatius | 78.1 | 12.4 | 9.0 | 0.6 |
| Saba | 64.9 | 7.6 | 26.6 | 0.9 |
Types of non-self-contained housing
In 2024, the largest share of households who lived in non-self-contained housing reported sharing a home with one or more other households. The percentages were the highest on Saba and St Eustatius (86 and 82 percent respectively), followed by Bonaire (67 percent).
Furthermore, living in a holiday home or apartment is more common on Bonaire (22 percent) than on St Eustatius (10 percent) or Saba (2 percent).
Other less common examples of non-self-contained housing include living in a commercial building, student accommodation or shipping container. Especially on Saba, a significant share of households in non-self-contained housing reported living in student accommodation (10 percent).
| island | Shared home | Holiday home or apartment | Commercial building | Student accommodation | Shipping container |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bonaire | 66.9 | 22.3 | 4.3 | 3.6 | 2.9 |
| St Eustatius | 82.2 | 10.2 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 0.0 |
| Saba | 85.9 | 1.9 | 2.1 | 10.1 | 0.0 |
Most households on Bonaire and Saba are homeowners
The majority of households living in self-contained housing on Bonaire are homeowners. Homeowners represent 57 percent of households, while tenants represent 43 percent. This is also the case on Saba, although the difference is slightly smaller: 53 percent of the households live in an owner-occupied home, versus 47 percent living in rented housing. On St Eustatius the two groups are more balanced: 49 percent of the households are homeowners, compared with 51 percent who rent.
| Island | Owner-occupier | Tenant |
|---|---|---|
| Bonaire | 56.7 | 43.3 |
| St Eustatius | 48.8 | 51.2 |
| Saba | 52.6 | 47.4 |