Where were people in the Caribbean Netherlands originally born?
The majority of the inhabitants of the Caribbean Netherlands were not born on the island where they now live. Where do people living in Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba mostly come from?
Of the 21.7 thousand inhabitants Bonaire had on 1 January 2021, 7.8 thousand (36 percent) were born on the island. A group of 4.6 thousand people (21 percent) comes from Central or South America (excluding the Caribbean Netherlands, Curaçao, Aruba and St Maarten). Nearly as many inhabitants were born in Curaçao, Aruba or St Maarten, and 3.4 thousand were born in the European Netherlands.
Since the beginning of 2011, the population of Bonaire has increased by 5.8 thousand people, mainly because more people have settled on the island than have left. In particular, the number of inhabitants born in the European Netherlands, Central or South America (excluding the Caribbean Netherlands, Curaçao, Aruba and St Maarten), Curaçao or Bonaire increased. The number of Haitians has tripled from 59 to 211 since the beginning of 2011.
| Geboorteland | Number of residents |
|---|---|
| Bonaire | 7758 |
| Central and South America 1) | 4619 |
| Curaçao | 3913 |
| European Netherlands | 3368 |
| Other | 2087 |
| 1) Excluding the Caribbean Netherlands, Curaçao, Aruba and St Maarten. | |
St Eustatius
On 1 January 2021, 3.1 thousand people lived on St Eustatius, 1.1 thousand (35 percent) of whom were born there. Furthermore, 886 people (28 percent) came from Central or South America (excluding the Caribbean Netherlands, Curaçao, Aruba and St Maarten). More than 700 people were born in Aruba, St Maarten or Curaçao, 426 of them in St Maarten. 291 people (9 percent) come from the Dominican Republic and 200 (6 percent) come from the European Netherlands.
The number of inhabitants on St Eustatius fell from 3.6 thousand to 3.1 thousand between 2011 and 2021. In particular, the number of inhabitants born in North America (–324), mainly in the United States (–279), decreased. This is related to clean-ups of the population registry, whereby persons who no longer live on St Eustatius were removed from the registry. The number of people born in Central and South America also decreased (–173), 76 of them from Trinidad and Tobago. The number of inhabitants born in the European Netherlands or in St Maarten has increased since 2011, from 152 to 200 and from 307 to 426, respectively.
| Geboorteland | Number of residents |
|---|---|
| St Eustatius | 1095 |
| Central and South America1) | 886 |
| St Maarten | 426 |
| Dominican Republic | 291 |
| Other | 444 |
| 1) Excluding the Caribbean Netherlands, Curaçao, Aruba and St Maarten. | |
Saba
Saba is the smallest island of the Caribbean Netherlands with 1.9 thousand inhabitants, of whom 501 (26 percent) were born on the island. A slightly smaller group of 423 people (22 percent) were born in Central or South America (excluding the Caribbean Netherlands, Curaçao, Aruba and St Maarten). Nearly as many inhabitants (409) were born in Aruba, St Maarten or Curaçao (21 percent). Furthermore, 239 people (12 percent) were born in North America, mainly the United States.
The number of Saba inhabitants increased slightly between 2011 and 2021. The variation in the number of residents over the years is largely related to different clean-ups of the population registry. People who were still registered in Saba but no longer lived there have been removed from the population registry. The majority of these people were students born in North America. They come to Saba to pursue part of their medical training on the island. After some time they return to their homeland, but do not always (immediately) deregister themselves.
| Geboorteland | Number of residents |
|---|---|
| Saba | 501 |
| Central and South America1) | 423 |
| St Maarten | 310 |
| North America | 239 |
| Other | 445 |
| 1) Excluding the Caribbean Netherlands, Curaçao, Aruba and St Maarten. | |
Source
StatLine – Caribbean Netherlands; population, country of birth, nationality
Relevant links
Publication – Trends in the Caribbean Netherlands 2021
Dossier – Caribbean Netherlands
The questions
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- How does CBS handle your privacy?