Young people in the Caribbean Netherlands: Student survey results
How are young people on Bonaire, Saba and St Eustatius doing, and how do they see their future? This publication describes how young people in the Caribbean Netherlands perceive their own health and well-being, how they spend their spare time, and what they plan to do in the future. The findings presented here are taken from the Caribbean Netherlands Student Surveys 2020 and 2024, which were carried out among students under 18 years of age in secondary education and secondary vocational education (MBO).
The findings show that:
• Overall, students in the Caribbean Netherlands rated their happiness and life satisfaction between 6.9 and 7.5 on average;
• Girls were bullied more often than boys, on both Bonaire and Saba;
• Most students eat too little fruit and regularly consume sugary drinks;
• There were more young people who vape on Bonaire and Saba than there were smokers;
• On average, students reported more than six hours of screen time per day;
• In the week preceding the survey, nearly half of all students on St Eustatius had provided care to relatives or acquaintances with problems involving health or old age;
• Most students plan to leave the islands in the future, either to explore the world or to attend a study programme abroad.