Most immigrants to the Caribbean Netherlands leave within seven years

SABA/SINT EUSTATIUS - Between 2011 and 2016, 8.7 thousand people who were not born in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands came to live in the Caribbean Netherlands. The majority of immigrants moved to Bonaire (5.7 thousand people), followed by Saba (2.0 thousand people), and St Eustatius (1.0 thousand people). Most of these new arrivals had left again within seven years; those who arrived in 2016 had left by 2023.

On Bonaire, residents born outside the region were mainly born in the European Netherlands (2.7 thousand) and Central and South America (1.7 thousand). On St Eustatius, residents born outside the region were mainly from Central and South America (398) and the European Netherlands (249); on Saba, meanwhile, they were mainly from North America (942).

More than half of new arrivals leave within seven years
Of new arrivals who came to live on Bonaire between 2011 and 2016, just over half left again within seven years. This share was the highest among immigrants from the European Netherlands (61 percent), followed by immigrants from Central and South America (29 percent).

On St Eustatius, 65 percent of new arrivals left the island within seven years. The majority of them came from the European Netherlands (59 percent), followed by Central and South America (50 percent).

On Saba, 85 percent of new arrivals left the island within seven years. 90 percent of new arrivals from North America left the island within the same period.

Quarter of new arrivals in Bonaire and St Eustatius leave after one year
Of the 2,946 immigrants who came to live on Bonaire between 2011 and 2016 and left within seven years, a quarter (720) left after having lived on the island for one year. A small proportion of them left within a year.

Of the 687 new arrivals who left St Eustatius, a quarter (167) left after having lived on the island for one year.

New arrivals in Saba stayed the shortest time, on average. Of all immigrants (1,719) who arrived in Saba between 2011 and 2016, more than half (969) had left after one year.

Sources

StatLine - Caribbean Netherlands; population, country of birth, nationality

https://opendata.cbs.nl/statline/#/CBS/en/dataset/84757ENG/table?dl=AB3CD

StatLine - Caribbean Netherlands; population, births, deaths, migration

https://opendata.cbs.nl/statline/#/CBS/en/dataset/83774ENG/table?dl=AB3CB

Relevant link

Webpub – The Caribbean Netherlands in numbers 2024

https://longreads.cbs.nl/the-caribbean-netherlands-in-numbers-2024