Three-quarters of Caribbean Dutch feel healthy
On all three islands of the Caribbean Netherlands - Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba - approximately three-quarters of the population aged 15 years and over said they were in good or very good health during a survey held in 2017/2018.
Men are relatively more positive about their health than women on all three islands. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports this on the basis of new figures.
Overall, men feel healthier than women. On Bonaire, 80 percent of men and 71 percent of women stated they are in (very) good health in 2017/2018. This was 87 percent of men and 73 percent of women on Saba; on St Eustatius, these shares were 79 and 63 percent respectively.
Over-45s feeling less healthy
On all three islands of the Caribbean Netherlands, young people are more positive about their health than elderly people. Residents of Bonaire, Saba as well as St Eustatius under 45 years of age have better self-perceived health than residents aged 45 to 64 years. On Bonaire, residents aged 45 to 64 are more positive about their own health than people aged 65 and over. There is no significant difference on Saba and St Eustatius.
Men’s health perception more divergent from women’s after age 45
On all three islands of the Caribbean Netherlands, there is no difference in self-perceived health of men and women between the ages of 15 to 44. However, men aged 45 years and up on Saba and St Eustatius feel healthier than women in the same age group. On Saba, 84 percent of men in this age group state they are in (very) good health against 54 percent of women. On St Eustatius, 69 percent of men and 44 percent of women describe their health as (very) good. On the island of Bonaire, the gender gap is not significant.
Sources
StatLine - Caribbean NL: health and disorders; personal characteristics