United Nations estimates 22% of St. Maarten population lives below poverty line

GREAT BAY--About 22 percent of St. Maarten’s population is estimated to be living below the national poverty line, according to the United Nations’ 2026 Common Country Analysis, which paints a picture of a high-income country where significant inequality, high living costs and major gaps in social data continue to leave vulnerable households under pressure.

The report says that while per capita income stood at approximately US $29,000 in 2024, placing St. Maarten among the higher-income economies in the Caribbean, the benefits are distributed unevenly. The top 20 percent of households receive more than 55 percent of national income, while lower-income workers continue to contend with housing and electricity costs described as among the highest in the region.

The UN analysis estimates that approximately 22 percent of the population lives below the national poverty line, using ECLAC methodology. At the same time, however, the report acknowledges a fundamental problem in determining the true extent and characteristics of poverty in St. Maarten: the country does not have sufficiently current household and poverty data.

According to the report, the last comprehensive census was conducted in 2011, labour force surveys are irregular, poverty surveys are absent and administrative datasets remain fragmented. In its examination of social protection, the UN goes further, noting that the last household survey dates back to 2005.

That means some of the most important decisions involving poverty reduction, social assistance, housing, employment and the cost of living are being considered without the type of recent household-level information normally required to determine which groups are struggling most, where they live and whether social programs are reaching them.

The UN said the lack of current poverty information also weakens the accuracy of the social protection system. St. Maarten expanded social protection during the COVID-19 pandemic with Dutch-funded liquidity support, but many of those temporary benefits expired in 2023. Government has committed to bringing fragmented assistance schemes together under a unified social registry and digital payment system, but the report says accuracy remains weak because of the absence of current poverty data.

The findings come against a broader backdrop of rising economic vulnerability despite the country’s recovery from Hurricane Irma and the pandemic. The report notes that many low-income families continue to depend on temporary assistance or part-time informal work, while the cost of living has risen faster than wages.

Social assistance enrolment doubled between 2018 and 2023, according to the UN analysis, which describes this as an indication of significant vulnerability among lower-income households. The problem is compounded by a labour market in which significant numbers of workers operate informally and therefore have limited access to social insurance and public pensions.

Housing is identified as a particular source of pressure. During consultations conducted for the report, stakeholders highlighted the situation of single-parent households with several dependents, who face high rental costs and have limited financial protection when confronted by an economic shock.

The report also points to a wider contradiction in St. Maarten’s economic position. The country produces relatively high average income levels, but those averages can obscure sharp differences in household circumstances. Income, assets, access to services and social protection remain uneven, according to the analysis, particularly among lower-income households, migrants, informal workers, women and young people.

The UN argues that strengthening social protection will require more than additional assistance. It calls for better data systems, a national social protection policy and improved coordination among Government institutions so assistance can be better targeted and its effectiveness measured.

The absence of recent information also affects Government’s ability to determine whether economic growth is translating into improved living standards. St. Maarten’s economy has recovered substantially from the pandemic, but the UN warns that continued growth alone will not necessarily reduce inequality if weaknesses in employment quality, social protection and household purchasing power remain.

For St. Maarten, the report therefore places poverty measurement alongside poverty reduction as an important national issue. Before Government can fully determine whether policies are reducing hardship, it first needs a much clearer and more current picture of who is struggling, how many households are affected and what pressures are driving them into economic vulnerability.

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