Languages of the Netherlands Antilles

The official language is Dutch, the mother tongue of around 10% of the population. However, a vast majority of the population, approximately 70%, uses Papiamento, a Creole language of the Caribbean, which is a mixture of Spanish, Portuguese, Arawak and various African languages; It is spoken mainly on the islands of Curaçao and Bonaire. In second place, and used by 15% of the population, is English, which is spoken mainly on the islands of Saint Eustatius, Saba and the Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin. Spanish is widely spoken, and it is the mother tongue of 11% of the population of the islands, standing out especially in Aruba, Bonaire and Sint Maarten.

Recently, Papiamento has been included as a language of instruction in many basic schools and some secondary schools. There are social movements that demand the teaching of Spanish in schools, given the proximity that exists with some Latin American countries.

Languages by number of speakers

Comparative table by islands

Languages per percentage of use in the Netherlands Antilles by 2020

Island	Papiamento	English	Spanish	Dutch	Other
Aruba	69	8	13	6	3
Bonaire	75	3	12	9	2
Curacao	81	3	6	8	2
Saba	1	88	5	2	4
San Eustaquio	2	83	6	4	6
San Martín	2	68	13	4	13
Total	65	16	11	7	5