WILLEMSTAD – Long waiting times for medical appointments appear to be a considerably bigger obstacle to healthcare in Curaçao than in many developed countries, according to the latest healthcare report from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS).
The Enkuesta Sosial 2025 found that 11.6 percent of respondents in Curaçao reported having to wait a long time before they could obtain an appointment with a doctor. CBS compared that figure with data from 28 OECD countries, where an average of 2.3 percent of the population reported an unmet medical need because of waiting times in 2024.
That means the reported Curaçao figure is approximately five times the OECD average used in the CBS comparison.
The difference is particularly notable because Curaçao performs much better when it comes to formal health insurance coverage. Approximately 95.9 percent of the population is insured, compared with roughly 95 percent across OECD countries.
CBS warns, however, that having health insurance does not automatically guarantee timely access to healthcare. The actual accessibility of medical services also depends on waiting times, the scope of insurance coverage and socioeconomic circumstances.
Financial barriers are another significant problem. Some 7.6 percent of respondents said financial difficulties prevented them from obtaining medical care, while 3.2 percent experienced delays because of distance or transportation problems.
The figures indicate that waiting time is currently a much larger accessibility problem than transportation or distance.
CBS notes that waiting times are also an important cause of unmet healthcare needs internationally, but the percentage recorded in Curaçao stands well above the OECD benchmark included in the report.
The findings suggest that Curaçao's challenge is increasingly not simply whether residents are insured, but whether they can obtain the care they need within a reasonable period.