ECONDEX

Economic and development data for every country, explained with the numbers checked.

Barbados

Latin America & Caribbean. High income. Capital: Bridgetown. Population 282,623 (2025).

Key trends

GDP per person (PPP) (constant international $)
16,545 20,029 23,512 1995 2025 22,127
GDP growth (%)
−16.7 −0.7 15.3 1995 2025 2.7
Inflation, consumer prices (% annual)
−1.1 4.1 9.2 1995 2025 0.8
Life expectancy at birth (years)
73.9 75.3 76.6 1995 2024 76.3

Indicators

Each country reports for different years, so check the year beside every figure. Rank 1 is the highest value among countries with recent data.

Economy

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
GDP per person (PPP)constant international $ 22,127 2025 +5,728 +2,485 89 of 199
GDP growth% 2.7% 2025 +20.1 pp +3.5 pp 126 of 209
GDP per person growth% 2.6% 2025 +20.2 pp +3.6 pp 97 of 209
GNI per person (Atlas method)current US$ 27,080 2025 +8,790 +7,800 53 of 201
Foreign direct investment, net inflows% of GDP 3.4% 2025 −1.4 pp −8.7 pp 64 of 195
Central government debt% of GDP 125.0% 2016 * +41.1 pp +62.7 pp –

Prices and jobs

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Inflation, consumer prices% annual 0.8% 2025 −0.8 pp +2.0 pp 150 of 180
Unemployment (modelled ILO estimate)% of labour force 6.5% 2025 −4.1 pp −3.3 pp 68 of 186

People and health

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Populationpeople 282,623 2025 +925 +3,633 179 of 217
Population growth% annual 0.1% 2025 −0.1 pp −0.2 pp 167 of 217
Urban population% of total 59.7% 2025 +0.4 pp +0.5 pp 126 of 217
Life expectancy at birthyears 76.3 2024 −0.2 +0.4 96 of 217
Infant mortalityper 1,000 live births 9.1 2024 −1.5 −2.9 118 of 196
Health spending% of GDP 5.4% 2023 −0.4 pp −1.1 pp 121 of 193

Education

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Government spending on education% of GDP 3.6% 2024 −0.2 pp −1.8 pp 107 of 171

Access and infrastructure

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Internet users% of population 70.4% 2024 +0.1 pp −1.6 pp 122 of 185
Access to electricity% of population 100.0% 2024 0.0 pp 0.0 pp 12 of 215

Inequality and poverty

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Gini index (inequality)index, 0 to 100 34.1 2016 * – – –
Poverty headcount ratio% of population, at the World Bank international poverty line 1.7% 2016 * – – –

Environment and energy

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Renewable energy% of final energy consumption 5.5% 2022 +1.2 pp +1.7 pp 166 of 212

* Latest figure is too old to be included in rankings or peer medians.

Advanced metrics

Indicator Own history Versus peers (latest) Growth and catch-up
10-yr meanZ-score Income group medianRegion medianVolatility (σ) 10-yr CAGR% of high-income median10 yrs earlier
GDP per person (PPP) 19,626 +1.7 49,305 23,315 1,509 +1.2% 45% 44%
GDP growth 1.3% +0.2 2.2% 3.2% 8.3 – – –
GDP per person growth 1.2% +0.2 1.7% 2.2% 8.3 – – –
GNI per person (Atlas method) 21,301 +2.2 37,020 12,705 2,624 +3.5% 75% 71%
Foreign direct investment, net inflows 5.0% −0.5 2.1% 2.5% 3.3 – – –
Central government debt 87.0% +2.1 – – 17.8 – – –
Inflation, consumer prices 2.0% −0.7 2.3% 2.5% 1.8 – – –
Unemployment (modelled ILO estimate) 8.5% −1.3 5.1% 6.0% 1.6 – – –
Population 281,164 +1.2 2,930,494 3,010,956 1,248 +0.1% 10% 11%
Population growth 0.1% −1.2 0.4% 0.5% 0.1 – – –
Urban population 59.3% +4.0 81.3% 72.0% 0.1 – – –
Life expectancy at birth 76.2 +0.3 81.3 75.7 0.3 – – –
Infant mortality 10.7 −1.8 3.6 12.0 0.9 – – –
Health spending 6.2% −1.6 8.0% 6.8% 0.5 – – –
Government spending on education 4.4% −1.3 4.5% 3.9% 0.7 – – –
Internet users 70.6% −0.2 93.5% 79.9% 1.1 – – –
Access to electricity 100.0% – 100.0% 99.8% 0.0 – – –
Renewable energy 3.9% +1.7 11.4% 12.8% 0.9 – – –

Compare Barbados with other countries