| variable | 1980-1989 | 1990-1999 | 2000-2007 | 2008-2009 | 2010-2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| real gdp growth | 0.99 | 1.24 | 1.84 | -3.5 | -1.82 | 1.8 | 3.4 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 2.2 |
| CPI % | 5.75 | 2.98 | 3.91 | 4.7 | 2.78 | 3.2 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 2.3 | 2.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 15.77 | 16.83 | 9.26 | 10.15 | 11.35 | 8.5 | 7.2 | 6.9 | 6.8 | 6.8 |
| Debt/GDP % | - | 50.79 | 63.16 | 86.9 | 114.73 | 104.1 | 98.9 | 94.2 | 89.5 | 85.1 |
| Current account balance/GDP % | -2.18 | 0.92 | -6.29 | -4.4 | -5.29 | -7.8 | -3.9 | -7.5 | -7.0 | -6.6 |
Data derived from World Economic Outlook Database. To see main macroeconomic indicator in graphs click here
Barbados was uninhabited when first settled by the British in 1627. Enslaved Africans worked the sugar plantations established on the island, which initially dominated the Caribbean sugar industry. By 1720, Barbados was no longer a dominant force within the sugar industry, having been surpassed by the Leeward Islands and Jamaica. Slavery was abolished in 1834. The Barbadian economy remained heavily dependent on sugar, rum, and molasses production through most of the 20th century. The gradual introduction of social and political reforms in the 1940s and 1950s led to independence from the UK in 1966. In the 1990s, tourism and manufacturing surpassed the sugar industry in economic importance. Barbados became a republic in 2021, with the former Governor-General Sandra MASON elected as the first president.
Area: 430 sq km km2
Climate: tropical; rainy season (June to October)
Natural resources: petroleum, fish, natural gas
Groups: African descent 92.4%, mixed 3.1%, White 2.7%, East Indian 1.3%, other 0.2%, unspecified 0.3% (2010 est.)
Languages:
Religions: Protestant 66.4% (includes Anglican 23.9%, other Pentecostal 19.5%, Adventist 5.9%, Methodist 4.2%, Wesleyan 3.4%, Nazarene 3.2%, Church of God 2.4%, Baptist 1.8%, Moravian 1.2%, other Protestant 0.9%), Roman Catholic 3.8%, other Christian 5.4% (includes Jehovah's Witness 2.0%, other 3.4%), Rastafarian 1%, other 1.5%, none 20.6%, unspecified 1.2% (2010 est.)
Capital: Bridgetown
Government type: parliamentary republic; a Commonwealth realm
Chief of state: President Jeffrey Davidson BOSTIC (since 30 November 2025)
Head of government: Prime Minister Mia MOTTLEY (since 25 May 2018)
Description: Parlement de Barbade (Parliament of Barbados) - bicameral
high-income Eastern Caribbean economy; high standard of living among regional peers; key tourism, construction, and financial sectors driving recent GDP growth; declining but still very high public debt leading to IMF support programs; susceptible to natural disasters and reliance on import partners
tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export
GDP by sector: Agriculture: 1.9% (2023 est.), Industry: 13.2% (2023 est.), Services: 75.4% (2023 est.)
Export partners: USA 22%, Jamaica 17%, Trinidad & Tobago 8%, Canada 6%, Guyana 6% (2023)
Export commodities: liquor, refined petroleum, packaged medicine, margarine, baked goods (2023)
Import partners: USA 32%, Trinidad & Tobago 19%, Netherlands 6%, UK 6%, Guyana 5% (2023)
Import commodities: refined petroleum, crude petroleum, cars, plastic products, ships (2023)
Caribbean, island in the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela
Military expenditure: 2024: 0.7% of GDP (2024 est.)
Information derived from worldfactbook.io (Lupon Media), open successor to the CIA World Factbook. Data sourced from World Bank, IMF, UN and other international organizations.