Polity · 1967 CE – present
Barbados
- Peak recorded area
- 735 km²
- 1967 CE
- Rulers on record
- 6
- from 1966 CE
- Data series
- 304
- 1967 CE–2025 CE
Overview
Barbados is an island country in the Caribbean located in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American and Caribbean plates. Its capital and largest city is Bridgetown.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
2 dated territorial extents on record from Cliopatria. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated. CShapes 2.0 holds 2 further extents, measured on a different basis and deliberately not merged into this series.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before the last complete year, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
6 of 56 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Population216 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 282.6Kpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy165 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 76.49years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Net Migration141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | -87persons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Population Growth141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 0.046% annual2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Female140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 78.91years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Male140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 73.93years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
Economy
6 of 125 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita PPP220 obs · 1800 CE–2019 CE | 16.2Kint'l $ (inflation adj.)2019 CE · Gapminder |
| GDP Current Usd111 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 8Bcurrent US$2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| GDP per capita73 obs · 1950 CE–2022 CE | 11.5K2011 int'l $2022 CE · Maddison Project Database 2023 |
| Fao Asses Stocks64 obs · 1961 CE–2024 CE | 2,160head2024 CE · FAOSTAT |
| Fao Cattle Stocks64 obs · 1961 CE–2024 CE | 11.2Khead2024 CE · FAOSTAT |
| Fao Cereals Area Harvested64 obs · 1961 CE–2024 CE | 0ha2024 CE · FAOSTAT |
Military
6 of 11 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| CINC Score51 obs · 1966 CE–2016 CE | 0CINC (share of world capability)2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Energy Consumption51 obs · 1966 CE–2016 CE | 166Kcoal-ton equivalents2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production51 obs · 1966 CE–2016 CE | 0tons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Personnel51 obs · 1966 CE–2016 CE | 1,000persons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Expenditure49 obs · 1966 CE–2016 CE | 36Mcurrent USD2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Armed Forces Personnel27 obs · 1985 CE–2020 CE | 1,000persons2020 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Territory & resources
6 of 54 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Arable Land %126 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 16.28% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Gas Production117 obs · 1900 CE–2016 CE | 0.186TWh2016 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Oil Production117 obs · 1900 CE–2016 CE | 0.63TWh2016 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Forest Area %68 obs · 1990 CE–2023 CE | 14.65% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Agricultural Land %63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 23.26%2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Arable Land per capita Ha63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 0.0248hectares per person2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Governance
6 of 24 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Electoral Democracy Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.786index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.67index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.342index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Regime Type125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 3RoW index (0-3)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Rule Of Law Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.931index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Checks And Balances49 obs · 1975 CE–2023 CE | 1count2023 CE · Database of Political Institutions (DPI) 2023 |
Development
6 of 34 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Freedom Of Expression Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.905index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Mobile Subscriptions Per 10051 obs · 1960 CE–2022 CE | 114.58per_1002022 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Dpt Immunization %45 obs · 1980 CE–2024 CE | 94%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Measles Immunization %45 obs · 1980 CE–2024 CE | 88%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Primary Enrollment Gross %42 obs · 1971 CE–2024 CE | 83.94%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Secondary Enrollment Gross %41 obs · 1971 CE–2024 CE | 104.37%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Rulers
6 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Elizabeth IIHead of State1966 CE – 2021 CE
- Owen ArthurHead of Government1994 CE – 2008 CE
- David ThompsonHead of Government2008 CE – 2010 CE
- Freundel StuartHead of Government2010 CE – 2018 CE
- Mia MottleyHead of Government2018 CE –
- Sandra MasonHead of State2021 CE –
Country profile
From the CIA World Factbook 2024. Long entries are trimmed at a sentence boundary.
- Location
- Caribbean, island in the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela
- Government type
- parliamentary republic; a Commonwealth realm
- Executive branch
- chief of state: President Jeffrey Davidson BOSTIC (since 30 November 2025); head of government: Prime Minister Mia MOTTLEY (since 25 May 2018); cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister;
- Ethnic groups
- African descent 92.4%, mixed 3.1%, White 2.7%, East Indian 1.3%, other 0.2%, unspecified 0.3% (2010 est.)
- Natural resources
- petroleum, fish, natural gas
- Economy
- 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
Language & currency
- Currency
- Barbadian dollars (BBD)
Memberships
- United NationsUNInternational organisation · member1966 CE –
- 35-member Defense Pact (1947)Military alliance · member1967 CE –
- CARICOMCARICOMEconomic bloc · founding member1973 CE –
- 7-member Defense Pact (1996)Military alliance · member1996 CE –
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
CIA World Factbook 2024
Seshat Global History Databank. Cliopatria: a historical basemap of polity borders (cliopatria.geojson).
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
Database of Political Institutions (DPI) 2023DPI 2023
Cruz, C., Keefer, P. & Scartascini, C. (2023). Database of Political Institutions 2023. Inter-American Development Bank.
IDB open data, attribution
FAOSTAT2024 release
FAO (2024). FAOSTAT Statistical Database. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
CC BY 4.0
Gapminderv14 / systema globalis
Gapminder Foundation. Gapminder systema globalis dataset.
CC BY 4.0
Maddison Project Database 20232023
Bolt, J. & van Zanden, J.L. (2024). Maddison Project Database 2023. University of Groningen GGDC.
CC BY 4.0
Our World in Data (2024). Energy dataset. Based on Energy Institute & Ember.
CC BY 4.0
UN World Population Prospects 20242024
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
CC BY 3.0 IGO
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators. Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0