Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Barbados instead of Australia, you would:
Health
be 73.2% less likely to die by suicide
Australia has a suicide rate of 13.1 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Barbados, it is 3.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
live 6.7 years less
In Australia, the average life expectancy is 83 years (81 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2024. In Barbados, that number is 76 years (74 years for men, 79 years for women) as of 2024.
be 28.8% more likely to be obese
In Australia, 30.6% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Barbados, that number is 39.4% of people as of 2024.
see 85.0% less spent on your healthcare
Australia spends $7,691 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Barbados spends $1,153 as of 2023.
have 27.6% fewer doctors per person
Australia has 40.9 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Barbados has 29.6 as of 2022.
have 11.5% less access to essential health services
Australia scores 87 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Barbados scores 77 as of 2021.
Economy
be 59.4% more likely to be unemployed
In Australia, 4.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Barbados, that number is 6.5% as of 2025.
make 56.4% less money
Australia has a GDP per capita of $65,130 as of 2025, while in Barbados, the GDP per capita is $28,365 as of 2025.
Life
be 17.5 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Australia, approximately 2.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Barbados, 35.0 women do as of 2023.
be 2.9 times more likely to die during infancy
In Australia, approximately 3.1 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Barbados, on the other hand, 9.1 children do as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 26.8% less likely to have internet access
In Australia, approximately 96.1% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Barbados, about 70.4% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 29.6% less on education
Australia spends 5.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Barbados spends 3.6% of total GDP on education as of 2024.
spend 48.1% less on healthcare
Australia spends 10.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Barbados, that number is 5.4% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 99.6% less coastline
Australia has a total of 25,760 km of coastline. In Barbados, that number is 97 km.
Safety
be 8.8 times more likely to be murdered
Australia has a homicide rate of 0.8 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Barbados, that number is 7.4 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 2.2 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Australia, road accidents kill 4.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Barbados, they kill 10.0 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 18.7 times more strain on fresh water
Australia withdraws 5% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Barbados withdraws 88% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 82.1% less CO2
Australia emits 14.1 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Barbados emits 2.5 tonnes as of 2024.
be 90.0% more likely to die from air pollution
In Australia, air pollution causes 10.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Barbados, it causes 19.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Australia vs. Barbados
Barbados: At a glance
How big is Barbados compared to Australia? See an in-depth size comparison.