Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Barbados instead of British Virgin Islands, you would:

Health

live 1.1 years less

In British Virgin Islands, the average life expectancy is 77 years (75 years for men, 80 years for women) as of 2024. In Barbados, that number is 76 years (74 years for men, 79 years for women) as of 2024.

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Life

be 20.2% less likely to die during infancy

In British Virgin Islands, approximately 11.4 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.

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have 35.3% more children

In British Virgin Islands, there are approximately 8.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Barbados, there are 11.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 12.3% more on education

British Virgin Islands spends 3.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Barbados spends 3.6% of total GDP on education as of 2024.

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Geography

see 21.2% more coastline

British Virgin Islands has a total of 80 km of coastline. In Barbados, that number is 97 km.

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Infrastructure

find 50.5% more home broadband

British Virgin Islands has 24.9 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Barbados has 37.5 as of 2022.

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Sources: World Bank (2022–2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this

Compare further: British Virgin Islands vs. Barbados

Cost of Living Comparison · 6 categories - 2026 data
Barbados is 8.5% cheaper than British Virgin Islands overall
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Size Comparison · See true size
British Virgin Islands is about 2.9 times smaller than Barbados.
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Moving from British Virgin Islands to Barbados · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
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Barbados: At a glance

Barbados is a sovereign country in Central America/Caribbean, with a total land area of approximately 430 sq km. The island was uninhabited when first settled by the British in 1627. African slaves worked the sugar plantations established on the island until 1834 when slavery was abolished. The 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 complete independence from the UK in 1966. In the 1990s, tourism and manufacturing surpassed the sugar industry in economic importance.
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How big is Barbados compared to British Virgin Islands? See an in-depth size comparison.

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