If you lived in Barbados instead of Dominica, you would:

Health

live 5.0 years longer

In Dominica, the average life expectancy is 71 years (68 years for men, 75 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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see 19.1% more spent on your healthcare

Dominica spends $968 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Barbados spends $1,153 as of 2023.

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have 57.1% more access to essential health services

Dominica scores 49 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Barbados scores 77 as of 2021.

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be 21.4% more likely to be obese

In Dominica, 32.5% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Barbados, that number is 39.4% of people as of 2024.

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Economy

make 2.6 times more money

Dominica has a GDP per capita of $10,989 as of 2025, while in Barbados, the GDP per capita is $28,365 as of 2025.

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Life

be 72.7% less likely to die during infancy

In Dominica, approximately 33.3 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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Basic Needs

be 14.2% less likely to have internet access

In Dominica, approximately 82.0% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Barbados, about 70.4% do as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 34.0% less on education

Dominica spends 5.4% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Barbados spends 3.6% of total GDP on education as of 2024.

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Geography

see 34.5% less coastline

Dominica has a total of 148 km of coastline. In Barbados, that number is 97 km.

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Safety

be 72.5% less likely to be murdered

Dominica has a homicide rate of 27.1 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Barbados, that number is 7.4 per 100,000 as of 2023.

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Infrastructure

find 79.7% more home broadband

Dominica has 20.9 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Barbados has 37.5 as of 2022.

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live with 8.8 times more strain on fresh water

Dominica withdraws 10% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Barbados withdraws 88% as of 2022.

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Environment

emit 98.4% more CO2

Dominica emits 1.3 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Barbados emits 2.5 tonnes as of 2024.

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Sources: World Bank (2022–2025), World Health Organization (2024), United Nations SDG Indicators (2021), The World Factbook. How we calculate this

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 Dominica? See an in-depth size comparison.

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