Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

be 86.4% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Malawi, 8.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Barbados, that number is 1.1% of people as of 2019.

live 6.1 years longer

In Malawi, the average life expectancy is 72 years (69 years for men, 76 years for women) as of 2022. In Barbados, that number is 79 years (76 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2022.

be 4.0 times more likely to be obese

In Malawi, 5.8% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Barbados, that number is 23.1% of people as of 2016.

Economy

make 8.6 times more money

Malawi has a GDP per capita of $1,500 as of 2020, while in Barbados, the GDP per capita is $12,900 as of 2020.

be 50.5% less likely to be unemployed

In Malawi, 20.4% of adults are unemployed as of 2013. In Barbados, that number is 10.1% as of 2017.

pay a 11.7% higher top tax rate

Malawi has a top tax rate of 30.0% as of 2016. In Barbados, the top tax rate is 33.5% as of 2016.

Life

be 92.3% less likely to die during childbirth

In Malawi, approximately 349.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Barbados, 27.0 women do as of 2017.

be 60.4% more likely to be literate

In Malawi, the literacy rate is 62.1% as of 2015. In Barbados, it is 99.6% as of 2014.

be 71.3% less likely to die during infancy

In Malawi, approximately 33.4 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Barbados, on the other hand, 9.6 children do as of 2020.

have 61.2% fewer children

In Malawi, there are approximately 27.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In Barbados, there are 10.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.

Basic Needs

be 7.7 times more likely to have access to electricity

In Malawi, approximately 13% of the population has electricity access as of 2019. In Barbados, 100% of the population do as of 2020.

be 5.9 times more likely to have internet access

In Malawi, approximately 14.0% of the population has internet access as of 2019. In Barbados, about 82.0% do as of 2019.

Expenditures

spend 14.9% less on healthcare

Malawi spends 7.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In Barbados, that number is 6.3% of GDP as of 2019.

spend 48.3% more on education

Malawi spends 2.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Barbados spends 4.3% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: Malawi Revenue Authority, The World Factbook, Ministry of Finance, Barbados.

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 Malawi? See an in-depth size comparison.

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