Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Barbados instead of Malaysia, you would:
Health
have 26.4% more doctors per person
Malaysia has 23.4 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Barbados has 29.6 as of 2022.
be 38.1% less likely to die by suicide
Malaysia has a suicide rate of 5.7 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Barbados, it is 3.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 68.9% more likely to be obese
In Malaysia, 23.3% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Barbados, that number is 39.4% of people as of 2024.
see 20.0% less spent on your healthcare
Malaysia spends $1,441 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Barbados spends $1,153 as of 2023.
Economy
make 2.2 times more money
Malaysia has a GDP per capita of $13,125 as of 2025, while in Barbados, the GDP per capita is $28,365 as of 2025.
be 73.4% more likely to be unemployed
In Malaysia, 3.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Barbados, that number is 6.5% as of 2025.
Life
be 34.6% more likely to die during childbirth
In Malaysia, approximately 26.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Barbados, 35.0 women do as of 2023.
be 30.0% more likely to die during infancy
In Malaysia, approximately 7.0 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.
have 10.0% fewer children
In Malaysia, there are approximately 12.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Barbados, there are 11.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 28.2% less likely to have internet access
In Malaysia, approximately 98.0% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Barbados, about 70.4% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 36.4% more on healthcare
Malaysia spends 4.0% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Barbados, that number is 5.4% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 97.9% less coastline
Malaysia has a total of 4,675 km of coastline. In Barbados, that number is 97 km.
Safety
be 28.1% less likely to die in a road accident
In Malaysia, road accidents kill 13.9 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Barbados, they kill 10.0 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 10.2 times more likely to be murdered
Malaysia has a homicide rate of 0.7 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Barbados, that number is 7.4 per 100,000 as of 2023.
Infrastructure
find 2.8 times more home broadband
Malaysia has 13.6 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Barbados has 37.5 as of 2022.
live with 25.4 times more strain on fresh water
Malaysia withdraws 3% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Barbados withdraws 88% as of 2022.
Environment
be 69.8% less likely to die from air pollution
In Malaysia, air pollution causes 63.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Barbados, it causes 19.0 as of 2019.
emit 69.7% less CO2
Malaysia emits 8.3 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Barbados emits 2.5 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Malaysia vs. Barbados
Barbados: At a glance
How big is Barbados compared to Malaysia? See an in-depth size comparison.