Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Barbados instead of Samoa, you would:
Health
live 4.5 years longer
In Samoa, the average life expectancy is 72 years (70 years for men, 74 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 38.7% less likely to be obese
In Samoa, 64.3% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Barbados, that number is 39.4% of people as of 2024.
see 2.4 times more spent on your healthcare
Samoa spends $475 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Barbados spends $1,153 as of 2023.
have 5.3 times more doctors per person
Samoa has 5.6 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2021. Barbados has 29.6 as of 2022.
have 40.0% more access to essential health services
Samoa scores 55 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Barbados scores 77 as of 2021.
be 70.8% less likely to die by suicide
Samoa has a suicide rate of 12.0 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Barbados, it is 3.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
make 4.8 times more money
Samoa has a GDP per capita of $5,873 as of 2025, while in Barbados, the GDP per capita is $28,365 as of 2025.
be 30.4% more likely to be unemployed
In Samoa, 5.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Barbados, that number is 6.5% as of 2025.
be 17.4% more likely to live below the poverty line
In Samoa, 21.9% live below the poverty line as of 2018. In Barbados, however, that number is 25.7% as of 2016.
Life
be 65.3% less likely to die during childbirth
In Samoa, approximately 101.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Barbados, 35.0 women do as of 2023.
be 26.0% less likely to die during infancy
In Samoa, approximately 12.3 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.
have 55.5% fewer children
In Samoa, there are approximately 25.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Barbados, there are 11.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 34.8% less on education
Samoa spends 5.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Barbados spends 3.6% of total GDP on education as of 2024.
spend 20.4% less on healthcare
Samoa spends 6.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Barbados, that number is 5.4% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 75.9% less coastline
Samoa has a total of 403 km of coastline. In Barbados, that number is 97 km.
Infrastructure
find 42.6 times more home broadband
Samoa has 0.9 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Barbados has 37.5 as of 2022.
Environment
be 44.1% less likely to die from air pollution
In Samoa, air pollution causes 34.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Barbados, it causes 19.0 as of 2019.
emit 57.5% more CO2
Samoa emits 1.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Barbados emits 2.5 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2016–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Samoa vs. Barbados
Barbados: At a glance
How big is Barbados compared to Samoa? See an in-depth size comparison.