Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

be 5.5 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Switzerland, 0.2% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Barbados, that number is 1.1% of people as of 2019.

live 4.7 years less

In Switzerland, the average life expectancy is 83 years (81 years for men, 86 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 18.5% more likely to be obese

In Switzerland, 19.5% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Barbados, that number is 23.1% of people as of 2016.

Economy

pay a 16.2% lower top tax rate

Switzerland has a top tax rate of 40.0% as of 2016. In Barbados, the top tax rate is 33.5% as of 2016.

make 81.1% less money

Switzerland has a GDP per capita of $68,400 as of 2020, while in Barbados, the GDP per capita is $12,900 as of 2020.

be 4.4 times more likely to be unemployed

In Switzerland, 2.3% of adults are unemployed as of 2019. In Barbados, that number is 10.1% as of 2017.

Life

be 5.4 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Switzerland, approximately 5.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Barbados, 27.0 women do as of 2017.

be 2.7 times more likely to die during infancy

In Switzerland, approximately 3.6 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.

Basic Needs

be 12.8% less likely to have internet access

In Switzerland, approximately 94.0% of the population has internet access as of 2020. In Barbados, about 82.0% do as of 2019.

Expenditures

spend 12.2% less on education

Switzerland spends 4.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2018. Barbados spends 4.3% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 44.2% less on healthcare

Switzerland spends 11.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In Barbados, that number is 6.3% of GDP as of 2019.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Swiss Federal Tax Administration, 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 Switzerland? See an in-depth size comparison.

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