Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Barbados instead of United States, you would:

Health

be 36.2% less likely to be obese

In United States, 36.2% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Barbados, that number is 23.1% of people as of 2016.

live 2.0 years less

In United States, the average life expectancy is 81 years (78 years for men, 83 years for women) as of 2022. In Barbados, that number is 79 years (76 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

pay a 15.4% lower top tax rate

United States has a top tax rate of 39.6% as of 2016. In Barbados, the top tax rate is 33.5% as of 2016.

make 78.6% less money

United States has a GDP per capita of $60,200 as of 2020, while in Barbados, the GDP per capita is $12,900 as of 2020.

be 2.6 times more likely to be unemployed

In United States, 3.9% of adults are unemployed as of 2018. In Barbados, that number is 10.1% as of 2017.

Life

be 42.1% more likely to die during childbirth

In United States, approximately 19.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Barbados, 27.0 women do as of 2017.

be 85.7% more likely to die during infancy

In United States, approximately 5.2 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 11.8% fewer children

In United States, there are approximately 12.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In Barbados, there are 10.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.

Expenditures

spend 14.0% less on education

United States spends 5.0% of its total GDP on education as of 2014. Barbados spends 4.3% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 62.5% less on healthcare

United States spends 16.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In Barbados, that number is 6.3% of GDP as of 2019.

Geography

see 99.5% less coastline

United States has a total of 19,924 km of coastline. In Barbados, that number is 97 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Internal Revenue Service, 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.
Read more

How big is Barbados compared to United States? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Barbados. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.