Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Barbados instead of El Salvador, you would:

Health

live 3.2 years longer

In El Salvador, the average life expectancy is 75 years (72 years for men, 79 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 2.2 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In El Salvador, 0.5% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Barbados, that number is 1.1% of people as of 2019.

Economy

make 54.0% more money

El Salvador has a GDP per capita of $11,300 as of 2023, while in Barbados, the GDP per capita is $17,400 as of 2023.

be 2.9 times more likely to be unemployed

In El Salvador, 2.8% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Barbados, that number is 8.0% as of 2023.

pay a 11.7% higher top tax rate

El Salvador 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 11.8% more likely to be literate

In El Salvador, the literacy rate is 89.1% as of 2019. In Barbados, it is 99.6% as of 2014.

be 20.9% less likely to die during infancy

In El Salvador, approximately 12.1 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 37.4% fewer children

In El Salvador, there are approximately 17.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Barbados, there are 10.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Basic Needs

be 36.5% more likely to have internet access

In El Salvador, approximately 63.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Barbados, about 86.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 27.3% less on healthcare

El Salvador spends 9.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Barbados, that number is 7.2% of GDP as of 2020.

spend 58.5% more on education

El Salvador spends 4.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Barbados spends 6.5% of total GDP on education as of 2021.

Geography

see 68.4% less coastline

El Salvador has a total of 307 km of coastline. In Barbados, that number is 97 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Ministry of Finance, 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 El Salvador? See an in-depth size comparison.

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