Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

be 11.0 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Iceland, 0.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Barbados, that number is 1.1% of people as of 2019.

live 5.1 years less

In Iceland, the average life expectancy is 84 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.

Economy

pay a 27.6% lower top tax rate

Iceland has a top tax rate of 46.3% as of 2016. In Barbados, the top tax rate is 33.5% as of 2016.

make 73.8% less money

Iceland has a GDP per capita of $66,500 as of 2023, while in Barbados, the GDP per capita is $17,400 as of 2023.

be 2.2 times more likely to be unemployed

In Iceland, 3.6% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Barbados, that number is 8.0% as of 2023.

Life

be 13.0 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Iceland, approximately 3.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Barbados, 39.0 women do as of 2020.

be 5.8 times more likely to die during infancy

In Iceland, approximately 1.6 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.

have 15.1% fewer children

In Iceland, there are approximately 12.6 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 14.0% less likely to have internet access

In Iceland, approximately 100.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Barbados, about 86.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 15.6% less on education

Iceland spends 7.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Barbados spends 6.5% of total GDP on education as of 2021.

spend 25.0% less on healthcare

Iceland spends 9.6% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Barbados, that number is 7.2% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 98.0% less coastline

Iceland has a total of 4,970 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, Barbados, Directorate of Internal Revenue.

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 Iceland? See an in-depth size comparison.

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